Shrimp Questions in a 75 Gallon Tank

[joecon]

Would it be safe to add a shrimp to a tank with 5 damsels and a maroon clown? Do any of those fishes eat shrimp? I want to get a cleaner shrimp or peppermint shrimp and want to make sure they will be safe before I do. Also, what shrimps are hardy and beneficial to a tank?

Thanks

[Ninong]

Would it be safe to add a shrimp to a tank with 5 damsels and a maroon clown?

Yes.

Do any of those fishes eat shrimp?

No.

I want to get a cleaner shrimp or peppermint shrimp and want to make sure they will be safe before I do. Also, what shrimps are hardy and beneficial to a tank?

I recommend adding two Lysmata amboinensis (commonly called skunk cleaner shrimp, or white stripe cleaner shrimp, or just common cleaner shrimp). Any two individuals comprise a "pair" because they are hermaphroditic.

[joecon]

Thank you kindly, sir. Your info is always appreciated!

Joe

[saltjunkie]

I recommend adding two Lysmata amboinensis (commonly called skunk cleaner shrimp, or white stripe cleaner shrimp, or just common cleaner shrimp). Any two individuals comprise a "pair" because they are hermaphroditic.

now that my mated coral banded are gone.. this is the route i will be taking.. can you add more than 2?

and can they be mixed with a few pepermints also?

[Ninong]

now that my mated coral banded are gone.. this is the route i will be taking.. can you add more than 2?

and can they be mixed with a few pepermints also?

I wouldn't add more than two unless it's a LARGE tank. I think you would be better off with just two of the same species in a tank of your size, either Lysmata amboinensis or the Caribbean version, L. grabhami. Two L. debelius would be OK but they're usually much more expensive. My recommendation would be for two L. amboinensis.

Yes, you can keep peppermints (Lysmata wurdemanni) with skunk cleaners (L. amboinensis) but I wouldn't keep peppermints at all unless I was facing a desperate situation with Aiptasia. I think peppermints are riskier than skunk cleaners. They sometimes harass and annoy certain corals.

P.S. -- It is assumed that all of the species in the genus Lysmata are hermaphroditic. At least, I haven't come across anything to the contrary. They are actually synchronous simultaneous hermaphrodites. That means they keep switching back and forth and they synchronize their "condition" to maximize sexual interaction with each other. A Lysmata sp. shrimp is in a "female way" only after shedding its exoskeleton. In other words, it is only receptive to receiving a packet of sperm from the other hard-shelled shrimp while it's own shell is soft. They couple at the abdomen. The fact that the hard-shelled shrimp is carrying eggs at the time doesn't matter one way or the other. They alternate who gets to play the "daddy" role.

[saltjunkie]

cool, thankyou!