Fire Shrimp: Add Some Spice to Your Reef Aquarium

Lysmata debelius, better known as the fire or blood shrimp can be a beautiful addition to your reef aquarium. This gorgeous arthropod hails from and is indigenous to the Indo-Pacific. Often associated with the term "cleaner shrimp", the fire shrimp shares this beneficial title with that of the Skunk Cleaner (lysmata amboinensis) and the Peppermint (lysmata wurdemanni) shrimp. One of the most unique, enjoyable and amazing sites to witness is, the fire shrimp setting up shop in an aquarium in hopes of a passing fish entering its cleaning station to have the shrimp pick off parasites from its body. Small and large fish alike will gladly seek the beneficial cleaning stations provided by these arthropods. To actually see a large fish, like a grouper, that could swallow a fire shrimp in one gulp, readily open its mouth wide so that the fire shrimp can climb in the groupers mouth in search of a bite to eat without fear of being consumed by this giant fish is truly an amazing site to behold.

Fire shrimp tend to be a shy and timid fish, more so that their cousins the skunk and peppermint cleaners, so their ability to be seen out in the open is not going to be very often. They will continuously hide among the rock work and corals of your tank and come out for a meal or to set up their cleaning station only! This is one of the only negative downfalls regarding these fire shrimp. Their vibrant color really adds to the beauty of any reef aquarium and to not be able to see these beauties more is surely unfortunate, especially since these are one of the most expensive of all the cleaner shrimp in terms of price at roughly $35.00 each.

Lysmata debelius are a deep red color throughout their body except for around six white spots on the upper part of their carapace by their head, combined with white legs and antennae. It has been said that depending on the local of the fire shrimp, they may or may not sport these white spots. The size obtained by fire shrimp usually never exceeds 3-4 inches.

For the best overall success housing fire shrimp in a reef environment, more than one fire shrimp can be kept together. Moreover, other cleaner shrimp can also be maintained successfully with fire shrimp. Some aggression may or may not be witnessed with the addition of more than one cleaner shrimp in the same tank. If you want to try to reduce the chances of this aggressive behavior being experienced, a larger tank and adequate amount of hiding places will alleviate these percentages.

The maintenance of stable and ideal water parameters is very important and can make the difference between your shrimp living a few days or a few years in captivity. Fire shrimp are susceptible to nitrites and ammonia levels above 0 as well as spikes in pH, salinity and alkalinity especially. Careful frequent water testing combined with a weekly water change regimen will help to foster living conditions ideally suited for blood shrimp.

The fire shrimp is a omnivore and opportunistic feeder. They will pick on various pods and other living tidbits on or in your live rock. Blood shrimp will also feed on the parasites they pick off of the fish at their cleaning stations and will gladly accept the various food stuff offered by their owner. Mysis and brine shrimp, clam, squid, formula food, algae and worms are all beneficial foods eagerly accepted.

The lysmata debelius species is not as common as the skunk and peppermint shrimps and the price is often substantially higher than the others, however, these are truly a remarkable and beautiful fish, that deserve a place in any reef aquarium that doesn't have eels or certain species of Trigger fish. The price and greater effort used to seek out one of these fire shrimp should not hinder your attempts in selecting one of the gems for your aquarium.