Are Cleaner Shrimp worth it

buzz

buzz

Active Member
IMO, yes. My cleaner is not only amusing to watch, but cleans up the sand bed, and my fish. He tries to clean my hand too when I put it in the tank. I let it once, but he pinched a little too hard for my liking.
 
shanev

shanev

Member
They have loads of personality, great scavengers, not shy (you'll see them a lot) and they help prevent fish parasites like ich! IMO they are well worth it.
 
nm reef

nm reef

Active Member
I definitely think they are worth the cost...which around here isn't much at all!
They do a great job of cleaning parasites off my fish(Hippo tang/foxface lo/coral beauty/tomato clown)...they are active and always out and about...they are very low maintenance and provide diversity to my reef. Plus...my mated pair spawn on a regular basis...which provides a natural food source for the creatures in my reef.
Lots of positives and very few negatives....:cool:

nmreef@cox.net
 
smarls

smarls

Member
I have three of them in a 55...thats how much I like them.
Never shy, always running around (including running up your arm to clean you when your hand is in the tank), clean ALL my fish and my eel. Great scavengers, always pregnant...whats not to like!
Mated pair - it is my understanding that they are born hermaphrodites. When you keep them in a little group (2-3 is meant to be a good numebr) then they "develop" sexes. So basically, if you want a mated pair, just keep more than one of them, and they will figure it out themselves!
Stewart
 
bioreefer

bioreefer

Member
shrimps are one of my favorite inverts the cost sometimes hurts but I will keep buying them b/c they are great addition to a tank
 
searcher

searcher

Member
The one negative I can think of is, they are real aggressive feeders. They steal food from my fish and it's really hard to spot feed the corals. I spend a lot of time chasing the shrimp away when I'm feeding my corals.
 
nm reef

nm reef

Active Member
The mated pair question was answered...easy to mate these guys up...and the spawn provides excellent diversity to the natural food chain.
Mine also tend to steal food every chance they get...before I direct feed corals I always place some food near the shrimps hang out. That keeps them busy long enough for me to target feed the rest of the reef.:cool:
 
m.rogers

m.rogers

Active Member
they are great to have.
searcher i just give mine a chunk of what ever i am feeding and it stayes away and eates it food.
mike
 
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