FlyGTI Posted June 20, 2003 Share Posted June 20, 2003 Well...listened to the support group (that's you guys...the enablers.:woot: ) for long enough, and heard enough cool stories about cleaner shrimp that I had to go and buy one for the 90. I guess I had a pretty good excuse, too, being that the tang in the 90 seems to be developing some serious parasites. It's my wife's favorite fish, and she'd be pretty devastated if it went to the big fishtank in the sky, being that the tank and inhabitants were an anniversary present. So I buy this thing, last one in the store, get a great deal on it ($21 is a steal for any town, but especially so in Des Moines), bring it home and acclimate it. The thing is in the tank for a grand total of about three minutes, and like clockwork, the yellow tang comes up to it, sits perfectly still, and this thing goes to town. No, the parasites aren't entirely gone, but they're damn close, and I'm utterly amazed at how this relationship works. Jdsabin, seabass, chufa, et. al...all you Des Moinesers, if you're up for a new cleaner, Iowa Pet should have them in stock, and they're selling them for $21. I don't even think that Janna could match that, and I know that Adam's won't even touch it. Hell, Petco doesn't even come within $4 when they have them. Anyway, for those of you who don't have cleaners, get 'em. They're so cool! Like Angel, I'm quickly becoming hooked on shrimp. I now have six in this tank (the 90...not the nano), and they're all getting along great! Later. Link to comment
jdsabin1 Posted June 20, 2003 Share Posted June 20, 2003 Damn good to know. I am scared to go into Iowa Pet and had just vetoed them for a while after a few things happened. 1) They were selling a hot pink leather that had obviously been dyed. Some poor, unsuspecting sucker bought it and they normally die within a few months. 2) Seabass bought some RO/DI water from them, put some in his topoff and you should have seen the floaties in it! Nice! The other problem I have with them is it seems like the joint is run by a bunch of kids that haven't heard let alone know how to spell 'customer service'. The last time my son and I went in there, nobody acknowledged that we had entered the store, we walked around in the fish area for 30 minutes and when we had walked out we had passed by 3 of the employees during our visit and not ONE time did they ask if we needed any help. Still, good to know about about the cleaner deal anyway and real good to hear your tang is looking better! Link to comment
FlyGTI Posted June 20, 2003 Author Share Posted June 20, 2003 I'll take my thoughts offline. Check your PM. Link to comment
Crakeur Posted June 20, 2003 Share Posted June 20, 2003 Fly, shrimp are one of the more interesting animals to toss in the tank. wait until the shrimp gets really comfortable with you cleaning the tank. then it will walk up your arm, looking for parasites. cool as hell. Link to comment
FlyGTI Posted June 20, 2003 Author Share Posted June 20, 2003 Chufa's did that when I was at his house delivering a frag of frogspawn. Pretty cool. Link to comment
pseudo Posted June 20, 2003 Share Posted June 20, 2003 That's so cool, Fly. I'm in that painful planning process to convert my 29g into a nano (from FOWLR) and I've just added the cleaner shrimp to my list. Thanks! Link to comment
yellowtang Posted June 22, 2003 Share Posted June 22, 2003 yea cleaner shrimp are really cool......here in davenport iowa you can get them for 13$ Link to comment
NJLuke Posted June 22, 2003 Share Posted June 22, 2003 Seen them as low as 7.99 here in Florida....sorry haha! -Luke Link to comment
yellowtang Posted June 22, 2003 Share Posted June 22, 2003 yea fly $13(not as good as 7.99 though: ) Link to comment
FlyGTI Posted June 23, 2003 Author Share Posted June 23, 2003 Oh well...some of you guys have all the luck. I'm still thinking that $21 wasn't all bad. I mean, for Des Moines? Come on. This is Iowa. Land of cornfields, Natural Light drinkers, and washed up pitchers who live behind the center field wall during baseball season (gotta love Rod Beck...glad he made it back to the majors). $21 isn't bad for a cool shrimp. Link to comment
TiGs Posted June 23, 2003 Share Posted June 23, 2003 If you were happy and satisfied at the time of purchase, that's all that should count or else you shouldn't have purchased it. Closer to the water you are the cheaper it seems to get. Link to comment
FlyGTI Posted June 23, 2003 Author Share Posted June 23, 2003 Yep. I'm stuck in the middle of the country. Prices are bound to be a little higher here. Link to comment
NJLuke Posted June 23, 2003 Share Posted June 23, 2003 No matter what the price those shrimpies kick a$$! -Luke Link to comment
onthefly Posted June 23, 2003 Share Posted June 23, 2003 Sorry for the hijack, I've been interested in getting a cleaner for a quite a while, but I have a Flamehawk (good size 3+") who dines on freeze dried shrimp. So like a bookie in Vegas......What's the "Line" on the survival odds of a cleaner in his tank? Link to comment
FlyGTI Posted June 23, 2003 Author Share Posted June 23, 2003 My guess is probably the lower end of 50/50. Being that he's that big, he'll pretty much push the shrimp around if he wants to. I'd be fairly cautious, given his size. How long has the flamehawk been in the tank? Link to comment
jjharrisx4 Posted June 23, 2003 Share Posted June 23, 2003 You could go cheap and try a peppermint or camel shrimp first...then if it lives...try a cleaner! Sadistic huh... Link to comment
Angel Posted June 24, 2003 Share Posted June 24, 2003 Fly, Gotta love those shrimp in the tanks they are just toooo cool. JJ, I wouldn't suggest trying a camel or peppermint to experiment with, as it will probably just get eaten. Onthefly, If you want to put shrimp in with that flamehawk, use feeder (ghost/amano shrimp). They won't last long, but you may get a glimpse of them before they become dinner. They are also much cheaper to experiment with also (avg .05-.50 each depending on area and availability). If you have another tank, the ghost shrimp breed easily and you could have a continuous supply of them. Angel Link to comment
jjharrisx4 Posted June 24, 2003 Share Posted June 24, 2003 I was kinda joking with the shrimp I mentioned, but they are kinda cheap in my area...I figured cheaper is better to experiment with. Of course your shrimp are cheaper... Link to comment
FlyGTI Posted June 24, 2003 Author Share Posted June 24, 2003 Dammit...now I've got a new problem. I added a bicolor blenny from a tank rescue, and now he seems to like picking at the cleaner's antennae. I will not have the blenny pick that shrimp to death. Anyone got any great ideas as to how to remove him? Quick as lightning, sleeps in the rock as far as I can gather (most other blennoid fish do), so a night capture is probably out. Won't eat from the water colum. Prefers to get it on its way down. Link to comment
Metznreef Posted June 24, 2003 Share Posted June 24, 2003 i dont think your "closer to the water, the cheaper things get" theory works, unless your only talking about distance from the pacific. here in Durham NC i gotta pay $25 for a cleaner shrimp. im like 3 hours from the beach! of course they dont come out of the atlantic, but 8 bucks in florida! pack your bags were movin! Link to comment
onthefly Posted June 24, 2003 Share Posted June 24, 2003 The hawk has been in the tank for almost 5 years. He's a bad-mo-fo and his only friend in the tank is my tiny perc (also been their for 5 yrs), when my clarkii or blenny get outta line, the the hawk swoops and and take care of the perc.....it is really cool to see! Although interested.....I'm still going to go "shrimpless"! I can just see me dropping a $12.00 lunch for my hawk. Thanks for the input! Link to comment
onthefly Posted June 24, 2003 Share Posted June 24, 2003 Hey Fly, For my tough to catch species, I put the net just over surface of the water for a few minutes, then add some food/flakes and when they come up, swoop down and get'em.......you miss....you gotta wait a day! Link to comment
FlyGTI Posted June 24, 2003 Author Share Posted June 24, 2003 Dammit...that's what I was afraid of. This blenny doesn't like to eat out of the water column either. I'll try again, though. Dammit. I love this fish, but he's gotta go. Won't have him chowing down on the shrimp. Link to comment
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