Nano host for Emperor Shrimp?
- Thread starter jayelblock
- Start date
jayelblock
New member
Hey pj86,
the emperor shrimp is doing fantastic! He lives on a duncan coral which has a single stalk and 20 or so heads. The duncan is attached to a small rock which forms a flat base with an irregular surface. The emperor never leaves the stalk of the duncan. He just circles around and around all day. I do not believe he has touched the sand bed since I got him two months ago.
Every morning and evening I turn off the circulation and squirt a variety of foods at him with a turkey baster. He recognizes the baster as the source of his food, and starts vigorously waving his arms around. I must say that my shrimp is a terrible hunter. There can be food piled at the base of his coral, but he often doesn't recognize it, and waves his pincers right across it. You would think he was blind. However, if I lightly blow the food up at him, it will stimulate him to eat.
Right now, I feed him a large variety of foods. He gets frozen mysis, Hikari marine S pellets, frozen cyclops, shaved bits of raw shrimp and whatever meaty frozen food cubes I have on hand. Again, since this is normally an animal that hunts from the back of a cucumber, he will not leave the host animal to hunt, so you have to be certain that food comes to him. It is imperative that the host be a bit slimy, like a coral, cuke or nudibranch, so that the slime can trap small bits of food for the shrimp to eat.
I think he is the most fantastic thing ever, but I really like the smallest, most passive animals. I think a dedicated tank is almost a must. Mine is in a tank with 6 sexy shrimp, a read headed goby, a peppermint shrimp and a pom pom crab. The peppermint and pom pom crab are nocturnal, so they don't compete for food at all, and the sexy shrimp are easy to distract with a pile of food pellets. If your shrimp were to have to compete for food at all, he will starve. Also, I think I got very lucky in that mine is happy on his duncan, as finding a suitable host is a challenge.
What is the shrimp at your LFS living on?
the emperor shrimp is doing fantastic! He lives on a duncan coral which has a single stalk and 20 or so heads. The duncan is attached to a small rock which forms a flat base with an irregular surface. The emperor never leaves the stalk of the duncan. He just circles around and around all day. I do not believe he has touched the sand bed since I got him two months ago.
Every morning and evening I turn off the circulation and squirt a variety of foods at him with a turkey baster. He recognizes the baster as the source of his food, and starts vigorously waving his arms around. I must say that my shrimp is a terrible hunter. There can be food piled at the base of his coral, but he often doesn't recognize it, and waves his pincers right across it. You would think he was blind. However, if I lightly blow the food up at him, it will stimulate him to eat.
Right now, I feed him a large variety of foods. He gets frozen mysis, Hikari marine S pellets, frozen cyclops, shaved bits of raw shrimp and whatever meaty frozen food cubes I have on hand. Again, since this is normally an animal that hunts from the back of a cucumber, he will not leave the host animal to hunt, so you have to be certain that food comes to him. It is imperative that the host be a bit slimy, like a coral, cuke or nudibranch, so that the slime can trap small bits of food for the shrimp to eat.
I think he is the most fantastic thing ever, but I really like the smallest, most passive animals. I think a dedicated tank is almost a must. Mine is in a tank with 6 sexy shrimp, a read headed goby, a peppermint shrimp and a pom pom crab. The peppermint and pom pom crab are nocturnal, so they don't compete for food at all, and the sexy shrimp are easy to distract with a pile of food pellets. If your shrimp were to have to compete for food at all, he will starve. Also, I think I got very lucky in that mine is happy on his duncan, as finding a suitable host is a challenge.
What is the shrimp at your LFS living on?
The one at my LFS I have seen live on multiple hosts. For the first week it had no host. Second week it was on a sea hare, for a week or two. Then after the sea hare was sold, they put a lettuce nudi and both took off. Of course lettuce nudis are prone to die in captivity and this one was no exception. Now they have put a Linkia starfish, after I told them that CORAL magazine did a brief article and stated that Linkia's hosted them also. Every time it was on a host, it was super active, walking on the host waving its pinchers back and forth. When it didn't have a host it would choose a rock and remain there and occasionally wave its pinchers. Also they keep it in one of those small reptile containers so it didn't get lost in the huge aquarium. They have offered it to me for $30, which was originally priced at $65.
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jayelblock
New member
I think the fact that he's been alive for so long is a good sign. Also, $30 is a good price. I'm no expert--I've only had mine for 2 months--but as long as you have a small tank with passive roommates, I would try it. Although he required some focused attention at first, mine is a pretty easy keeper at this point.
jayelblock
New member
Oh good--I was wondering what you decided to do. Just stay with it and make sure you target feed him at least twice a day. Get some frozen raw shrimp and scrape off tiny pieces with a sharp blade. Mine goes crazy for that.
It's a bit hard to see in this pic, but in that depressions on the far left side of the base of the duncan, by the shrimp's outstretched pincer, is a small pile of Hikari S pellets. I try to pile some up for him to find throughout the day. I think the sexy shrimp get most of them, but if he gets two or three, that's probably enough to sustain him between target feedings. (Please ignore the cranky duncan. I had to irritate it so that it would pull in all the heads in order to see the base.)
It's a bit hard to see in this pic, but in that depressions on the far left side of the base of the duncan, by the shrimp's outstretched pincer, is a small pile of Hikari S pellets. I try to pile some up for him to find throughout the day. I think the sexy shrimp get most of them, but if he gets two or three, that's probably enough to sustain him between target feedings. (Please ignore the cranky duncan. I had to irritate it so that it would pull in all the heads in order to see the base.)
I feed it some mysis, and Hikari A pellets. It accepts both but really chowed down on the A pellet till it was almost completely gone. Also, this morning to my surprise it had molted.
I cant believe breeders havent tried to breed this species, it is a beautiful shrimp.
Video Emperor shrimp
I cant believe breeders havent tried to breed this species, it is a beautiful shrimp.
Video Emperor shrimp
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jayelblock
New member
Fantastic! I'll have to try the A pellets--so far I've only fed him the S. I love the look of your tank. Post a fts when you get a chance. I'd love to see the whole tank from the front.
As for why these aren't captive bred, this is only a guess, but many shrimp have long larval stages. Some spend 9 months as free-floating larvae before they "settle" and become shrimp. Perhaps this is one of those species. I'm certain someone on the board knows about this particular shrimp, since it is one of the heart-breakers of the aquarium trade...
As for why these aren't captive bred, this is only a guess, but many shrimp have long larval stages. Some spend 9 months as free-floating larvae before they "settle" and become shrimp. Perhaps this is one of those species. I'm certain someone on the board knows about this particular shrimp, since it is one of the heart-breakers of the aquarium trade...
Here is my thread in nano-reef.com. PJ86 3 gallon picotope
jayelblock
New member
Beautiful! A perfect tank and a perfect home. You should nominate yourself for nTOTM next go-round.
jayelblock
New member
So, this is a "no news is good news" report about my emperor shrimp--he is alive and doing well after three months. He now understands that when the turkey baster enters his domain, food will follow shortly, so he's a breeze to care for. Sticks his pincers right at the end of the tube and snatches up anything I give him.
I'd like to find another, but a) they are very hard to find and b) there's no guarantee I'll get a shrimp of the opposite sex and I don't know if same-sex emperor shrimp are territorial. If any shrimp experts could answer that question, it would help me decide whether to actively pursue finding another.
Even though every picture I take of him looks the same, here's one more...
I'd like to find another, but a) they are very hard to find and b) there's no guarantee I'll get a shrimp of the opposite sex and I don't know if same-sex emperor shrimp are territorial. If any shrimp experts could answer that question, it would help me decide whether to actively pursue finding another.
Even though every picture I take of him looks the same, here's one more...
jadette
Member
That's great that yours is doing so well. I picked one up a little more than a month ago for my NPS nano and it's doing great so far. Got a cucumber for him to host on, but he has instead made his home on a chili coral. Don't mind that, b/c that positions it right in the front of the tank. Easy for me to find it and feed.
Eats like a champ, but I literally have to hand feed it b/c it's either as blind as a bat, or as dumb as a doorknob.
Eats like a champ, but I literally have to hand feed it b/c it's either as blind as a bat, or as dumb as a doorknob.
