coral banded shrimp reef safe

[lnarobbins]

well here we go later on today i'm making the trip to the big city. I'm looking to get a coral banded shrimp and about 20lbs of live rock.
what do you all think about the shrimp. good choice or not I think that they look pretty cool and do they work as a scavenger and cleaner. when I go to town i'm also giving the LFS my big a$$ hermit crab he is over 3 in and is a monster
thanks for the advice
Alan

 

[nicenakago]

I prefer cleaner shrimp...
the CB's will be nice, but in my experience not as facinating...

 

[hondo]

I personally like the CBS but most people blame everything that dies in their tank on the CBS hunting it down and killing it. Never had either of my CBS take out anything. I would also say that cleaner shrimp are also a great choice as they come out in the open more often than a CBS. don't be surprised if the CBS hides under rock overhangs out of sight most of the time. What LFS are you going to?

 

[lnarobbins]

cleaner shrimp imo don't look as cool as the cbs im just not sure how the cbs acts
when I decide to get cleaners I might go with some cleaner gobies
thank you for your input
Alan

 

[lnarobbins]

hondo I'm going to upscales. I've heard of a place called "kens" or something like that over on division in Ptown do you know anything about the place?

 

[hondo]

no, but i'm somewhat new to Portland. I go to either Upscales or Waves. They are pretty close together so you may think about hitting them both. waves is in Lake Oswego on boones Ferry Rd. The only other place I go is in vancouver and is called Deep Sea Gallery. Make sure you only get one CBS unless you get a mated pair as they will kill each other. I agree with you that CBS looks better.

 

[lnarobbins]

thanx. it IS good to see someonelse on the board from Oregon. there are alot of folks on here from the east coast. I've never been to waves. When I go to town here in a couple of hours I might swing by.
good talking to you
Alan

 

[insguy]

I added a CBS about six months ago. I took it out within a month. It lunged at anything that came close. It also ripped the gill covering on my yellow tang. bye bye. CBS The cleaners are much more active and I find it facinating to see one riding on the side of a fish picking paracites and dead skin. Good luck!

 

[susiepan]

Alan,
IMO dont do it...I think they are nasty tempered little $hits..
I have gotten a few over the past two yrs..2 to be exact, and the first one went right back,, and the second one lasted about 2 weeks and then went back..He was picking on my soft corals,,, <img src="graemlins//yell.gif" border="0" alt="[yell]" />
Hope you got this before you go..and Im sure I'll here stuff about me bad-mouthing them, but honestly, I have had no luck with them..
~Susie

 

[lnarobbins]

sorry guys, I got the little bugger he is soooo cute I havent named him yet he is so small he is about 2in. I floated him for about 25 min then scooped and dumped. he went down to the bottom and found the cave I made, and went into it, hung upside down untill I fed just a few min ago, then he came out and munched on some frozen angle formula, then back to his cave. the cave is facing the front of the tank, so I can keep an eye on him. something so cute and little can't be bad <img src="graemlins//evilwhorn.gif" border="0" alt="[Evil Horn]" /> time will tell and I'll keep you posted
hopfuly you wont be saying
"I TOLD YOU SO"
Alan

 

[adrian]

I watched mine attack fish, they are cute and realtively safe when small, but once they reach adult size they will feed on fish, if they can catch them, small slow moving fish are prone targets. HTH

 

[bluemarlin]

Hmmm, this is interesting. I have had CBS for over ten years and I've never had a problem with them. Currently, I have two in my 180 tank and a skunk cleaner shrimp. No problems at all. In fact, the three will almost "hang out" together. The only time they separate is when their little feelers touch one another.
The skunk is by far more visible because it is always out and about but the CBS are cool because they hang out in the caves and come out everytime I feed them. Again, no aggression that I have seen.
I don't think that the CBS are the big scavengers that many claim they are. They will eat whatever they have to but it has been my experience that they prefer to eat the fish food , escpecially plankton. Its just me but I'll never be without at least one in the tank and the pair that I have now are cool because they hang out together.

 

[maryc137]

Have you tried Sea Horse Supply on Lombard in Portland? He has really good prices. Way better than Upscales or Waves. I also think that Deep Sea Gallery in Vancouver is the best, and I'm driving all the way from Keizer. My CBS is getting pretty big and I've never seen him bothering anything. My Arrow Crab is the favorite! Looks like a moonwalker.

 

[banshee]

My CBS is a little sh*t, also...I am thinking about trading him in. He lunges at everything that comes close to him.

 

[bammbamm74]

My CBS lunged at everything too so I put her in the 10 gallon with 3 blue chromis and 1 purple stripe psuedochromis. I went away this weekend, came home and found one blue chromis on it's last leg and the CBS had a bent antennae and one missing arm!!!! I bet they fought. Well, I had to flush the chromis <img src="graemlins//dead.gif" border="0" alt="[dead]" />
Anyway, I'm keeping it, they are cool looking and they do scavange the tank if you don't feed them too often. They'll eat the food the fish miss.

 

[saltyrich]

Anybody know anything about the blood red cleaner shrimp?

 

[reeferkeeper]

My cbs had been in my reef for 3 years and I havent ever had a problem. In fact, I see him more then I see my peppermints. I think they are the best looking shrimp. I will never go withouty one.

 

[banshee]

I had a blood/fire shrimp for about a year. He always was hiding in the rocks and would never come out unless it was feeding time. It is a cool looking shrimp.