Cleaner Shrimp picks at Anenome (1 Viewer)

[acharpenter]

After the lights go out - my cleaner shrimp sits on the rock next to my nem and "cleans" picks whatever off the nem's tenticles as it flows in the water.

Anyone else seen this? First for me - for the first week or so I thought for sure I would come home to the nem making a meal of the shrimp but so far so good.

Is this something I should be worried about?

 

[ironhedd]

I wouldn't worry about it... especially if the nem is healthy and doing OK. My cleaner cleans my fingernails and knuckles EVERY time I put my hands in the water! Opportunists!!!

 

[jlanger]

How's the anemone doing?
Any chance I could see a pic?

When I had cleaner shrimp they would pick at many of my LPS looking for food.
The shrimp never bothered the anemone, but I think that my clownfish pair had a thing-or-two to say about that.

 

[Gary]

My cleaner shrimp steals the food from my anemone. Now I give him a piece of shrimp before I feed the anemone.

 

[ArstenA]

When I was diving I saw the clear/blue cleaners living in nems. So I wouldn't be concerned.

 

[acharpenter]

Thanks all - I shan't worry about it then

My cleaner shrimp steals the food from my anemone. Now I give him a piece of shrimp before I feed the anemone.

Great idea - thanks!

How's the anemone doing?
Any chance I could see a pic?

LOVE these guys - my phone pics dont do them justice (colors washed out in pic). You can see the baby to the lower right of the mama

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[jlanger]

A baby!?
Congratulations!

 

[acharpenter]

A baby!?
Congratulations!

Yup - thanks - split Wednesday woohoo!!!!

 

[capman]

When I was diving I saw the clear/blue cleaners living in nems. So I wouldn't be concerned.

I suspect Angie's cleaner shrimp will be fine, though it should be said that those clear/blue cleaner shrimp that you saw (in the Caribbean or Florida perhaps?) are a different species that is known for its symbiotic (or, more specifically, commensal) relationship with anemones.

I'm guessing what you saw was probably the Pederson's cleaner shrimp, which is quite a different shrimp (in a different family even), not closely related to the Lysmata cleaning shrimp: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancylomenes_pedersoni

 

[infinityends]

I had a peppermint (for sure not camel) shrimp that attacked a couple of my soft corals.

In the end, making sure the shrimp were being fed enough and chasing it away from the coral with a stick for a few days resolved the issue and the shrimp was never a problem again.