Cleaner Shrimp

Michael3636 · Jul 19, 2015

Looking to add some shrimp to my 55 gallon FOWLR aquarium but I'm concerned some of my fish might eat them. I have a Flame Hawkfish, Clownfish, Yellow Tang, Yellowtail Blue Tang, and a Melanurus Wrasse. Any insight is appreciated!

4FordFamily · Jul 19, 2015

You should be fine I've kept them with all of those fish many times for many years.

That said, the larger the cleaner shrimp the better.

Michael3636 · Jul 19, 2015

Thanks I think I'll try a cheaper peppermint shrimp first and see what happens!

Miketc17 · Jul 19, 2015

Michael3636 said:
Thanks I think I'll try a cheaper peppermint shrimp first and see what happens!

The only problem you could have is with the flame hawkfish, but that all depends on the size of the shrimp. With that being said, I've had a flame hawkish with a large cleaner shrimp for almost a year now.

Michael3636 · Jul 19, 2015

Miketc17 said:
The only problem you could have is with the flame hawkfish, but that all depends on the size of the shrimp. With that being said, I've had a flame hawkish with a large cleaner shrimp for almost a year now.

So my wrasse shouldn't be a problem?

Miketc17 · Jul 19, 2015

Michael3636 said:
So my wrasse shouldn't be a problem?

I was looking at getting a melanurus so I did a lot of reading on them and I never came across anything about them being a problem with cleaner shrimp or any other shrimp. What I did find was that some of them do like to pick at snails.

Michael3636 · Jul 20, 2015

Miketc17 said:
I was looking at getting a melanurus so I did a lot of reading on them and I never came across anything about them being a problem with cleaner shrimp or any other shrimp. What I did find was that some of them do like to pick at snails.

It keeps messing with my snails and flipping them over right now but it's only been 2 days

Miketc17 · Jul 20, 2015

Michael3636 said:
It keeps messing with my snails and flipping them over right now but it's only been 2 days

You made me research them again and I finally decided not to get one. It's very common for them to pick off the CUC. I hope you have better luck since they are such a beautiful and beneficial fish to have. Keep us updated!

reefbeard · Jul 20, 2015

Miketc17 said:
The only problem you could have is with the flame hawkfish, but that all depends on the size of the shrimp. With that being said, I've had a flame hawkish with a large cleaner shrimp for almost a year now.

+1 Hawkfish will definitely eat the cleaner shrimp if it's small enough to fit in its mouth. The bigger the shrimp the better.