Scarlet Skunk Cleaner Shrimp

Quick facts

Identity

Also known as

Pacific Cleaner Shrimp; Skunk Cleaner Shrimp; White-striped Cleaner Shrimp; Red Skunk Cleaner Shrimp

Synonyms

Lysmata grabhami (misapplied in some older literature)

Environment

Saltwater

Native to

Red Sea, Indo-Pacific, Indonesia, Philippines

Habitat

Coral reef caves, holes, and ledges at depths of roughly 5-40 meters, often near cleaning stations on rock outcroppings

Sourcing

Wild-caught

Conservation

Not Evaluated

Care

Care level

Easy

Temperament

Peaceful

Adult size

1.5 – 2.5 in (3.8 – 6.4 cm)

Lifespan

2 – 3 yrs

Min tank

20 gal (76 L)

Growth rate

Moderate

Placement

Rock & glass

Water

Temperature

72 – 78 °F (22 – 26 °C)

pH

8.1 – 8.4

dKH

8 – 12 dKH

Salinity

1.023 – 1.025 SG

Flow

Moderate

Behavior & compatibility

Social

Group

Aggression to own kind

Low

Active

Daytime

Reef safe

Yes

Invert safe

Yes

Shrimp safe

Yes

Clean-up role

Leftover food, Detritus

Population boom risk

Low

Feeding & breeding

Diet

Omnivore

Foods

Frozen, Freeze-dried, Flakes, Pellets, Zooplankton

Breeding type

Broadcast spawner

Breeding difficulty

Difficult

Sexing

Protandric simultaneous hermaphrodite; all mature adults function as both sexes, so no external sexing is possible

Target feeding

Beneficial

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Care guide

Overview

Reaching roughly 1.5 to 2.5 inches at maturity, this shrimp displays a single white dorsal stripe bordered by two scarlet bands running from antennae to tail fan. It stations itself on exposed rockwork to service passing fish and molts regularly, requiring stable calcium, alkalinity, and iodine levels. Keep it away from copper treatments and predatory tankmates.

Care

This shrimp adapts well to typical reef parameters and is considered hardy once acclimated, though it molts regularly and needs stable water chemistry to do so successfully. It appreciates rockwork with crevices where it can establish a cleaning station and feel secure between molts. Iodine, calcium, and magnesium supplementation support healthy shell development, and copper-based medications must be avoided entirely.

Feeding

In the wild much of its diet comes from parasites and dead tissue picked from fish visiting its cleaning station, but in captivity it readily accepts frozen mysis, brine shrimp, chopped seafood, and sinking pellets or flakes. It is not a picky eater and will scavenge leftover food and detritus around the tank. Offering a varied diet a few times a week helps supplement whatever incidental cleaning it performs on tankmates.

Tank mates

Best housed with peaceful fish that will respect its cleaning services rather than treat it as prey; larger predatory fish such as lionfish, groupers, triggers, and some hawkfish will readily eat it. It can be kept singly or in small groups, and unrelated individuals introduced together usually tolerate each other well. Avoid pairing with aggressive crabs or other predatory crustaceans that may compete for the same crevices.

Breeding

As a simultaneous hermaphrodite, any two mature individuals kept together can produce fertilized eggs, which the female-phase shrimp carries under her pleopods until hatching. The larvae pass through a long planktonic stage with more than a dozen zoeal stages before settling, making rearing them past hatching very difficult in a typical home aquarium. Most home breeding attempts end with the larvae being consumed by fish or pulled into filtration rather than surviving to metamorphosis.

Health

Failed molts are the most common health issue, usually linked to insufficient iodine or unstable calcium and alkalinity levels. Sudden salinity or temperature swings can also cause fatal molting problems or general stress, so consistent water quality is important. Copper exposure, even at levels considered safe for fish, is lethal to this shrimp and must be strictly avoided.

Sources

1. Lysmata amboinensis
2. Scarlet Skunk Cleaner Shrimp: Saltwater Aquarium Shrimps for Marine Reef Aquariums – LiveAquaria
3. Scarlet skunk cleaner shrimp aquarium care guide
4. Species: Lysmata amboinensis (Scarlet Cleaner Shrimp, White-striped Shrimp, Skunk Shrimp)

More Cleaner shrimp

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