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Emperor Shrimp

Cleartank

By Cleartank,
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Cleartank

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Emperor Shrimp, Periclimenes imperator, hitchhiker extraordinaire

Emperor shrimp hitch rides on various partners; Seen them on sea cucumbers of various species and nudibranchs of various species including Risbecia tryoni, Ceratosoma trilobatum, and Spanish Dancers. Their coloration varies according to the “transportation partner” they ride on, but I am uncertain if they are able to change coloration if they happen to change transportation. Not content merely to relax and enjoy the ride, they are constantly on the move, normally perched near the substrate looking for food to pass by; Guess this is the marine version of “meals on wheels”?

In addition to providing the potential for sustenance, the noxious reputation of nudibranchs also provides some degree of protection since predators are reluctant to ingest them. But the relationship is really bi-directional as the shrimp keeps the nudibranch free from parasites...

No one seems to know what they feed on exactly so do try a little of everything.... Mine keep picking up stuff from the sand bed... so I bombard the area he roam with a little of everything.... Named my Ah Fat..... :lol:

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Update on the emperor..... Its a cowboy and rides on anything in captivity, on snails, star, etc.. at least in my tank it does.... I think its a scavenger that eats anything it can find on the sand bed... always reaching into the sandbed to try its luck... I took a pic of it eating a piece of Formula Two... Hope this helps anyone who owns one of these... I have a 7 Gal nano so easy to monitor it......

:peace:

post-6-1068106758.jpg

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