Cleaner Shrimp in Pico

[fourtanks]

I have a 3g Pico with a small damsel in it. Would a very small cleaner shrimp ( 1/2" body) be too much for a pico? When he gets bigger I can move him to my 29g.

[.Newman.]

if you will move him later, he should be ok. generally just like blood fire and peppermints, these guys grow too big and become too big a bioload.

besides the damsel, what other inhabitants do you have in your pico?

[Mr. Microscope]

I normally wouldn't recommend it, but..

 

If it's really small and you've got the space to put him somewhere bigger, I say have fun. Just watch the tank carefully and make sure it works out okay.

[Akiowalt]

yes. you can introduce when they are small, keep it in mind, they grow up very fast and very big. By the time, not suitable for 3 gallons pico.

[jdl]

not generally recommended, however i have seen a cleaner shrimp successfully kept in a 2 gallon for a pretty long time. water changes would def have to become a priority and happen more often for the bioload.

[under the sea]

i have one in my 4 gallon. try to have a cave type area where the can hang upside down and there is enough room for their antenna.

[JamieSheffield]

What are better, smaller, shrimp to keep in a small-sized tank?

 

Jamie

[Micro-Reefs Aquariums]

What are better, smaller, shrimp to keep in a small-sized tank?

 

Jamie

 

Sexy, shrimp.... Pom Pom crab.... Pistol Shrimp....

[JBM]

What are better, smaller, shrimp to keep in a small-sized tank?

 

Jamie

 

Sexy shrimp & pistol shrimp, thats about all that is truely suitable for a pico. Anything beyond that will need to be transferred to a larger tank or sold back to the lfs. Im not a fan of housing something small & transferring it at a later date when it becomes to big.

[brandon429]

I also want to add that a small coral banded shrimp, the yellow variant specifically, will stay small Ive had one in my vase for 4 years now. the number one pics have been mentioned, sexy shrimp and pom pom crabs.

[.Newman.]

yellow coral banded souns like a good choice.

[brandon429]

it molts a few times a year but has remained the same size the whole time, can't really explain that. animals don't grow to the size of their container like the old adage says they grow to the potential of their genetics and are influenced not by tank size but by nutrition and water params all of which are in check. its fascinating to wonder why it has not grown any.

[.Newman.]

arent they supposed to stay around 1"+? yours is likely that size now right.

[brandon429]

if so I feel better about it

just assumed they'd at least get a little bigger full grown. mine is 1 in

never read up on them just remember seeing on the boards they stay smaller than blue or white variants, its true~

[.Newman.]

yes that's what i read/expected too. 1" isn't that bad. my biggest bumblebee shrimp was about that size lol.

[brandon429]

I'll add this, yellow banded shrimps are the most ravenous true detritivores Ive ever seen. nothing has 6+ arms that consistently pick the environment around them in pinpoint 1mm points constantly 24x7 for any bit of material, nonstop. at night they comb the whole reef and cover real territory, just one has a measurable benefit to lr cleanliness in a pico reef thats aged.

 

they are constantly, repeatedly dislodging detritus that would otherwise be plugging lr channels and either cast it out into the tank or ingest it, either way its reduced in size after an encounter with one the pincers of the stenopus

 

additionally, having the cb has shown more adaptivity in lps corals through fine details in polyp behavior. after years of association and nighttime pickings the blastomussa merletti corals do not close up when the shrimp walks over them, originally they would. that indicates quite an amazing nerve network somewhere in those corals even with unattached/individual polyp structures (each head independently learns the same energy conservation behavior at the same time, it uses less energy to stay open, they learn cb tactile sensation isn't a threat)

 

newman on your post below it very well could be a gold Ive never read up on em...

[.Newman.]

yellow coral banded shrimp (are you sure its not a gold coral banded?) sounds like a perfect small pico tank invert.