A nice addition to any reef tank, the Skunk Cleaner Shrimp is an active worker of the clean up crew. It likes to hide in the rockwork primarily for protection, but is quick to venture out in the open for a good meal. They can be quite opportunistic when it comes to feeding, swimming up into the current to grab amorsel of drifting food.
Origin: Indo-Pacific, Sri Lanka
Size: 2" to 3" max
Diet: Carnivorous, varied meaty items
Coloration: golden, with red & a white stripe
Difficulty: Novice
Temperament: Peaceful, curious
Lifespan: 3 years or longer
Salinity: 1.023 - 1.026sg
Temperature range: 74F - 81F
When working in your tank, it isn't unsual for these shrimp to crawl onto your hand and pick about exposed skin and around the cuticles. In the wild, Cleaner Shrimp pick parasites off fish that swim close by. They will quickly work over the entire body of the fish, inspect the gills closely and even in the mouth - if the fish allows it. In our aquariums, this practice is fun to observe as the fish slowly approach the 'cleaning station' for a inspection. Day or night, if they smell food in the water, they emerge quickly and are willing to 'risk it' to get some from a coral or anemone attempting to slowly injest a meaty morsel.
If you have slow eating corals like Lobophyllia or Wellsophyllia, it can be a challenge keeping food in that coral. Even once the food is gone from sight, Cleaner shrimp will reach down into the mouth and steal the food long before the coral had a chance to digest the food. Putting a dome over such corals will help avoid this situation, but it can take an hour or two - don't forget to remove that dome because the coral can become oxygen-deprived. Drilling a few holes into the sides of your dome can alleviate that problem.
With the water parameters we maintain in our reef tanks, Cleaner Shrimp will thrive provided they have no enemies to contend with. A Coral Banded Shrimp or a Lionfish would both be predators, for example. The shrimp's exoskeleton benefits from normal levels of calcium, magnesium and iodine. When they molt (shed their outer carapace in its entirety), their soft new shell needs a few hours to harden before they will venture out into the open as they are temporarily too vunerable. The molt should be removed from the tank just to keep things tidy.
Certain fish will be quick to consume a cleaner shrimp, like Lionfish, Triggers and Hawkfish. Since these are often known to be predators, such considerations should be thought out.
Cleaner Shrimp can be kept in groups provided there are plenty of hiding places for them to retreat to. Having a mated pair that dwell together is even better. They will breed in tank, so watch closely for the underbelly to be carrying thousands of green eggs. Egg clutches are released shortly after the lights shut down, and some breeders are attempting the challenging task of raising their young. We hope they will be successful in bringing captive bred Skunk Cleaner Shrimp to market, further sustaining our hobby.
Video of Cleaner Shrimp releasing babies:
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