Thalassinidean shrimp

[sbcaes]

any info on these buggers?

 

[charlesr1958]

From what little I know of their life history, they are very cryptic and are only ever found by me within the larger tunnels of live rock, and by found, I mean I have to break open the rock to actualy find one...lol They are what I would consider to be reef safe though as they are scavengers of detrital matter and any other food that happens their way.

Chuck

 

[sbcaes]

biggest question is if theyd eat say... pom poms. sexy shrimp or any other small fish.

 

[greenbean36191]

No, but these guys are notoriously hard to get established in captivity. Once they've been removed from their burrows, for some reason they usually don't build or seek out new ones in captivity. Since their burrows are important in their feeding, they don't usually last very long.

 

[sbcaes]

is there anywhere we can read about habits of these guys? saw one in a cup at the lfs for 2 months now.

 

[LeslieH]

http://www.int-res.com/articles/meps/79/m079p171.pdf

Depending on the species they feed in 1 of 3 ways: eating the sediment & digesting the associated organics & micro-organisms, filtering suspended particles from the water, or catching plants & storing them in the burrow until they decompose enough to eat. Some live in rock but more species live in burrows in sand & mud.