Care of Coral Banded Shrimp

[saltydog64]

A couple of ??? on the care and feeding of CB shrimp..

I have never had one before and just recently added one to my 70...it was put in there 12 days ago and just yesterday molted.....is this normal and good ? I feed it very small ( 1/4 size of a pea ) of scallop or fish twice per day and it seems to attack it and appears to be eating it...how often do we have to feed this guy?? also I recently put there 10 or 12 Pepperment shrimp and of course never see them during the day, but have seen a few @ a time with a flashlite and are they real nice and red and it appears they have grown since first putting them in a month ago...so the tank parms must pretty good.

How often does a CB molt ???? and when should we be concerned if not molting???:bounce2::bounce2:

Thanks to those help!!!!

Dick

[ackee]

Stenopus (CB shrimp) are fairly hardy animals, and like to search the substrate for small bits of food. They will eat larger pieces of food, like scallop, but this is not ideal. Good quality small pelletized food seems to be the favorite of my pair, which I've maintained in a fowlr aquarium for 5 years. I caught them as a tiny pair, which is the only way to keep more than one. Otherwise, they fight to the death. They pair up very early, barely post larval, and probably for life. They molt more often when small, due to more rapid growth. At full size,(about 100mm) as mine are, they molt 4 or 5 times each year. When one sheds the other one guards it, and brings it food. Speaking of food, they will eat brine shrimp, mysis shrimp, black worms, pellet food, and fragments of food that drift to the bottom as the fish eat their rations. Variety is important. They will generally start hunting food around dusk, even if the tank lights are on. They are basically nocturnal, and NEED a hiding place, like a cave or ledge. They like to walk upside down on their refuge 'ceiling'. Their long white antenna are used to fend off larger fish, and also to locate food and explore new hiding places. I've never seen them disturb a healthy fish of any size, but they will hunt down other smaller shrimp. Mine breed like clockwork, every two months, the female carrying a load of bright greenish eggs under her tail. The young are born at night, and are immediately eaten or swept up by the tanks overflow. I've never tried to raise the young. As adults, they do not like to be disturbed, and even careful netting will almost always result in the loss of a claw, which eventually grows back. I've read that some iodine is needed for molting, though I don't know if this is true. I add some around molting times, and make certain there is a good calcium level in the water. These are magnificent, fascinating creatures.

[saltydog64]

Stenopus (CB shrimp) are fairly hardy animals, and like to search the substrate for small bits of food. They will eat larger pieces of food, like scallop, but this is not ideal. Good quality small pelletized food seems to be the favorite of my pair, which I've maintained in a fowlr aquarium for 5 years. I caught them as a tiny pair, which is the only way to keep more than one. Otherwise, they fight to the death. They pair up very early, barely post larval, and probably for life. They molt more often when small, due to more rapid growth. At full size,(about 100mm) as mine are, they molt 4 or 5 times each year. When one sheds the other one guards it, and brings it food. Speaking of food, they will eat brine shrimp, mysis shrimp, black worms, pellet food, and fragments of food that drift to the bottom as the fish eat their rations. Variety is important. They will generally start hunting food around dusk, even if the tank lights are on. They are basically nocturnal, and NEED a hiding place, like a cave or ledge. They like to walk upside down on their refuge 'ceiling'. Their long white antenna are used to fend off larger fish, and also to locate food and explore new hiding places. I've never seen them disturb a healthy fish of any size, but they will hunt down other smaller shrimp. Mine breed like clockwork, every two months, the female carrying a load of bright greenish eggs under her tail. The young are born at night, and are immediately eaten or swept up by the tanks overflow. I've never tried to raise the young. As adults, they do not like to be disturbed, and even careful netting will almost always result in the loss of a claw, which eventually grows back. I've read that some iodine is needed for molting, though I don't know if this is true. I add some around molting times, and make certain there is a good calcium level in the water. These are magnificent, fascinating creatures.

Ack.....Very, very interestng and I just learned a ton....thanks.

Your CB sound fascinating and I think you're of the very few that have or are keeping more than one, other than a mated pair,which I guess your's are, good job.

Once again thanks abd have a safe and happy new year....

Dick

[SumBub]

They're beautiful shrimps to have and if you're able to obtain a pair, you can watch their interactions in the night hours of your tank. They're more like scavengers so it's not necessary to feed yours exclusively. They'll eat anything that's lands on the sand or live rock. I've had mine for a year now. They're massive and I'm very happy with mine. I hope you'll enjoy yours for years to come! :)

[saltydog64]

They're beautiful shrimps to have and if you're able to obtain a pair, you can watch their interactions in the night hours of your tank. They're more like scavengers so it's not necessary to feed yours exclusively. They'll eat anything that's lands on the sand or live rock. I've had mine for a year now. They're massive and I'm very happy with mine. I hope you'll enjoy yours for years to come! :)

SB.........

You're absolulty right they are beautiful and you are very lucky to have a mated pair. I also was wondering.......will a CB go after Pepp.Mint Shrimp??? I have no experenice here so if anyone has a thought please chime in :dance::dance:

Dick