Lysmata debelius
| Common Names: | Blood Shrimp Blood-red Shrimp Fire Shrimp Scarlet Cleaner Shrimp |
| Salinity: | Marine |
| Distribution: | This species is from the Indo-Pacific region. It is found in somewhat deep waters in reef zones, where its dark red coloration helps it to stand out less. |
| Care: | Though somewhat hardy for a marine aquarium shrimp, the fire shrimp should nonetheless be treated with care. They do not tolerate copper, ammonia, nitrite, or elevated nitrate levels, and often do not survive sudden shifts in water parameters. For this reason, fire shrimp should be drip acclimated for over an hour when introduced to a new aquarium. Normal reef conditions (pH 8.3-8.4, s.g. 1.023-1.026) are fine for this species. The fire shimp is shy and nocturnal, and needs at least one shaded area where it can spend time until either night or food entices it out. It is recommended to keep this shrimp singly or in a single pair. The fire shrimp can be somewhat territorial and may chase off or possibly even kill conspecifics or other shrimp. Fish and other invertebrates are normally left alone. This species forms deep pair bonds, and the paired shrimp behave well towards each other. They may produce eggs, but the young shrimp are difficult to rear and usually perish. Fish that normally consume shrimp will eat this species with delight. Lionfish, hawkfish, triggerfish and other large crustacean-eaters should not be trusted with fire shrimp, or any other ornamental shrimp. |
| Feeding: | This species is not picky, and is happy to take most prepared sinking foods and a wide variety of frozen fare. Its normal feeding pattern is to wait in hiding until something edible is spotted, after which the shrimp darts out, grabs a morsel, and returns to cover. As one common name indicates, this shrimp is a facultative cleaner, and will groom fish for parasites and loose scales. The fire shrimp is not as earnest in this respect as other cleaner shrimp, and may flat-out ignore fish tankmates. The food gained from any cleaning activities should not be treated as the shrimp's main diet, only as a supplement. |
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| Potential Size: | Male: 6cm (2.4") Female: 6cm (2.4") |
| Comments: | Lysmata debelius is one of the most popular shrimp in the marine hobby because of its very striking coloration. This fact and the relative difficulty in collecting make this shrimp one of the more expensive species, as well. |
| Image Credit: | © FishProfiles.com |
| Submitted By: | sirbooks |
| Contributors: | sirbooks |
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