Cleaner Shrimp

Scientific name: Lysmata amboinensis

Origin: Pacific Ocean

Water temperature: 20-26°C

Food: Omnivorous

Temperament: Peaceful

Suitability for soft coral tank: Suitable

Body length: 6cm

Keeping difficulty: Easy

A shrimp known for cleaning parasites off the body surfaces of fish. Even if you just put your hand into the tank, they will come over and skillfully clean with their tiny scissors. These shrimp also react very quickly to rapid changes in water quality and will die immediately, so when introducing them into the tank, you must make sure they adapt to the change in water quality. They are especially fond of some flat foods, so you can give them more live foods such as small crabs. Maintaining water quality is the condition that allows these shrimp to live longer. Shrimp are very sensitive to medications such as copper sulfate, so their use must be properly controlled. They are also available in large quantities and are a relatively common species.

The cleaner shrimp is probably the most famous of all aquarium shrimp, and cleaner shrimp can be kept in groups in the tank.

Although cleaner shrimp are famous for cleaning and can help remove some parasites or some organic waste from fish or organisms, they are also experts at breaking down food debris in the tank, so a common situation in fish tanks is that once shellfish or organisms are injured or damaged, they are easily treated as food by cleaner shrimp. This is something owners need to pay more attention to. The downside of keeping too many cleaner shrimp is also this: with too many cleaner shrimp, the chances of organisms in the tank being disturbed are also greater. When feeding soft corals, you should also feed these shrimp first, otherwise they may accidentally harm the soft coral while snatching food from the coral's mouth.

Shrimp are quite sensitive to medications, especially the copper used for treatment. Excessive salts are also a threat to shrimp. In addition, an imbalance of iodine in the tank can also affect the molting and growth of shrimp. Changes in water quality should also not be too drastic, otherwise these seemingly tough shrimp can sometimes become very delicate and die easily.

As for feeding, whether it is artificial feed or frozen feed, cleaner shrimp are actually quite easy to accept, so basically feeding is not really a problem.