Aqua cabaret crustacean: Have you ever kept sexy shrimp?

[KrisReef]

"Yes, I have kept sexy shrimp in the past?"​

Not sure why this response has a question mark at the end.

That implies a double entendre regarding a height challenged significant other of admiral beauty that the responder "kept" for untoward purposes. (The English Language is difficult to understand sometimes&)

I'm so happy for this survey, I am finally in a majority category for my answer.

 

[reveriesh]

Have 9 sexys in my 115g mixed reef DT with all types of coral and anemone and they are very easy to see, don’t bother my coral and are an absolute blast to watch in spite of a tank full of enjoyable fish and coral.

As a reminder to anyone thinking of keeping these incredibly cool little creatures (or any shrimp for that matter), watch your iodine levels. In my tank, even with large biweekly water changes and Red Sea Coral Pro salt I still need to dose a little iodine to keep them alive, molting, and healthy. A few weeks after adding the original 13 I lost 4 until I finally figured out my iodine had plummeted to nothing in between water changes. Its obviously getting used by all of the tank inhabitants. It was confirmed after I dosed and they all molted immediately, along with all my cleaner shrimp. Poor things. Hope I can keep someone from making the same mistake

 

[Stomatopods17]

I currently have 2 in my 2 gallon macro tank, they seem to be doing fine.

My past experiences with them; when I started out my banggai cardinal suddenly ate one. I then had one that seemed to thrive in my 125 gallon on some mushrooms, nothing bothered it, not even the very same cardinal, it disappeared after about a year or two, its been awhile.

I do have to play wheres waldo when looking for them in the macro algae 2 gallon, they never seemed to stick to the xenia I placed in there and prefer to roam around the caulpera.

 

[NCsalt]

Plan to do them in a PNW Small in One.

 

[lubeck]

I have 4 of them in my 10 gal tank. Had them over a year now. The corals have gotten used to them trampling on them. Goni and zoas

 

[Boehmtown]

I have one in a 5 gallon, I don't know if I got a dud, but seems incredibly boring, just waves it's tail around

 

[reveriesh]

I have one in a 5 gallon, I don't know if I got a dud, but seems incredibly boring, just waves it's tail around

You need more! They live in “herds”

 

[Navymedic]

Aqua cabaret crustacean: Have you ever kept sexy shrimp?

One of the most entertaining tank inhabitants that is only about an inch long when fully grown is the sexy shrimp (Thor amboinensis). The attraction for this shrimp comes from both the interesting color patterns as well as its rhythmic dance-like movements. The size and community nature of this invert makes this a great option for nano tanks. They are peaceful and do well with other peaceful creatures. They have also been referred to as the anemone squat shrimp because of their sometimes-symbiotic relationship that they form with certain anemones. Their frequent interactions with anemones does have at least one downside because they have been known to promote the spread of Aiptasia that are present in a tank. Have you ever kept sexy shrimp? If so, please tell us about your experience and let us know if you have any tips or recommendations.

Photo by @Tigahboy


This QOTD is sponsored by Nutramar: https://www.qualitymarine.com/nutramar/

“Nutramar’s 100% natural food products are used by public aquaria and breeders around the world. They offer superior nutrition to your most finicky and delicate fish and invertebrates.

I have kept them in various tanks and they do not last longer than a few weeks, they either become something's snack or just die and disappear. They are cute but I now use shrimps that have a purpose other than shaking "dat thing"

 

[Tony Thompson]

Fascinating little animals. I find inverts far more enjoyable to keep than fish.

Here are some pictures I took a while back of my posse of Thors.

Of course they are small animals so can be food for certain other animals, one needs to take this into consideration when stocking. Certain corals may also see them as food. (see attached pic, Ricordea florida consuming live T, amboinensis.)

They will also change sex depending on group dynamics, so no need to look for females. Males will transform into females.



One of my females hosting a Phymanthus crucifer,

Here you can see a Female Left and Male Right. Hosting a Stichdactyla tapetum. I also had a number of Entacmaea quadricolor in the same growout table but the Thors never hosted them. They seem to prefer the Mini Maxi.

As my Thors where in a tank next to my office desk, I witnessed a R, florida consuming a live Thor and decided to photograph the incident. In sequence total time around 2 mins.

All gone.

 

[Tony Thompson]

Aqua cabaret crustacean: Have you ever kept sexy shrimp?

One of the most entertaining tank inhabitants that is only about an inch long when fully grown is the sexy shrimp (Thor amboinensis). The attraction for this shrimp comes from both the interesting color patterns as well as its rhythmic dance-like movements. The size and community nature of this invert makes this a great option for nano tanks. They are peaceful and do well with other peaceful creatures. They have also been referred to as the anemone squat shrimp because of their sometimes-symbiotic relationship that they form with certain anemones. Their frequent interactions with anemones does have at least one downside because they have been known to promote the spread of Aiptasia that are present in a tank. Have you ever kept sexy shrimp? If so, please tell us about your experience and let us know if you have any tips or recommendations.

Great photo @Tigahboy

 

[Cary Meredith]

I have a small tank to be able to keep a pair.

 

[TinnysReef]

I have 2 right now in my 125g - they hang out between my 2 carpet anemones and are cool little guys.