cleaner shrimp questions

[cap'n pete]

Just purchased a cleaner shrimp. tried handing the bag to my wife in the car and dropped him! I think I broke a front claw although he seems to be alright for now.
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How long was it before anyone noticed a new cleaner setting up shop and goin' to town? Also do they usually stay in the same spot once they pick one or do they move around?

 

[nicenakago]

Mine goes all over the tank in search for flake food but rests at night in the same place.

 

[teatime]

Mines very active and has molted 3 times in 3 weeks.

 

[rick58]

When I first got mine he hid for a day in a cave. After that he was everywhere.

 

[birdy]

Mine has one spot he hangs out in, but travels around when he is looking for food. Right now he is chasing my new clownfish around trying to clean him, but my clownfish is scared to death of him .

 

[fshhub]

if he is an only shrimp, it may take a little bit, before he does a lot, they do much better in pairs, and even if he is not alone, it will still probably take a day or two

 

[boogerbooger]

on the contrary, once i got my cleaner shrimp he was very active and trying to clean my hand everytime its in the aquarium..he/she never stops moving.. day and night..
when i went to buy it.. i looked at all the cleaner shrimp and picked the one that was trying to clean a clownfish in the aquarium the most and im happy with my choice..

 

[fshhub]

as i said, it MAY, which is often the case, and
they do MUCH better in pairs

 

[cap'n pete]

AAArgh! No fighting on my posts or I'll make ye walk the plank!

 

[finland]

When I got mine, I thought he may have gone off and died. I didn't see him for 2 days, then on the 3rd I saw him after lights out. He stayed mostly nocturnal the 1st week, now he doesn't sleep.lol. He is always trying to clean the tangs whenever they get close to him.

 

[wisconsin reef]

I have three of them in a 125 gal. reef and they are all over my tank but they all have there own spots in the tank
my tank
<a href="http://www.spotlife.com/users2/wisconsinreef/" target="_blank">http://www.spotlife.com/users2/wisconsinreef/</a>

 

[boogerbooger]

i explained the positive side of the MAY..

 

[katherine]

I've had two, but one got eaten by my porc. puffer right after he molted. The other one goes all over the tank, inside every crack he can get into. My yellow tang and my trunk cubicus love to get his attention. It's fun to watch him get on the tang to clean him and swim around with him. He also loves to climb on my hand when I put it in the tank. I've noticed he has molted just about once a month, but this can vary.

 

[wrassecal]

Two things about your new cleaner shrimp hiding IMO/E.
First if you did injure it, it will probably molt and they hide for a few days when they do that. Also, just putting one in a new system, they will sometimes molt and hide a few days. I'd look for a molt within the next few days or so
Second they usually find a good "station" like hanging upside down in a fish swim through area and hang around there. they don't necessarily hang out in the same spot all the time. I agree that if you have only one it "MAY" be more shy. I have 2 and a fire shrimp and they are all over the place unless one just molted, then it's hiding out for a while. HTH

 

[yammer]

I've had one cleaner for about 4 months and just added a second about a week ago. Both shrimps are active, and the first is even more than usual now that he has a partner. They are great additions to a reef. I too have had my fingers nibbled at when I am in the tank - kinda cool. They go through phases where they'll hang out under a rock edge for a while but they always come out in the morning (feeding time) and in the evening to forage through the tank. They also get along with a lone pepermint shrimp that I also have in the tank.

 

[byrself]

i just got two, and a peppermint. they all stay hidden most of the time, but do come out whenever food hits the water. i think they stay hidden in my tank because of the current. they are small shrimp. i've never seen them clean fish, but they aren't scared of my hand one bit. jme hth

 

[pyro383]

Can a cleaner get along with 2 peppermint & a boxfish?

 

[mlm]

I had a cleaner and 4 peppermint shrimp and they were fine although they did not hang out with each other. I don't know about the boxfish. It may try to eat them.

 

[jason weber]

I had two cleaners and four pepermint in a 75 and they did fine, but when i had to move them to a smaller tank for a few days the cleaners killed one of the pepermints. now that they are back in the big tank they don't bother each other