Pacific cleaner shrimp

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iPacific cleaner shrimp

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Crustacea
Class:	Malacostraca
Order:	Decapoda
Infraorder:	Caridea
Family:	Hippolytidae
Genus:	Lysmata
Species:	L. amboinensis

Binomial name

Lysmata amboinensis
De Man, 1888

The Pacific cleaner shrimp, Lysmata amboinensis, is an omnivorous shrimp species, which will generally scavenge and eat parasites and dead tissue. The Pacific cleaner shrimp is naturally part of the reef ecosystem, and is widespread in the Red Sea and tropical Indo-Pacific ^[1]. It has been observed that fish with parasites may come to "cleaning stations" in the reef. Certain species of fish and several types of cleaner shrimp may assist the fish in large numbers and even go inside the mouth (and then to the gill cavity) without being eaten.

[edit] Aquaria

Many species of Lysmata, including L. amboinesis, are safe and beneficial in salt water tanks since they will (as indicated by their common name) clean both the tank and occasionally other fish within the tank ^[2].

L. amboinensis will normally moult every 3-8 weeks. *Most, if not all, foods (including the food eaten while cleaning) are good. L. amboinensis are sensitive to changes in environment, particularly salinity. New synthetic water should be made, stored for a week and matched to the system's specific gravity. Be careful with copper-based medication and extreme nitrate levels. L. amboinensis require iodine for proper moulting.