fab- I considered that the feeding might be kinda heavy, truth be told it's really not that often, but there is probably residual food in the tank - I'm going to back off and increase w/c's.

I'm also considering putting my AC70 on it - This way I can put some chaeto in it - The AC20's just barely big enough told hold the other media (purigen/carbon) - I will have to mod the intake though as it's too long and will go down into the sand.

Shortening the intake tube is pretty much the biggest mod you'll ever have to do. Some people also use an AC20 impeller in place of the AC70's to decrease the flow. Or they shave off the AC70 impeller. You could also leave it running full blast, as long as you have enough rocks to baffle the flow otherwise it will blow sand all over the place if it's hitting it directly.

thanks fab, So did you 1) change the impeller, 2) shave the stock impeller or 3) leave the stock impeller alone?
I did the rock deflector thing with an AC500 when it was on a 10g, so I know what you mean.

I don't to change the impeller cause I want to increase the flow from what I have (AC20+RedSea)

If you are indeed overfeeding, you will notice an increase in your tank nitrates (or worse).
If your diatom is growing in areas with little flow, then I would guess flow.
If it is growing only in areas with full bulb light, I would guess bulb.
I actually had a beam of sunlight growing algae in my tank. This light only hit my tank between 7 and 8 AM but it caused a diatom-like algae growth in that area.
I covered the window, cleaned the area, and it never returned.
However, my guess for diatom in a pico would be FLOW.

figured i'd post some proof of my membership

I believe this is my 2 males and 1 female giving my GSP a hard time


good closeup of 1


and the official non-sexy shrimp but zexy pistol-Berreta


I have 4 total, would have been 5 but 1 died in shipping, they've been in the tank for weeks now and pretty much own the place.

Well, I finally got my sexy shrimp tonight! The lfs only had two but he is going to order some more in. I am going to get three more. I did manage to get 1 female and 1 male though. My pictures arent very good and I wanted to get the lights out so they could kind of settle in but here are a couple shots I took before turning out the lights




The female seems to be hosting a feather duster. This thread has really grown since I started my tank. I started my tank about the time this thread started. Looks like I have some reading to do....

I left the stock impeller as is. You can also turn the intake tube to the right to decrease the flow in case it ends up being too much running full blast.

Bump for those looking for sexy shrimp info.

what do sexies eat again? thread too long to read it all.

Mine eat flake, but others eat pellets, mysis, and other bits of meaty foods.

Btw, the general info on sexies is on the first post.

Hello everyone,

I've been following this thread for a while, and I've decided that I will be getting 3 sexy shrimp to put in my brand new 3.5g tank. I was wondering if, I could eventually put in some pederson's anemone shrimp as well. Thanks

I feed mine sinking pellets. I try to give one to each of my 5 sexies.

As far as I know, pederson's are peaceful as well. Just think about the available real estate and make sure they don't seem too cramped together.

I saw my female today ripe with eggs! I see lots of tiny round particles in her underbelly. So should I expect to see baby sexies or will they eat their own young?

Unless you harvest the babies when they hatch, place them in a separate tank, and feed them bbs, they most likely won't survive. Mine has released eggs many times, without any fish present to eat the babies, and they all disappear before the sun comes up.
Congrats on the pregger shrimp though.

Yeah... no. That's way too much work. I'm just glad she's finally knocked up.

Pimps....

I've been trying to snap a photo of her but I can't seem to get close enough to catch a good one. She's always digging under her belly, shifting the eggs around. The eggs remind me of tobiko.

we have one sexy in our 14 gal, can we add another one safetly or will the first one be territorial?

They are not territorial and it is actually suggested that you keep them in groups... it makes them feels safer to be kept in greater numbers.

I currently have a 12g tank with a peppermint shrimp and pom-pom crab....been in the works for about 5-6 months.

-Will it be okay for me to purchase 1or 2 sexy shrimps?
-Will it get along with the other inhabits in my tank and clownfish I am hoping to purchase at the same time?

Thank You

Sexies do better in groups of 4+ but they will get along fine with your other inhabitants.

The sexies love my new Monti. cap.

+1


Very cool, glad the monti is doing well in your pico!

hey everyone! I am pleased to announce that I am the proud caretaker of a sexy!

I know they do better in groups of 4+ preferring odd numbers but my guy was kicked out of his group of 3.

My LFS owner said, and I saw, the other 2 shrimp avoiding this guy and bullying him so I figured I would just get him. He appears to be doing very well in my tank doing his sexy dance all by himself!

Welcome to the Sexy Club!
I noticed with my sexies (before the 3rd jumped) that one of them was an outsider also.

Sexies are so awesome. I too wish to join the club one day. I had a few questions.

1) I know they are better off in a small tank, but has anyone ever kept them in a 40 breeder. I would like to put a large group of like 5 or 7 in my 40 breeder.
2) Hermits dont tend to bully them do they?
3) Would emerald crabs bother them?

Thanks!

BTW, I had planned on trading in my puffer at the LFS before I got them.

I know a few people have kept sexies in larger tanks and it is absolutely possible to do so, but you may not see them too well since they are so small. I say go for it anyways, they are too neat!


Nope, I've watched my sexies fend off the hermits quite easily.


I doubt it, unless you have a very aggressive emerald.

HTH

it appears to me now that my lone sexy shrimp has found a place on the back of the rockwork where i think he can see his reflection and this is where hes staying... im afraid hes lonely and thinks his reflection is another shrimp... i guess it wasnt ok to get him by himself despite him being booted by his group...

oh well! 2 more sexies for me

Sucker!

?

oh, and one thing I haven't found while searching through this thread is how exactly do i feed them... just drop food in?

I feed them flake food, so in order to make sure they get some and it doesn't float away, I use a pair of mechanics forceps to present it to them. If you use sinking pellets, they should be able to find them without any problem. If you feed frozen, I would spot feed them with a turkey baster.

hmmm... mechanics forceps?

Yup, you can find them in just about any hardware store, like Harbor Freight. They are simply a pair of long forceps.

hi guys 'n gals

Sorry I haven't posted in a bit, been busy tryin' to get my 40B together. My sexies are still doing great. Reproducing regularly at about 2 week intervals. Still haven't taken the time to try and collect any larvae though.

Lalani, your tanks still amaze me as do your photos. I seem to have gotten the upper hand on the diatom problems I was having by adding flow and more frequent water changes.

Just to let any of you know that might be interested, Live Aquaria has sexies on sale right now for $6.99 (regularly $9.99) - I got a few locals to do a group by with me for other stuff and divided the shipping. I have 4 more shrimp coming to add to my existing 3 for ~$40.00 which is good considering the couple stores around here sell them for $20-30 each.

Yankee

I was wondering how you were doing! I still haven't had a chance to raise any sexies either. I started a new job, and mom has the tank lights set for 12pm-12am light period, so I'm in bed before the lights even go off, usually.

Yup, I saw the sale price for sexies at df&s... too bad I don't have anyone to split shipping costs with, or I would order three of them.

I expect to possibly see more sexy shrimp club members - I just looked at LiveAquaria's website and there are no more available, even at regular price! I'm assuming I'll get the 4 I ordered as I have not yet been advised of backorder.

Hey all, I ran across this thread and decided to go ahead and buy 1 or 3 sexies for my 10g. but i just read on another guy's thread that his sexy shrimp irritated his feather duster to death and i just recently purchased a duster myself. Do all sexy shrimp do this, I would really like to pick some up but not if it means potential death to things in my tank.

I have two medium size feather dusters and the sexies never even go near them... not sure what happened with that other guy's.

Thanks for your input Lalani, maybe I'll just pick up one first see how things work out.

Welcome to the Sexy Club!

I just got back after picking up my Live Aquaria order from my buddy's place. He was kinda enough to receive the shipment for our group buy.

I ordered 4 new sexies (to bring my total to 7). Unfortunately 1 of them didn't survive the shipping.

It appears that of the surviving 3, I have 1, possibly 2 more females and another male. One of them even molted during shipment. They're smaller than the existing ones so I hope they'll be okay in the same tank. Acclimating now.

Another cool thing happened today - I came home from work before going to p/u my order. During the typical few minutes I spend gazing into my tanks whenever I walk by, I noticed one of my sexies in the front of the tank mid-molt. I grabbed the camera and just that fast it was over. Got a couple of pics though, I'll post later.

YR

Welcome to the Sexy Club McLovin! That is one sexy shrimp!

A Simple Guide To Feeding Sexy Shrimps

Lately I've been coming across accounts from people of sexy shrimps eating their corals. It's a tragic case but I think it's also one that can easily be avoided. Sexy shrimps are opportunistic scavengers so you can probably get away with not feeding them in a fully stock tank with fish and/or corals that are fed on a regular basis. But in a small tank all to themselves and with corals that don't need to be fed regularly, spot feeding them is important in order to keep them happy and to prevent them from eating your corals. I thought I'd share my technique with people who are cautious about getting these little guys or current owners who may be having some trouble getting their shrimps to eat. I've even included photos to make this more fun.

Feeding them is surprisingly easy and requires very little time. I feed mine with shrimp pellets every other day.

I happen to use Omega One Shrimp Pellets (quite disturbing if you really think about it) and they absolutely love it. But really, any pellets will do.

You will need forceps to spot feed the shrimp. You can get Aquatic Forceps from Foster & Smith which also come in handy for aquascaping and for moving and poking at things in your tank.



Lalani also suggested mechanics forceps so I suppose those will work as well if you can find them.

Step 1: Find a good size pellet that's just the right portion for your shrimp. A pellet that's too big leaves a big mess and one that's too small may end up floating off and getting lost from their grip.




Step 2: Dip the pellet in the water and allow it to soak up a bit. It also helps to shake it off a little to get rid of air bubbles. This keeps the pellet from floating away.




Step 3: Spot feed. Sexy shrimps have a good sense of smell (or taste?) and will come running the moment they sense food. Notice the other shrimp running towards the front.



These guys are greedy eaters and don't like to share. This one has decided to snatch the pellet all to himself...



...so it's a good idea to make sure they each get their own.

As you can see, a well-fed sexy is a happy sexy. And one that's too busy munching on their own pellet instead of your corals.

nice write up and great pics, fab!

awesome! I was wondering this exactly earlier the other day... my question is, has anyone had any success feeding with cyclopeeze pellets?

Fantastic post, Aaron!! Mind if I add it to the first post?

Oh, and don't forget people, that the first post on this thread contains some basic information on keeping sexies!

I have a shrimp that looks just like the shrimp in this thread, but it's clear instead of red. I thought it was a sexy shrimp, but I don't see any others on here that look like it. Do I just have a different color sexy shrimp, or is it not a sexy shrimp at all?

Thanks! I'm just trying to help.

Kim, go ahead and add it to the first post. The more people know about it, the better.