Tank mates for Coral Banded Shrimp

[bluesnbrews.com]

First post, please be kind And yes, I am a pseudo-reefer, this is my first SW tank.

 

So.... about a year & a half ago I saw my first CBS at the local fish store. It was love at first sight!... even though the sign on the front of the tank said "Killer Shrimp" -- LOL, at least they were being honest -- They were selling it as a complete setup: 3gal Eclipse with an inch & a half of common (freshwater type) gravel, a few pieces of live rock, 5 hermits, a small pink crab and a small black crab. I went home and thought about it for a week, did some research, then went back and bought it. I immediately removed the tacky plastic plants but other than that left the tank as it was. (No heater, by the way).

 

Now... I am sure this is breaking lots of rules, but the system seems to be doing okay. I do fairly regular water changes and top off when needed. "Whiskers" is fairly active, responsive, and sheds regularly. The crabs only lasted half a year or so (died from molting problems as far as I can tell, not shrimp victims). The hermits eventually dwindled down to 2 but those seem to get along fine with the shrimp, and have been living peacefully together for the last 6 months. They often crawl right between the shrimp's legs. I alternate flake & pellet with frozen brine shrimp once in a while. I have seen bristleworms, spirorbid worms, mysid shrimp, copepods, isopods, amphipods, some kind of really fine, long (almost invisible) worms waving from the LR, and even a peanut worm. A couple of itty bitty limpets showed up recently, and there are 2 tiny feather dusters (one white, one striped) that came in on the newest piece of liverock about 6 months ago. It's been fascinating!

 

But I would really like to add something new.

 

The LFS who sold me the system assured me "a brittlestar would be fine" (yup, they did!)... needless to say, that went back to the store armless after 3 days.

 

Any ideas other than small crabs?

Is there such a thing as a dwarf urchin?

 

How long do Coral Bandeds live, anyway?

[bluesnbrews.com]

For anyone following this topic who is interested.... after some research on the 'net I've learned that the CB shrimp has a typical lifespan "up to 4 years."

 

And I now have a new question: Is the proper name "Coral Banded Shrimp" or "Banded Coral Shrimp"? -- I am seeing it written both ways.

[OIIIIIO]

I have a CBS in my 20g now for about 2 months and it gets along fine with a cleaner, a bunch of zebra hermits, and two clowns. I don't think it would do very well in a smaller system though as he is very territorrial and won't let anyone near his cave. When he does leave his cave, he brings his territory with him. He needs a lot of "personal space" I guess. He'll be moving into a 40g when I'm done with that setup.

 

I've seen them get pretty big at the LFS but not sure of the age of them. They've had some that were about 4" from tail to nose.

 

They have a few alias for names and any of them are correct. Another name for them is Banded Boxing Shrimp.

[kismetsh]

Tank mate for a CBS? How about a turd, because the only tank they should be in is a septic tank.

 

Ok, so that's a little harsh. Can you tell they aren't my favorite? Good luck!

[bluesnbrews.com]

kismetsh, didn't your mother ever tell you, "If you don't have anything good to say, don't say anything at all"?

 

C'mon, everyone deserves to have someone who loves them. (Uh, okay -- except ticks & mosquitos.) But I digress....

 

For anyone who's interested.... I'm happy to report that as of 21 hours after introduction, "Spike" the baby pincushion urchin is doing well. Whiskers the shrimp leaves him (her?) alone. After some exploratory pinches, the 2 hermits also are now keeping their distance. Unfortunately, the coralline algae is not quite as thrilled with their new roommate.

 

The three tiny astrea snails that went in at the same time are doing okay too. (I'm hoping the hermits realize they can't fit in those shells and leave them alone.)

 

Here's a pic. (Water level is a little low because I haven't yet replaced what I used during acclimation.)