cleaner shrimp or fire shrimp

[hazkha]

may i noe.......erm........does cleaner shrimp or fire shrimp does a better work maintaining the tank?coz im not sure.........

[xiggie]

what do u mean by maintaining the tank?

[Weapon_Master]

Do you mean cleaning the tank of left over food etc? I think both plays similar role as scavengers.

Cleaner shrimp however is known to help in controlling white spots and cleaning fishes as well.

So plan wisely.

[hazkha]

maintaning........as in cleaning the fishes all that stuff....what the shrimps always do......which 1 is better?

[Octopuffy]

just get 3 each. Both are lovely additions to your tank.

I have 3 of each species in my 2 ft tank.

Just take good care of your water parameters and they will survive very well.

[hazkha]

okay.......so the fire shrimp is also like the doctor huh?eating parasite of fishes body all that?

[Weapon_Master]

It is the cleaner shrimp that does the cleaning on the fishes bodies.

[hazkha]

then what about the fire shrimp?for the cleaner shrimp their speciality is cleaning on the fishes body....so what about the fire shrimp what is there speciality?i couldnt find any cleaner shrimp.....and i found fire shrimp at tis LFS near my house.....so im quite blur.....

[Weapon_Master]

Fire Shrimp from what I know are simply scavengers that cleans your sand bed for left over food. This is similar to what the cleaner shrimp does.

Both shrimps helps to reduce the amount of left over food and therefore helps to improve water condition.

Both shrimps are peaceful and can live in harmony. There wouldnt be any issues keeping them together in the same tank.

What I know is that cleaner shrimps are in demand now and therefore selling very fast now. The new stock that arrives in LFS clears in about a day or 2 so you gotta be fast. They are common LS that LFS brings in so you will be able to get them sooner or later.

[terryansimon]

my fireshrimps clean the fishes as well.

according to my not-very-long-experience, fireshrimps do clean. a bit of cleaning is done by them.

and cleanershrimps can control whitespots? I didn't know that. hmm. are you sure?

[Weapon_Master]

Not too sure if Cleaner shrimp really helps to control white spots in that sense. Read it from http://www.liveaquaria.com that cleaner shrimps helps control them

[terryansimon]

It feeds on ectoparasites or dead tissue that it picks from the body and ###### cavities/gills of these fish (e.g.; Tangs or Groupers) in the wild or in the aquarium. This also helps to protect the fish from contracting diseases and infections.

urh. where got? unless I'm blind.

[fnscasey]

Cleaner, fire shrimp or any other also clean the parasite off the fishes.

However, most fire shrimp tend to hide compare to skunk unless you keep the fire shrimp in a group of more than 2.

[timzhiquan]

my fire shrimp is rarely seen in the open... only sticks out its feelers. i'd choose the skunk cleaner over it.

[Weapon_Master]

Just need to navigate a bit within this site and you will find it. Anyhow the information is below

Quoted from http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Di...d=23&pCatId=696

The Scarlet Skunk Cleaner Shrimp is also known as the Indo-Pacific White-Banded Cleaner Shrimp, Indo-Pacific White-Striped Cleaner Shrimp, and Scarlet Cleaner Shrimp. It may also be called the Red Skunk Cleaner Shrimp because of the very distinct two bright red stripes surrounding one white stripe running down its back. There are two species usually referred to as striped cleaner shrimp, the L. amboinensis with white spots at the end of the tail and, from the Atlantic, the L. grabhami that has no spots. The L. amboinensis is one of the most popular shrimp for the home aquarium.

Often found in groups, this Cleaner Shrimp will set up a cleaning station on coral reefs or rubble, waiting for fish to come and be cleaned. It feeds on ectoparasites or dead tissue that it picks from the body and ###### cavities/gills of these fish (e.g.; Tangs or Groupers) in the wild or in the aquarium. This also helps to protect the fish from contracting diseases and infections. Many fish value its services so highly that they will allow it to clean the inside of their mouths, and not harm it. Some fish, though, such as Hawkfish, Lionfish, and some predatory shrimp and crabs may eat the Scarlet Skunk Cleaner Shrimp. It will not tolerate copper or high levels of nitrates in the aquarium, but will require correct levels of iodine in the water to promote proper molting.

In the aquarium, the diet can include freeze dried, frozen, and dry foods.

[terryansimon]

yes I know. I extracted it from there.

but in no way does it states it helps get rid of whitespots.

so care to tell where did you derieve the fact that cleanershrimps can help clear whitespots?

[hammerhd]

A bit off topic here, if u r looking for cleaner shrimp i saw a lot-like 3 full tanks- at par**** Ree*

[kschew1498]

IMO for cleaning uneaten food and sand bed, I prefer Camel, boxer and marble shrimp....and for cleaning parasite for fishes, I go for scarlet skunk!

I have a camel, Scarlet Skunk Cleaner, boxer and a marble shrimp.

My scarlet will always stays at one place and treat it as if a cleaning station and both the camel and marble will roam about... BUT it get excited when I am feeding my fishes and will swim everywhere to snatch for food!! Even seen it trying to snatch a piece of dry shrimp for my tube anemone!!

Used to have fire shrimp but when I introduce the marble shrimp....it disappear...MIA and I presume its dead!! very sad....10 bucks manz!!! I notice fire shrimp tends to be more shy and it always hide behind my LR.

These are basically my observation i wish to share....but I believe every individual has its own attitude! just like human beings!!!

[maKo]

....Some fish, though, such as Hawkfish, Lionfish, and some predatory shrimp and crabs may eat the Scarlet Skunk Cleaner Shrimp...

I have a longnose hawk. Will it attack the skunk cleaner or are they refering to other types of hawkfishes?

My previous skunk cleaner (now deceased) indeed set up a cleaning station for the fish. I don't see my fire shrimp doing it, neither is my boxer. The boxer actually tries to attack any passing fish..