Fire shrimp or skunk cleaner?

[Angela Short]

My freind with the 29 is wanting a shrimp and likes the fire a little better than the skunk but didn't want it if it hid all the time. Do the fire shrimp hide all the time, I can't remember ever seeing anyones... Could she have both in a 29?

Also she has 2 clowns, ordering a purple firefish and a chalk basslet. Is 4 fish her max you all think? Would a royal gramma in the future be OK?

 

[KAiNE]

Mine hides all the time. For the first 3 months or so I was lucky that he hid on the right side near the glass. He moved and i rarely see him now. The cleaners on the other hand are always out. I have heard of other peoples fire shrimps being out more than mine is.

On another note - my fire seems to "clean" fish way more than my cleaners do.

 

[mamagoose45]

No real advice on the fire shrimp - we were hesitant to try one since they are so pricey, but we did, and he died within a few hours. So I say boo to the fire shrimp, but that's just me.

But on the cleaners, we have two, and they are out ALL the time. I think they are very cool shrimp. One thing that is super fun about them is that they'll "clean" you if you stick your hand in the tank. It's kind of cool, and I imagine if your neighbor has kids that they would think it's the coolest thing ever!

 

[pitbullpooch]

I think she would be fine with the gramma added later on. they like to hide alot in there cave anyways so they dont take up much room. ive seen alot of people with more fish then that in a 29 with no problems. ive had 5 smaller fish in a 10 gallon before and it ran fine. i probably could have added a few more but it would have been to cramped but as far as the biolaod was it would have been ok also it was skimmerless.

 

[Angela Short]

OK Thanks for the info! I was thinking they hid more than skunks! Yea, its neat to get cleaned by a shrimp! Sorry yours didn't make it Mamma!

 

[pitbullpooch]

my peppermint shrimp climbs my hands but im sure its to see if he can eat me rather then clean me lol

 

[coral_reefer_25]

In my 29, I have 3 clownfish (one which is pushing 1" long), a bicolor blenny, and two green chromis....and a peppermint shrimp when I seldomly see him.....everybody is happy.

 

[kev-dog1]

I've had several different types of shrimp over the years. My personal favorite is the Coral Banded Shrimp - no fear, always out to be seen. Skunk Cleaner shrimp are like that too.
I got a Fire Shrimp about 6 weeks ago to replace one that died. He immediately went into hiding, but I found his hiding spot. Then a couple of days later he was nowhere to be found. Shrimps are sometimes hard to acclimate so I thought he'd passed on too. Until earlier this week I spotted a molt. And sure enough, close to the molt I spotted his white antennae, way down deep in the rocks...hooray! he's not gone, just SUPER RECLUSIVE.
It's a shame too, 'cause they are strikingly beautiful.

If you want something to look at...I'd go with the Cleaner or a CBS.

 

[gsusfreak]

like everyone said....the cleaner shrimp is just as cool.....but the fire shrimp looks fantastic!...i love the bright red....i dont have one because i took the advice from others to try a cheap shrimp fish...because a few people has had theirs fire shrimp die within a matter of days of purchasing them

 

[Angela Short]

yea $25 on sale is not cheap! Speaking of finding a molt, I found a NICE LITTLE POINty tip crab molt the other night on some new rock from the critter Great life on it and some not so neat life hiding in it. I think it had a cucumber on it also best I could ID it. This was one of the bad hitchicker crabs with very sharp, tiny, black tipped, pointy claws. Is that enouph adjetives!? Hmm, hope he doesn't cause to much trouble.

Also I have a CBS who I never see but about every 3 weeks if I am lucky! Weirdest one I have ever saw, very uncharacteristic of them. My 2 skunk cleaners stay hid all day also and I have never seen the 8 peps I dropped in from the last reeftopia order. The aptasia are slowley disapearing so I know they are still living. For some reason my shrimp are all reclusive in the big tank. Maybe they are afraid of the big fish getting them!

Thanks for the info everyone!

 

[pitbullpooch]

my peps have always hid unless my fish stock was low and as of now i have just the one clown that dont bother it so its out some here and there but when i put my hand in the tank hes all over it. when i first added it i never seen it untill lights out and thats when he went to work on the aips but i had more fish then. so i think in your tank with your fish they probably hide in fear of being a quick snack.