Scarlet cleaner shrimp - Care And Requirements Of The Scarlet Cleaner Shrimp

By Gabriela Desouyez

The most frequently offered ornamental shrimp in the marine tank industry is certainly the scarlet cleaner shrimp. They are chiefly collected from the Indo-Pacific as well as Sri Lanka.

Cleaner shrimps are especially popular making them a shrimp that is regularly found in most hobbyists tanks. Due to their frequent nature, they are one of the cheaper shrimp on the market. A especially resilient shrimp, it adapts extremely well to captive conditions.

The services they offer in the wild are the most important reason for their name. They are parasite cleaners that continuously service a broad variety of fishes. This fact makes them safe from many fishes that would otherwise eat such a small shrimp. However, this isn't always the case. Fishes that are well-known to eat cleaner shrimps are cat sharks, triggerfish and lionfish.

Parasite removal is done once a fish signals its intentions and cleaner shrimp gets on the fish for a swift scanning. This activities is replicated in the marine tank, making them an excellent addition.

Cleaner shrimps are mostly carnivores that will eat anything meaty. They will consume anything from pellets to flakes to frozen brine shrimp. They will also indulge on the isopod and amphipod population in the saltwater tank. New life spectrum offers customers top class sinking pellets for fishes and invertebrates. But the cleaner shrimp are not hard to please, they will consume many types of pellets offered. It is never suggested to feed a single type of food for too long, always offer variety.

The scarlet cleaner shrimp has been bred in captivity by several persons and companies. Pairing them should pose no problems at all. Putting two cleaner shrimp together and waiting for a handful weeks seems to be the standard. They have the distinctive ability to change sexes depending on to their needs. Which makes pairing this shrimp exceptionally easy.

Spawning takes place in captivity with good regularity. Only those with the appropriate food and grow out tanks will attempt to raise the larvae. However, the costs involved in breeding the cleaner shrimp means that most companies do not look into breeding them all that regularly. Only smaller breeders and enthusiasts have been breeding them with any regularity. - 29953

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