Harlequin shrimp don't like each other

[0rangeFish]

I have a pair of harlequin shrimp that don't like each other. One is a male and the other is a female. They stay on opposite sides of the tank, steal each other's food, fight if one gets too close to the other. Has anyone else had this problem?

 

[Calappidae]

Chances are they're not a true pair, (male/female).

What are your methods for identifying them as a pair?

 

[0rangeFish]

The blue on the plates under their abdomin. One has blue the other is clear/white.

 

[0rangeFish]

And here's the guy.

 

[Calappidae]

You're right,


I think I can see the blue plates on the "guy" though. Actuallly something doesn't seem right about him.

He only has one pair of them though.. idk why that is. I'd take a second look after "he" molts incase he lost "his" pleopods or something and it's really female.

 

[0rangeFish]

I've always questioned his first pair having the blue, but he's multed many times since getting him and is much bigger now too. He's still a bit smaller than the female though, and the girl is definitely tougher than him. He mostly runs away from her. I've had them for a year now. Sometimes rarely they sit together. All yesterday the girl chased the guy around the tank but not in an aggressive way. she does it from time to time, I'm guessing looking for some loving. The guy is just annoyed by it more than anything. I just don't know.

 

[allendavant]

I had this same problem. I started out with a male and introduced a female a few months later. They fought and fought and fought. They fought so much that they beat each other up so much that I could see wounds on them. After a month they finally paired up and were inseparable. A few weeks later they both died. I'm not sure why, but I suspect that they died from the injuries sustained in the fighting. If I ever decide to keep them again, I will buy them as a pair. I hope it works out for you.