Atlantic White-Striped Cleaner Shrimp
- Thread starter signal_4
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philter4
New member
I see them quite frequently, usually deeper then 60 ft deep, but a couple of times I've collected them in shallow water. The first ones I've seen were on the wreck The Queen Mary in 110 ft of water.
Here is one of the ones I have now, it was collected in Hollywood in only 14 ft of water right off the beach. In the photo all the little white dots are the larvae, mine lay eggs every few weeks.
I've never dove the Corpus Crysti area, but I don't believe they are found there, they are a Caribbean species and FL is the north west edge of the range.
Here is one of the ones I have now, it was collected in Hollywood in only 14 ft of water right off the beach. In the photo all the little white dots are the larvae, mine lay eggs every few weeks.
I've never dove the Corpus Crysti area, but I don't believe they are found there, they are a Caribbean species and FL is the north west edge of the range.
Thanks for the input.... I have read that they can be found at the Flower Gardens which is off the texas coast.....you would never think that you can find stony corals (ivory tree coral) off the south texas jetties.... but its there about 20 ft down. maybe looking in deeper water might be the answer...
philter4
New member
I'm not sure about Flower Gardens, because that is a popular dive site here off the coast FL and they are found there, the range listed for the shrimp is occasional to uncommon in FL, and FL is listed as the north west edge of the range, being mainly found south and east in the Bahamas and Caribbean. That doesn't mean they are not there, but it would be an extension of the range or a stray that is normaly not found there. Paul Humann has a great guide to Caribbean inverts that I would highly recomend called Reef Creatures, it covers all common species of the area.
The Flower Garden Reefs are seamounts very far offshore, many many miles from any land. They are deep, with the shallowest points about 90 feet down. They are not part of the Florida or Texan biosystems, though they are closer to Texas. They are actually isolated submerged mountain tops far out in the Gulf of Mexico, and sea creatures are mostly carried there on Gulf currents. They are within US territory, and are a federally protected marine park.
That shrimp is beautiful. I love the solid red tails the Caribbean variety have, compared to the Pacific specimens seen in pet shops.
That shrimp is beautiful. I love the solid red tails the Caribbean variety have, compared to the Pacific specimens seen in pet shops.
philter4
New member
They are actually a different species, Lysmata garbhami, VS L amboensis. Check the spelling, but they are very different with reguard to care. The atlantic cleaners can't be kept in groups like the pacific ones, they will form very strong pr bond and kill off all the other ones in the same tank. I have tried in tanks as big as 125gal and ended up with just 1 big pr. If you find one you can add another later, but once a pr is formed they are very aggressive to other striped cleaners. I keep mine with several other species of shrimp, they get along fine, just not with other striped cleaners. Other care is the same, they eat anything, they are hermaphorodites that trade eggs, so both carry eggs at the same time.
As far as Flower Gardens is concerned, I know where it is and would love to dive it at some point, most of my fish and inverts are from deep water, usually my dives are between 130 to 150 ft, I love the deep water angels and basslets, but the Flower Gardens is also a popular site here off the coast of FL so my point to Signal_4 was that if he saw a collection listed as Flower Gardens that may not be the Marine Park in the gulf, but a dive site where they are collected regularly here in south FL.
As far as Flower Gardens is concerned, I know where it is and would love to dive it at some point, most of my fish and inverts are from deep water, usually my dives are between 130 to 150 ft, I love the deep water angels and basslets, but the Flower Gardens is also a popular site here off the coast of FL so my point to Signal_4 was that if he saw a collection listed as Flower Gardens that may not be the Marine Park in the gulf, but a dive site where they are collected regularly here in south FL.
Thanks Phil., for the information about the shrimp. They apparently behave like Banded Coral Shrimp( Stenopis hispidus?) in their pair bond and no one else welcome. I did not know this. I came upon a cluster of White Banded last year while snorkeling in the Caribbean, and would have collected them except for the pair of Coral Banded I have, that tolerate no other shrimp.
Hi.. I saw them on a list of species that have been documented at the Flower Gardens by researchers..... ya it would be highly illegal to collect anything there..... still waiting for the wind, waves, and clarity to be in check to dive the jetties or rigs here. i have dove about 50 ft down off the jetties before it turns to empty space.....
who knows .... im sure it would be a rare example if I saw one.... but wouldnt it sure be nice !!!!!
who knows .... im sure it would be a rare example if I saw one.... but wouldnt it sure be nice !!!!!
