red fire shrimp

Hey all, does anyone have any tips for keeping these little critters alive?
I work in a LFS and so far we've lost 4 for 4 :/ I'm having a hard time
keeping half-black angels alive too, but everything else is ok. Any ideas?

thanks, J

Are you target feeding the shrimp?

"Slim Shaggy" <> wrote in message
news:...
> Hey all, does anyone have any tips for keeping these little critters
alive?
> I work in a LFS and so far we've lost 4 for 4 :/ I'm having a hard time
> keeping half-black angels alive too, but everything else is ok. Any
ideas?
>
> thanks, J
>
>

"Slim Shaggy" <> writes:
> Hey all, does anyone have any tips for keeping these little critters alive?
> I work in a LFS and so far we've lost 4 for 4 :/ Any ideas?

Hmm. I've had one for about 10 months. It's probably tripled in size.
Molts about once a month.

Might need iodine supplements to allow it to molt, but that's a more long term
thing. They also need to eat, and can be hand-fed. However, I've got lots of
live rock & sand, and I suspect that mine hunts various pods for food (because
I rarely target feed it).

How quickly did you lose yours? What kind of tank did you keep it in?

-- Don
__________________________________________________ _____________________________
Don Geddis http://reef.geddis.org/
Just because swans mate for life, I don't think it's that big of a deal. First
of all, if you're a swan, you're probably not going to find a swan that looks
that much better than the one you've got, so why not mate for life?
-- Deep Thoughts, by Jack Handey

I'm no help - I had a pair that lasted over 6 months along with a pair of
skunk cleaners. They mysteriously disappeared within 3 days of one another
along with one of the skunks. about 3 weeks later we moved and the bodies
were found pulled into a hole in the live rock - predator likely but not
found. We moved, setup the new and put in a pair of fire shrim and a pair
of skunks -- the 2 fire shrimp died within a couple days in spite of very
carful acclimation, a one of the skunks died a day or two later --- but the
other skunk cleaner is happy and healthy and has been in the tank 10 weeks
now.... which led me to believe the shrimp were stressed from the LFS>




"Don Geddis" <> wrote in message
news:...
> "Slim Shaggy" <> writes:
> > Hey all, does anyone have any tips for keeping these little critters
alive?
> > I work in a LFS and so far we've lost 4 for 4 :/ Any ideas?
>
> Hmm. I've had one for about 10 months. It's probably tripled in size.
> Molts about once a month.
>
> Might need iodine supplements to allow it to molt, but that's a more long
term
> thing. They also need to eat, and can be hand-fed. However, I've got
lots of
> live rock & sand, and I suspect that mine hunts various pods for food
(because
> I rarely target feed it).
>
> How quickly did you lose yours? What kind of tank did you keep it in?
>
> -- Don
>
__________________________________________________ __________________________
___
> Don Geddis
http://reef.geddis.org/
> Just because swans mate for life, I don't think it's that big of a deal.
First
> of all, if you're a swan, you're probably not going to find a swan that
looks
> that much better than the one you've got, so why not mate for life?
> -- Deep Thoughts, by Jack Handey
>

Fire shrimp have very poor survivorship in the hobby. Most are DOA or close
to it at the LFS. A few very hardy ones survive. Buying them is like
throwing your money down the drain. It's a shame because they are so
beautiful. I would say they are the Goniopora of the crustacea (nice
rhyme!!).





"Michelle Leonard" <> wrote in message
news:V2Plb.21885$ ...
> I'm no help - I had a pair that lasted over 6 months along with a pair of
> skunk cleaners. They mysteriously disappeared within 3 days of one
another
> along with one of the skunks. about 3 weeks later we moved and the bodies
> were found pulled into a hole in the live rock - predator likely but not
> found. We moved, setup the new and put in a pair of fire shrim and a pair
> of skunks -- the 2 fire shrimp died within a couple days in spite of very
> carful acclimation, a one of the skunks died a day or two later --- but
the
> other skunk cleaner is happy and healthy and has been in the tank 10 weeks
> now.... which led me to believe the shrimp were stressed from the LFS>
>
>
>
>
> "Don Geddis" <> wrote in message
> news:...
> > "Slim Shaggy" <> writes:
> > > Hey all, does anyone have any tips for keeping these little critters
> alive?
> > > I work in a LFS and so far we've lost 4 for 4 :/ Any ideas?
> >
> > Hmm. I've had one for about 10 months. It's probably tripled in size.
> > Molts about once a month.
> >
> > Might need iodine supplements to allow it to molt, but that's a more
long
> term
> > thing. They also need to eat, and can be hand-fed. However, I've got
> lots of
> > live rock & sand, and I suspect that mine hunts various pods for food
> (because
> > I rarely target feed it).
> >
> > How quickly did you lose yours? What kind of tank did you keep it in?
> >
> > -- Don
> >
>
__________________________________________________ __________________________
> ___
> > Don Geddis
> http://reef.geddis.org/
> > Just because swans mate for life, I don't think it's that big of a deal.
> First
> > of all, if you're a swan, you're probably not going to find a swan that
> looks
> > that much better than the one you've got, so why not mate for life?
> > -- Deep Thoughts, by Jack Handey
> >
>
>

I guess I am lucky because I have ordered two of them at LiveAquaria.com
and both arived healthy and live in my small tank with no problems...
I have two of them since beginning of April 2003 together with two skunk
cleaners (Lysmata amboinensis) and two pepermint (Lysmata wurdermanni).
Looks like all 6 of them are perfectly fine in a small, 36" long tank.

I guess the way to success is to feed the tank correctly to avoid
aggressive predatory behavior. When I feed my shrimp, each one gets
a piece of clam, oyster of fish, also sometimes Hikari Marine Pellets
the ones for "larger fish" - they love to grab something bigger near
the mouth, hold it with smaller legs and chew on it for long time
protecting food from other shrimps. Feeding should be generous the way
each of them gets it's own food and to not be jealous and pick on others.
If you feed too much - no problem, that is the cleaning crew job to clean
the table after the messy dinner.

"BigBru" <> wrote in message news:rFQlb.14208$. com...
> Fire shrimp have very poor survivorship in the hobby. Most are DOA or close
> to it at the LFS. A few very hardy ones survive. Buying them is like
> throwing your money down the drain. It's a shame because they are so
> beautiful. I would say they are the Goniopora of the crustacea (nice
> rhyme!!).

"Slim Shaggy" <> wrote in message
news:...
> Hey all, does anyone have any tips for keeping these little critters
alive?
> I work in a LFS and so far we've lost 4 for 4 :/ I'm having a hard time
> keeping half-black angels alive too, but everything else is ok. Any
ideas?
>
> thanks, J
>
>

I've got two fire shrimp and they are happy. I bought them 4 months ago and
they have gone from 1" to 2" in size. On average, they molt once a week. I
don't target feed, they just get pieces of the frozen food I feed my fish
twice everyday. The ones I have a problem keeping around are peppermints. I
bought 4 at the same time I bought the Fire Shrimp, and only have two left.

As far as fish, I have 3 Chromis, a Flame Angel, a FoxFace, a Tomato Clown,
and a Lawnmower Blenny. My tank is a 130g(so it looks real empty right now
).

--
Harald