New Shrimp?

[denhay14]

My Skunk Cleaner Shrimp just died yesterday, don't really know why maybe because tank was at 83 degrees? Who knows.

I'm planning on getting another shrimp or Shrimps depending if they are better as a pair or only one. I don't know which kind of shrimp to get that will help benefit my tank the most along with a fun creature.

I liked the Skunk shrimp but he was such a hog when it came to food time, not that that's a big deal but I just want to know if there is a better shrimp out there to benefit my tank.

Thanks for suggestions.

[Ninong]

I would recommend two smallish skunk cleaner shrimp (Lysmata amboinensis). The reason I say smaller is because these guys only have a natural lifespan of about three years and if you get a large one, it's probably wild-collected and you can't know how old it is already. These are being captive-bred now and you can expect best results from the ones that are no more than about 2" long, assuming you can get them.

These shrimp are simultaneous hermaphrodites, so any two are a pair. That's true of all the shrimp in the Lsymata genus. The blood-red ones (L. debelius) are pretty but they're usually much more expensive. The reason I recommend two of the same species whenever getting any of these guys is so that you will have spawning activity. The larvae are good food for the other inhabitants of the aquarium.

[denhay14]

Do all shrimp pretty much do the same thing? Is there anything specific I should look for. Like there's these little anemone looking things in my tank and I read that some of the shrimps could eat them?

[Reefland]

That sounds like Aiptasia and if so you need to get rid of them. Peppermint shrimp will sometimes do the trick but they are hit and miss at best. Do a search for Aiptasia on the forum for other removal methods.

[Ninong]

Do all shrimp pretty much do the same thing?

No.

Is there anything specific I should look for.

I don't know. What are you looking for?

Like there's these little anemone looking things in my tank and I read that some of the shrimps could eat them?

As Scott said, that's peppermint shrimp (Lysmata wurdemanni). They usually eat Aiptasia. As members of the Lysmata genus, they're hermaphrites, so any two will mate. This is not true for all shrimp. The banded coral shrimp (Stenopus hispidus) are not hermaphrodites, so you have to have one male and one female to end up with a pair.

Again, my recommendation for the best cleaner shrimp would be L. amboinensis, commonly called skunk cleaner shrimp, among other names. If you have Aiptasia, you might want to try a couple of peppermint shrimp to see if they will eat them.

[denhay14]

What will the aiptsia do to my tank?

[Ninong]

What will the aiptsia do to my tank?

They will take over your tank.