To shrimp or not to shrimp?

[rja]

Hey all,
As I sit here contemplating life’s decisions, shrimp are coming to my mind. I love shrimp almost more than I do fish. I have hundreds of freshwater shrimp and now I want one for my reef. It’s only a few weeks old and I hear cleaner shrimp need a few months worth of stability before a system is ready for one. Does the same go for all shrimp? Coral banded? Any other shrimp options?

Thank you for coming to my shrimp talk.

 

[Sharkbait19]

I had bad luck with a peppermint and skunk in my early system. My tiger pistol shrimp did amazing in my younger tank though. Super hardy.

 

[rja]

I had bad luck with a peppermint and skunk in my early system. My tiger pistol shrimp did amazing in my younger tank though. Super hardy.

Shrimp goby pair?! Should this be my second and last addition to my biocube 29?! hmmm

 

[\m/reefsnmetal\m/]

I think the shrimp would be fine if you feed it directly with a variety of foods like chunks of krill and pellets. I love pistol and goby pairs but I would be cautious if you have any coral on the bottom of the tank. They can get buried, knocked over, or dragged to the burrow. I'm not sure why, but my pistol likes to decorate his front door with small frags if they are close enough to his hole.

 

[kred47]

Shrimp goby pair?! Should this be my second and last addition to my biocube 29?! hmmm

I love my shrimp goby pair. If you don’t mind maybe seeing them once a week they’re a great purchase (when you do see them though they’re awesome to watch). Otherwise my skunk cleaner shrimp is pretty cool and has a ton of personality. I waited about 3-4 months before putting him in and he’s doing great now

 

[kred47]

I think the shrimp would be fine if you feed it directly with a variety of foods like chunks of krill and pellets. I love pistol and goby pairs but I would be cautious if you have any coral on the bottom of the tank. They can get buried, knocked over, or dragged to the burrow. I'm not sure why, but my pistol likes to decorate his front door with small frags if they are close enough to his hole.

Ya I keep everything near his burrow glued down and on the rocks. He hasn’t touched anything yet. As a matter of fact he is pretty great about leaving stuff in place, I haven’t really seen him drag anything into his burrow (I’m sure there a few small rocks down there tho)

 

[\m/reefsnmetal\m/]

Ya I keep everything near his burrow glued down and on the rocks. He hasn’t touched anything yet. As a matter of fact he is pretty great about leaving stuff in place, I haven’t really seen him drag anything into his burrow (I’m sure there a few small rocks down there tho)

This guy is always out moving and grabbing stuff. He has a network of tunnels and holes covering about half of my 75g. I haven’t seen my candy cane out in over a year. I only know it’s still there because I saw it crawling through a tunnel from the bottoms glass.

 

[reefer_evo5]

I have a Coral Banded shrimp in my system now. I got it a month into my tank being set up and I would just get sinking pellets to feed it for the first couple weeks now its been with me for over a year and it molts all the time pretty hardy ive had it through all the learning experiences when I first started since ive only been in the hobby for a little over a year now

 

[DaJMasta]

I always shrimp.

There are lots, a bunch can be a bit ornery, but even then if well fed they're not going to be running amuck. They get a bad wrap but aren't nearly as damaging as they're made out to be.

I would avoid a CBS specifically if you want other shrimp or small fish, as they are clumsy but ornery and pinchy. Pretty much any cleaner or anemone shrimp would be suitable as long as you don't have fish that will snack on them, and pistol shrimp with their commensal organism is always fun (even without, but you rarely see it).

 

[reefer_evo5]

I always shrimp.

There are lots, a bunch can be a bit ornery, but even then if well fed they're not going to be running amuck. They get a bad wrap but aren't nearly as damaging as they're made out to be.

I would avoid a CBS specifically if you want other shrimp or small fish, as they are clumsy but ornery and pinchy. Pretty much any cleaner or anemone shrimp would be suitable as long as you don't have fish that will snack on them, and pistol shrimp with their commensal organism is always fun (even without, but you rarely see it).

CBS do attack smaller fish it killed two small clown fish i got when i first set up my tank but ive had damsel fish neon dotty backs and a pair of two bigger clownfish now and as long as the fish are faster than the shrimp my shrimp cant catch them but it is something to look out for

 

[PandorasChalk]

As someone who also has more freshwater shrimp than he can count, the cleaner shrimp I had was a fun addition to my tank. It was always active, and it mostly lived off of scraps from feeding. Unfortunately when I received it, it was in poor health from a previously failed molt and passed after a few months, but that short window it was a lot of fun. I want to get another but waiting for my bigger tank.

 

[rja]

As someone who also has more freshwater shrimp than he can count, the cleaner shrimp I had was a fun addition to my tank. It was always active, and it mostly lived off of scraps from feeding. Unfortunately when I received it, it was in poor health from a previously failed molt and passed after a few months, but that short window it was a lot of fun. I want to get another but waiting for my bigger tank.

I think this is what I will do, I really would like a pistol shrimp but I would need to add the goby and real estate is pretty tight for fish in my biocube 29 after two clowns.