Skunk Cleaner Shrimp - Lysmata amboinensis - Small/Medium

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Skunk Cleaner Shrimp (Lysmata ambionensis) are red and orange with long, white whiskers and a white stripe down the middle of the body. Its tail has a white spot on each section of the tail "fan", while an almost-identical Caribbean species (Lysmata grabhami) has a tail edged in white with no spots. They are active and interesting members of a reef community, especially in numbers, and are one of the most popular shrimp in the aquarium hobby.

"Cleaner" shrimp get their name from their habit of picking external parasites, dead scales and other irritants off of the surface of other fish. Some fish will actively seek out a cleaner shrimp to clean them while others can become irritates or stressed by the shrimp's "good intentions". Cleaner shrimp will also accept other foods like flakes, pellets, algae, and frozen meaty foods as well as whatever they scavenge from their tank (or tankmates).

Shrimp molt their hard outer skeleton to grow and it is not unusual to find an empty molt in an aquarium with shrimp. Shrimp also can molt under environmental stress such as water changes, rapid changes in conditions or during shipping. Always acclimate shrimp slowly to avoid sudden changes in their environment.

Crustaceans like shrimp need well-balanced minerals in their environment to form their shells, particularly iodine and calcium and low nitrate levels. Regular water changes with a quality salt mix are generally enough to replenish any minerals lost to normal environmental sources in the aquarium but supplements can be added to heavily stocked aquariums.