Red Caribbean Pistol Shrimp - Alpheus sp.

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The Red Caribbean Pistol Shrimp has a red body with white markings and purplish legs. Unlike most other pistol shrimp, these pistols don't form bonds with shrimpgobies. Instead, they form bonds with the Curlycue Anemone (Bartholomea annulata).

Pistol shrimp get their name from the loud popping sound they can make by quickly opening or closing their specially adapted claws. This is used as a defense mechanism to frighten off would-be predators and, unlike the Mantis Shrimp they are sometimes confused with, they are harmless to most tankmates.

Pistol shrimp are scavengers and carnivores. They can be target-fed with small meaty foods occasionally but they will also feed on leftover food in the aquarium. They can be kept with most fish that will not prey on them but should not be kept with small shrimp or lobsters.