Need CUC compatible with Larry. Suggestions?

[Debra Johnson]

Larry is a Pacific White Shrimp that I 'rescued' ( story told here) . He's still in his 2.5g tank but his new tank is now ready for a CUC crew and I'm looking for compatible tanks mates.

Researching his species, there's nothing really known about how to keep white shrimp is a marine aquarium setting. Using a Marine Shrimp compatibility chart isn't relevant because Larry is way bigger than the existing marine shrimp in the hobby.

I've found the following information and since snails, crabs, worms and shrimp make a CUC, now I'm stumped. Suggestions?

"Wild shrimp in the ocean eat plant matter, dead fish, clams, snails and crabs, worms and any other decaying organic matter they find. Farmed and aquarium shrimp find food the same way, but their habitats don't contain all of the different sources of food that the wild shrimp find. ..... Shrimp also are cannibals, and will eat any other smaller shrimp they come across." https://sciencing.com/shrimps-prey-8309570.html

"Adult white shrimp are omnivorous and eat a wide variety of food, including algal and plant material, other invertebrates, and dead/decaying organic matter. Most soft-bottom fishes and several invertebrates eat juvenile and adult white shrimp." http://oceana.org/marine-life/cephalopods-crustaceans-other-shellfish/white-shrimp

 

[Tyler_Fishman]

Trochus snails and astrea snails, anything else may be predated on or attacking your animal, interesting story by the way

 

[LesPaulPlayer]

I second the trochus snails. They are my favorite.

 

[LobsterOfJustice]

Are you keeping Larry at cooler temps? At the very least, you should be keeping him without a heater on the tank. Long-term, you might look into a small ice probe chiller.

I would think temperature would be the limiting factor then on your CUC. There are a few snails that people often quote as being temperate and not appropriate for reef aquariums, but these would be idea in your situation. I forget if it’s the Mexican turbos and maybe nerites?

 

[Debra Johnson]

When I decided to keep him, I emailed the shrimp farm since we had a really good discussion with owner regarding shrimp farming, their setup, and competition with the Asia and other countries. They were also keeping 3 shrimp in a saltwater tank with hit/miss results. I asked them what temps and salinity they were keeping their stock. They replied "salinity at 15ppt, temp at about 26 degrees Celsius". I matched their tank setup on day 3. He's been in the 2.5g at those readings for 30+ days.

Reading Renee's post on choosing cleanup crew plus others links, I'm almost decided to treat him like a Peppermint Shrimp, abet a really large one. My current list of CUC are: Trochus snails, Nassarius and some Collonista Snail if I can find any. I'm still in the air about getting hermits or not. I'll need to check my LFS to see what they stock before deciding to buy from them or on-line

 

[K. Steven]

I kept my Pacific white shrimp in a species-only tank. They have a strong appetite and will eat pretty much anything. Snails are your best bet because they can climb the glass, but the shrimp can swim up to get them if they're hungry. Keep him well fed with pellet food and some worms and it shouldn't be an issue. What's great about these shrimp is they're transparent enough so that you can see their full digestive tract. When it starts clearing, you can gauge feeding frequency.

These are adult Litopenaeus vannamei. I kept smaller juveniles in my tank.

 

[SDReefer]

You're lucky that someone on R2R is knowledgeable about them! It's going to be hit and miss since little is known about the shrimp in captivity. Larry's story is awesome BTW. If nothing works, you can use the abrasive part of a sponge to clean the glass of algae. Also, you don't want to add too many CUC members, especially considering that Larry is in a 2.5 gallon tank.

 

[Bradw18]

Pretty sure she's looking for a cuc for larrys new tank. Any new pics of Larry

 

[ThunderGoose]

What a cool story. "Volunteer" pets can be a lot of fun. I've kept a Cuban tree frog and a garden snail that showed up at garden centers. Both were entertaining (until the snail started laying fertile eggs and her container got overrun with babies). Good luck with Larry. I look forward to hearing about his continuing adventures!

 

[Tyler_Fishman]

Many astrea snails in the hobby come from temperate regions

 

[Debra Johnson]

Pic 1 is Larry in his 2.5g tank. Pic 2 is the new build Biocube 29.. ready for CUC (it needs a water change and glass cleaning, which I'll do tonight) . I've not seen Larry climbing the rocks, although he does climb the glass which is keeping it clean. And it is fun watching him find/consume all the shrimp pellets I put in. He's molted twice.. about a month apart.

Steven, do you see the white on the top of both eye stalks? He seems to have the top of the stalks white with bottoms black. I'm pretty sure that's not normal since most on-line pics I've seen have them all black. Do your specimens have this or all black eye stalks?

 

[K. Steven]

It could be molt-related. Is it male or female?

 

[Debra Johnson]

HaHa .. no idea.. Somewhere I read how to check for sex, but the thought of him/her squirming when I pick him up and turn him over Maybe I'll keep a camera handy next time he/she is on glass and take a pic.
I thought it might be that his eye's didn't molt. I vaguely remember them all black but he molted like on day 4 or so of setting him up in the 2.5g. I'm checking with my friend to see if she has a pic before he molted.

 

[K. Steven]

It's a bit daunting picking them up the first time, especially if they're bigger. You can feel how strong their tail muscle is as they contract while trying to avoid getting stabbed by the rostrum.



This is probably the best image for determining sex.

 

[Debra Johnson]

Thank you everyone, for replying.

I decided on the following cleanup crew.
Purchased: 2 Nassarius snails, 3 stomatella snails
Hitchhickers: 1 brittle star, 2 micro brittle stars, 6 stomatella snails: which I only started seeing after buying/adding the 3 stomatella snails. Where they were hiding or why I didn't see them before is a mystery to me.

I also decided not to get any crabs. Looks like Larry is handling those duties.

(LFS did not have any Trochus, for three weeks in a row)