Live rock/coral banded shrimp I just got a shipment of 45 lbs live rock for my new 55 gallon tank from FFE. I am going to cure it in my tank. I am getting a filter from them: Euro-Fil 125 "Reef Ready" filtration system for reef aquariums up to 125 gallons. Includes AquaC EV90 Protein Skimmer with a Rio 1700, CPR CS90 Overflow Box, Drain Hose, Foam Block, and a 25 micron Pre-Filter Bag. My return pump will be a Rio 2100. What kind of time frame do you think it will it be cured by? <Please read over the LR sections on WetWebMedia.com here> In case there are any worms should I get any Flatworm Eating Varians Nudibranchs? If there are mantis shrimp, is there anything I can put in there to kill them like a Blue Spiny Lobster? Or is there another way than letting other animals eat them to get rid of these pests? I am hoping my rock does not have it bad. <See WWM> Pleasantly Surprised, I received a Coral Banded Shrimp with a ton of green eggs attached to her. Is there any real chance I can raise the offspring? <See the coverage on Stenopus hispidus on...> Should I buy one of those box things you hang in the tank from the top so I can separate the coral banded shrimp until she releases the eggs and then remove her and raise the babies in there instead of the main tank where some of my other shrimps may eat them? If they are pretty much only raiseable by people who are experts and devote their lives to breeding shrimps should I let the eggs hatch? I think it would provide a lot of nutrients to the water if they did hatch, but I would love to try and raise them. Please give me any advice you can. <Not easily raised... mainly due to a need to culture foods for larval stages... and eggs may not be fertile... no need to move, store the specimen elsewhere... Do read through the links, FAQs, onto the Breeder's Registry re this shrimps culture. Bob Fenner> Thanks for you time, Tim

Cleaner Shrimp Pregnant Bob, <You got Steven Pro this morning.> After struggling to keep my tank up and running and surviving an Ich infestation my tank is up and running great. I was determined to get it right after being discouraged after losing fish. Soon after I added a cleaner shrimp and then two weeks later I added a second. In the last month and a half and have seen remains of three molts. Now I just noticed that one of the shrimps has eggs in the swimmerets. (sp?) In search for a quick answer, what is the best way to approach this and try to save the eggs from getting eaten or the fry from being eaten once hatched? <In a separate, dedicated tank for raising the fry. I know we addressed this before. Take a look at these FAQ files http://www.wetwebmedia.com/shrimpfa.htm http://www.wetwebmedia.com/clnshrpf.htm http://www.wetwebmedia.com/clnshrmfaqii.htm> Thanks, Javier <You are welcome. -Steven Pro>

Coral banded shrimp, info, care and breeding. <Hi David, PF with you tonight> Hi all, hope all is well.  I am looking for info on coral banded shrimp, specifically about determining sexes, establishing pairs and any captive breeding successes.  Could you point me towards any such information?  As always, TEA for your help. <Size shows sex - bigger is female. Trying to acquire a non-mated pair and get them to pair up is a once in a blue moon event. Most likely, the larger one will hunt down and eat the smaller one. There are occasionally pairs offered. I once owned a pair of the gold coral banded (Stenopus scutellatus) from Flying Fish Express, unfortunately I had to move them to my main reef tank and they didn't make it. They bred regularly, but I never made the effort to try and raise the larvae. I would recommend go here http://www.breeders-registry.gen.ca.us and looking for information there. As well reading How to Raise and Train Your Peppermint Shrimp from www.lysmatapublishing.com/shrimp.htm as well as www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/ Arthropoda/shrimp/corlband.htm  and the associated FAQs and articles. Lots to read and learn, good luck! PF> David

Mated Pairs from online sources Howdy, Do any of you know any on-line retailers who sale mated pairs of vert's and inverts? Thanks, Steven <Likely Marine Center, Dr.s Foster & Smith and Marine Depot Live can select/get them for you. I would call them directly re the possibility. Bob Fenner>

Mated Pairs Howdy, <Hi there> Do any of you know any on-line retailers who sale mated pairs of vert's and inverts? Thanks, Steven <Most all of them do... principally clownfish species, some shrimps... If it's something "important" you can even put in requests... that reach all the way back to collectors, breeders.  Which part of the world are you in? For ease of matching close-by suppliers. And what sorts of organisms are you looking for? Bob Fenner>

Re: Mated Pairs wow, thanks for the fast reply Bob. I am located in the southeast, US. I was kind of interested in a mated pair of Coral Banded Shrimp (Stenopus Hispidus) and a mated pair of Fire Fish (Nemateleotris Magnifica). I would actually like more of the latter, say around 4 or 5 but it may not be a good idea. I would think a truly mated pair would be allot safer. I have a 100g by the way. Again, thanks for the quick reply. Steven <Don't know about the Dartfishes (the way they're collected I don't think the pairs are kept separate), but the CBS are do-able. Have your supplier/LFS contact Quality Marine or Sea Dwelling Creatures in Los Angeles. Bob Fenner>

Coral banded shrimp Birth 12/3/03 Hi just wanted to share these pics of my coral banded babies they look like specs this was a night shot when she had them there soo many that it would be neat if they would survive. I shut down all powerheads and filters for a little while maybe they'll get a chance and attach themselves to a rock and live to be as big as there parents. do you guys have any clue on what the babies eat or how long till there big enough for moving? thanks WWM crew <rearing Stenopus shrimp is well-documented albeit involved. Do consult the reports abroad on the internet at such places like the Breeders Registry. Content on rearing similar shrimps like Lysmata will help too (How to Train and Raise Peppermint Shrimp by April Kirkendall). Best of luck, Anthony>

Coral banded shrimp breeding tips 12/4/03 Hi I thought I'd share what my tank perimeters are to have the CBS breed and have fry. There isn't too much info out on breeding and raising the fry I hope this may help. Salinity is 1.023 water temp is always 83 (a little warmer than most tanks but I haven't had any problems). CBS like hide aways to make them feel safe so they need a lot of live rock for them to get "in the mood" to breed. Also I found feeding them a silver side every so often will make them breed and produce more eggs than when I only let them "scavenge" for left over. Of course the most important thing is to give them a lot of room and make sure you have a "pair", and don't make this mistake ,this lady made. " I just wanted to drop a line to you about your 5 gallon saltwater. I have almost the same setup going in my bathroom, plus one more blue damsel. It has been going pretty well. There was a set of coral banded shrimp in there that didn't make it though. I would like to keep in touch, and see how you progress and mine compare. I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one wanting to make such a small saltwater. My best local saltwater shop wasn't very sure that it was going to make it." Thanks WWM crew ,JM   <we appreciate your input. Best regards, Anthony>

Coral Banded Shrimp 6/21/04 G'DAY MATE I have a  pregnant coral banded shrimp, I can tell by the big blue lump under her. <The bearing of bright green eggs on the underside of females is a dead give-away. Otherwise mature females may be determined by a greenish/blue color in the ovaries through their translucent body wall.> She has a 400lt mini reef all to her self. I was told that she will need a male in the tank to make this a successful birth, due to the male looking after the new born, and to fertilize the eggs when they pop out. <As I understand it, it will be extremely difficult to put a male with a female.> TRUE OR FALSE Is the info I was given true or false. Have you got any info as I have searched the net. I have set the tank up already, so I don't lose the babe's down the filter. I would love to make this a success , any info would be great as I am doing this blind so to speak.<I would recommend going here http://www.breeders-registry.gen.ca.us and looking for information there. As well reading How to Raise and Train Your Peppermint Shrimp from www.lysmatapublishing.com/shrimp.htm. Good luck MacL> TA MATE CHRIS (from oz)

Shrimp Hatching (10/23/04) Hello! <Hi. Steve Allen today.> I have found out the gestation period for Coral Banded Shrimp is 6 weeks. I think. Anyways, I have noticed since yesterday the female is staying put on the back of my Pagoda Cup and the male will bring her food. How long do you think she has left? <Really no way to know.> We noticed the eggs about 3 weeks ago but we don't know how long there were actually eggs present. <Which is why we can't know how long is left.> Any help would be greatly appreciated. <What I can tell you is that it is extremely unlikely that you will succeed in raising any of these. Most will die or be eaten shortly after hatching. You might want to search the web for info on shrimp-breeding set-ups, but I've not found anything about successful raising beyond a fraction of an inch in size. I saw you left a thread on the chat forum. Perhaps that will yield something.> Thanks! <Sorry to be unable to be of more help.>

Coral Banded Shrimp Follow-Up Thanks for your prompt reply...<Surely! Ryan with you again> so far, so good with the shrimp. He's kind of shy and stays under a rock most of the day and comes out at night... I decided to try a couple of corals and bought what were termed to be "easy" corals for beginners by the LFS. I think one was called a star polyp--it's a cluster of orange circles with yellow "hairs", and the other was a Parazoanthus gracilis (I think--they called it yellow polyps). <Gotcha> We brought them right home and put them in the tank about 30 hours ago.  The orange coral is mostly closed up but the other has looked dead since we took it out of the bag. I've heard these are hardy. Will they spring back? <How were they acclimated? http://www.wetwebmedia.com/acclimcoralslight.htm>  Our water is good (no ammonia, nitrates/nitrates, and pH=8.3). We have 4 power heads in there and 600W of light, but even so, I can't believe our tank could have killed them so quickly. How long does it take after moving coral to see them "pop out"? Is there anything I should be doing to help them? <Yes, at this point it's best to leave them alone and see if they'll overcome the stress.  As you'll find from the article, there are a lot of factors that must go right for a photosynthetic animal to transition from one captive system to the other.  If they pull through, you should see some changes within the next week.  Good luck! Ryan> Thanks...R/Janet