Sexy Shrimp

sistrmary

sistrmary

Member
Okay, so I cruised my LFS today, just to check out the scene (although my tanks are nearly as full as I should have them, I occasionally look around for something that I could "make" some room for right? I *know* I'm not the only one that does this!)
Anyways, nothing interesting...a half-dead arc-eyed hawkfish and a chuckle at the label on one tank "Regular Damsels 5.99" thinking to myself, of course "But no! I want IRREGULAR DAMSELS! The *really* freakish ones!"
Then I look to the tank below the "regular" damsels and I see these two little tiny spots of color in a tank divider cup. Cute little things, but would be immediately gobbled up in any of my tanks...but I'm curious about them...so I come home, and look online to read about them. I hit a big fat brick wall. Lots of pictures, jack in the way of information. I did, however, stumble across a spandex moose webpage. At that point, I decided to come and ask here what anyone knows about them. So, anyone know anything about them aside from what they look like? If I set up my 10gal for a sexy shrimp tank instead of a mantis shrimp tank...d'ya suppose they'd be okay?
 
surfnturf

surfnturf

Member
Hey, you got a link for the spandex moose page, ya know, fer later? LOL:D Dunno 'bout sexy shrimp, but I love meeses to pieces ( couldn't resist, way too much residual adolescence, sorry).
 
sistrmary

sistrmary

Member
I'm not your ---- supplier! (Actually, I really did have to check it out and it turned out to be something totally stupid. A bunch of teenagers doing impressions of some stupid idol of theirs. Had one pictgure of BullWinkle on the whole page. Kids these days. :D )
 
sistrmary

sistrmary

Member
No, that's what I thought at first too, but then I looked closer at them and I'm almost positive that they really are sexy shrimp. (at least, the pictures I've found online point to them being so) They look a lot like the herlequins, but they're brown.
 
sistrmary

sistrmary

Member
Shrimpophile!!!! Actually, that leads to another strange website I found while looking for information about this damned shrimp. It was called "Prawnography" *snickers* When I first decided to do the search, I figured it wouldn't be long before I gave up. I figured I'd get 5,000 midget ---- site hits or something.
 
sistrmary

sistrmary

Member
I'm guessing so. I'd read about them somewhere before, but I can't remember where. I never assumed that they were all that rare because I'd heard of them...but then I started looking aroudn online, and finding nothing but some pictures. Perhaps they're called something else? I *really* want to know if they're like cleaner shrimp breeding-wise. I'd really like to try my hand at spawning them. But I don't know what they eat or if they're hermaphrodites (did I spell that right?)
 
sistrmary

sistrmary

Member
Ohhh..they're anemone shrimp. A max length of 2cm. Also called the brokenback/squat/dancing anemone shrimp. Scientific name: Thor Amboinensis. Still can't find anything on what they eat/how they mate, etc.
 
fmarini

fmarini

Member
Hi:
sexy shrimp is usually the common name for periclemes sp. shrimp. They are usually associated w/ anemones, and are shrimp which means they eat whatever they can and will mate if you have a pair.
 
javajoe

javajoe

Member
sexy shrimp are not the same thing as anemone shrimp. I had some of these, my LFS store stocks them all the time, but my seahorse ate them. they are small, dont get any larger than an inch or so, and they are REALLY fast movers. they scavange mostly, but will eat live brine. they are reef safe, and a real fun addition to your tank. mine liked to hide alot, so dont expect to see them a whole lot.
 
jonthefb

jonthefb

Active Member
harlequin shirimp are not the same as sexy shrimp, nor are sexy shrimp the same as Periclemens shrimp. sexy/broken back shrimp's scientific name, as sistrmary pointed out is thor amboinensis. they live all over the world and only grow to about an inch in length. they feed on small organisms in the wild, and in the aquarium take a variety of suitable foods, such as brine shrimp, frozen and freeze dried plankton, as well as flake. this shrimp doe slive in association with anemones and corals normally in pairs, but also someitmes in small groups. it is a rarely imported shrimp, however my fs up here in CO gets them in very rarely. It is perfect for a reef tank as long as you dont have any big predators like wrasses, or hawkfish, etc, but would do great in a small ten gallon reef with a rock anemone, or variety of corals. the key thing to do when caring for these guys is to acclimate them very slowly. i have a pair in my twenty gallon tank with a perc clown and a scotts fairy wrasse, that do ifne, and wander from coral to coral, hosting in jsut about any of them, but they especially like my ricordea shrooms!
good luck
jon
 
tjkohler

tjkohler

Member
Jon,
Would the harliquen stay out in view? My sig has my 10 gallon itemized pretty well. I love the look of these guys but thought they were supposed to eat starfish so I've never got one. Would he, in your opinion, be happy in my 10 gallon? My 75 will be up and running by, or right after, Christmas. Thanks for your time.
 
jonthefb

jonthefb

Active Member
tj, harlequin shrimp, Hymenocera picta, are predatory on starfish, and this is what their diet relies on.. the sexy shrimp, Thor amboinensis, is a totally differnt genus, and is not predatory on starfish. if you got the harlequin shrimp you would also have to buy starfish, and cut them up to feed your shrimp. if you got the sexy/broken back shrimp, they would feed on just about anyhtign that your fish feed on and would be great fun to watch in a ten. the key point is that harlequin eat starfish and are different than the sexy which eat anyhting and are reef safe!
good luck
jon
 
tjkohler

tjkohler

Member
Dang, I wanted the Harliquin. I don't like the looks of the broken back/sexy in the above picture. I do like the looks of the Harliquin in the above picture though. I love shrimp because there's not much of a bioload coming from them and they move around alot. So I may change my mind, but the harliquin looks fantastic so I was hoping :).
 
jonthefb

jonthefb

Active Member
i imagine, if your willing to buy and cut of starfish to feed then the harlequins would stay out in sight, i think the sexy are cool. on thing that you cant see from the pics is that the part of their back that is broken wiggles around, so it looks like they are wavign their asses at you! it is so cool. i fell in love with these little guys when i saw them, and althought they are not as cool lookign as the harlequins, they make up for it in their personality and thier interactions with each other. and that waving butt thing is just the coolest!
]good luck
jon
 
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