Candy-Stripe Cleaner Shrimp
Will my candy stripe cleaner shrimp be able to handle lower SG, say 1.018?
<tolerable if acclimated to very slowly...no lower please>
Also - I have a purple tang that every now and again gets "cloudy" in the side fins, almost looks like ick, but I am not sure, I always thought ICK was more like a grain of salt? 
<correct... the turbidity could be mucous secreted from irritation by a parasite or other pest>
They'll be there one day, and gone the next.. just stress? 
<something more>
Tank "credentials" are all good, and I rarely see him get aggressive with other fish or vice versa... Thanks & have a happy Easter (if you celebrate!) ~bill
<yes... thank you kindly. A blessed day to you and yours as well. Anthony>

Thor amboinensis - requirements  - 04/27/06
Hi crew,
<Nick>
I have a 30g FOWLR tank that has been running for about 15 months. Livestock at the mo is:
2 x Amphiprion ocellaris (tank-bred)
1 x Gramma loreto
1 x Centropyge eibli (still only small but hates my Gramma so its going to a friends new 250g reef)
<Too crowded...>
When I remove the angel I'm not going to add any new fish as I'm aware I was pushing it livestock-wise. I'm currently thinking of inverts I could add to the tank, I need something that is relatively easy to keep and that preferably isn't a L. debelius or L. amboinensis as I've kept these in the past and fancy a change.
I was thinking of maybe a small group of Thor amboinensis but after reading conflicting reports on this species I'm not too sure of its requirements, does it require an anemone or host coral to survive or can it thrive without assuming there are no predators in the tank?
<... a risk in this size system... Best kept with host anemone...>
Do you think my tank could sustain 2-3 of these shrimps?
<Not likely, no>
Many thanks
Nick
<Bob Fenner>

About cleaner shrimp.
Hello Robert Fenner.
I am wondering if you have additional, in depth info on cleaner shrimps. (the skunk). I have read the ones at your site. Just want additional info. on cleaner shrimps.
<Put the family names in your search engines... read over the links (to TMC, the Breeder's Registry, Liquid Life... posted on the WWM links pages and bibliography/further reading sections... on Cleaners>
I have a 6-gallon w/ a sebae clown and 2 glass shrimps. Do you think the cleaner will be ok in such a small tank when it molts? Don't want things to harass it.
<Perhaps... if there is enough cover... not too much in the way of hungry predators... enough biomineral and alkalinity, food to help the specimen reform its exoskeleton...>
Should I add more rock work?
<If it "will fit", sure. Bob Fenner>

Pacific Cleaner Shrimp
Hi Bob,
I was wanting to get a cleaner shrimp but before I did I wanted to ask you a couple of questions before I do. So my first question is how should you acclimate the cleaner shrimp into my tank. For example how long, should lights be off,
<For the day, night that they're installed>
those kind of things. And secondly should the amount of salinity in my tank be the same as the store's tank from where I got it from, to avoid shock in the shrimp. Thanks
<Yes, important here... and then to be on guard to not change it too much too soon. I am in favor of a "drip" type of acclimation for these and most crustaceans, with the animals ultimately "poured" into the main system (not exposed to the air). Please see the "Acclimation" sections and FAQs and "Cleaner Shrimp" areas of our site: www.WetWebMedia.com for much more. No dips necessary or suggested. Bob Fenner>

Cleaner shrimp escapes powerhead intake!
Hi Bob & Crew,
<Hi! Ananda here this morning....>
I just found my cleaner shrimp (Lysmata amboinensis) stuck in the intake of a powerhead. I turned the pump off and the shrimp scuttled off under the rocks. He's come out since and looks OK, touch wood.
<Indeed. I've heard of creatures going through powerheads... not a pretty sight.>
My question is this : do you think the shrimp will be smart enough to avoid the powerhead in the future?
<Goodness, no...if it has happened once, it is likely to happen again, eventually.>
If not I'll try to place a foam baffle of something in front of the intakes.
<If you have a bio-ball, that would work and would not require cleaning as frequently as foam. Also check the pile-o-stuff that came with the powerhead -- the ones I have include a grid-like cover for the intake.>
Many thanks for your continuing efforts on Wet Web Media - it's a fantastic resource for learning and research.  John Kellett
<And many thanks to you for your kind words. --Ananda>

Better Contact a University
>Re: Lysmata amboinensis I need to find out what temperature ranges they can tolerate, and what diseases or parasites they are prone to or are know to be able to carry.
>>Alright, "tropical" temps are best, in Fahrenheit that's going to be in the 74F-84F degree range, comfortably.  Let me whip out my Palm with the new conversion calculator (freeware, thank you very MUCH!) to sort out this range in Celsius <tapping away on her Palm> and that would be from 23C - 28C.  Wow! I LOVE freeware!  
>I live in Hobart Tasmania Australia, which is an Island State having very strict import controls, and any information I can find about Lysmata amboinensis will further my chances of being allowed to import a few.
>>Aaahh.. well, unfortunately, there is indeed a real dearth of this information available to the hobbyist.  I would contact some universities, there's one in Arizona that's done quite a bit of research on a couple of different Lysmata spp.'s, but don't expect too fast a response.  
Try some of the contacts on this page, too (seems to me that aquaculture facilities would have a great deal of experience with such things, yeah?)
http://www.phone-soft.org/layout-3/cyber-world/make-frame.php3?framename=0876i.htm
http://www.ecotao.com/holism/agric/aqua.htm
http://cgi.botbot.com/dir/$/Business/Industries/AgricultureandForestry/Aquaculture/
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-05/rs/
Best of luck!  Marina
>Cheers, Simon