Show me your Emperor's Shrimp!!

[SeymourDuncan]

You heard me! Show me your Emperor's Shrimp!

Please include how you keep yours happy!

 

[revhtree]

Yes lets see them!

 

[SeymourDuncan]

These are very particular critters that eat a very Nasty food source. Slug poo! It takes a truly advanced aquarist to have one long term and the name clearly reflects the successful owner.
Emperor's Shrimp are a true trophy of the trade.

 

[SeymourDuncan]

No shrimpers out there? Hrmmm that's interesting!

 

[revhtree]

Looks like not many folks are keeping these!

 

[Genesis Corals]

I had never heard of these before today.

 

[650-IS350]

Heard of imperials but not emperor
Imperial Shrimp - The Hitchhiker on Vimeo

see these at whole sale, was tempted to buy but didn't know how to take care so I didn't. Very nice looking shrimp though. Wasn't sure if it was reefsafe, plus my baby humu woulda had it for lunch within a couple secs of putting it in the tank.

 

[SeymourDuncan]

I'll totally look that shrimp up and see what kind of lifestyle he leads the emperor shrimp lives on sea cucumbers and slugs and eats their waste. Talk about food chain

 

[ReeferHD]

anybody keeping these? cant find any info on them.

 

[littlefoxx]

First Ive heard of them

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

anybody keeping these? cant find any info on them.

No one that I've seen, though I see these shrimp offered with Medusa Worm cukes relatively frequently.

Not to be obtuse here, but is there any specific info you're looking for?

 

[moretor1]

How many cucumbers per shrimp are we talking here? or is it shrimp per cucumbers?
I've heard of shrimp living inside tube sponges but not about them eating cucumber poo

 

[ReeferHD]

No one that I've seen, though I see these shrimp offered with Medusa Worm cukes relatively frequently.

Not to be obtuse here, but is there any specific info you're looking for?

I'm looking to see what the longevity of these are in captivity, I read on some old forums (early 2000's) that these don't live past a year in aquariums. but I don't see a reason for them to perish if they have a constant food source and a host.

 

[moretor1]

I'm looking to see what the longevity of these are in captivity, I read on some old forums (early 2000's) that these don't live past a year in aquariums. but I don't see a reason for them to perish if they have a constant food source and a host.

With tiny inverts like these there is always the possibility that they dont really last that much longer in the wild either

Are there any sea slugs that just eat algae like regular ol snails? Will they eat snail poop?

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

How many cucumbers per shrimp are we talking here? or is it shrimp per cucumbers?
I've heard of shrimp living inside tube sponges but not about them eating cucumber poo

It's shrimp per cucumber in this case. It depends a bit on the cucumber's size (the shrimp only live on certain, sand-sifting cuke species, some species get really big, others stay fairly moderate), but typically only a few (like 2-4) per cuke, IIRC (it's been awhile since I last checked).

I'm looking to see what the longevity of these are in captivity, I read on some old forums (early 2000's) that these don't live past a year in aquariums. but I don't see a reason for them to perish if they have a constant food source and a host.

Yeah, I've heard these tend to be short-lived, but I've also heard of a lot of people buying them without a host cuke for them. Add to that the fact that a lot of people don't realize that they need to feed the cuke/shrimp (let alone what and how much to feed), and it makes a bit more sense to me.

Are there any sea slugs that just eat algae like regular ol snails? Will they eat snail poop?

There are (such as sea hares), but I don't believe those slugs are appropriate hosts for these shrimp - and, no, these shrimp won't eat snail feces. Again, they have a limited number of host species that they're compatible with.

 

[Ben's Pico Reefing]

I had one long ago with a Medusa worm. I don't remember what happened as it was in my starting years.... Really cool though. It should be plausible but will need a sandbed for the Medusa worms or sea cucumbers it is hosted by. Reading more, there diet really doesnt seem to depend on a host. Only turning up the sand to kick ip food.

If my LFS gets one, I could try if wife agrees lol. I would be worried how the pederson shrimp will interact with it. And very hesitant as this was not planned and do not have a sand bed so would not be keeping it with a cucumber. And sea slugs aren't something I want to add do to diet dependencies and being a small tank and iding the right kind.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

I had one long ago with a Medusa worm. I don't remember what happened as it was in my starting years.... Really cool though. It should be plausible but will need a sandbed for the Medusa worms or sea cucumbers it is hosted by. Reading more, there diet really doesnt seem to depend on a host. Only turning up the sand to kick ip food.

If my LFS gets one, I could try if wife agrees lol. I would be worried how the pederson shrimp will interact with it. And very hesitant as this was not planned and do not have a sand bed so would not be keeping it with a cucumber. And sea slugs aren't something I want to add do to diet dependencies and being a small tank and iding the right kind.

Just as a word of caution for anyone interested, a lot of obligate symbionts with relationships like the Emperor Shrimp and Cuke relationship can technically be kept alone, but it may seriously stress the symbiont (causing a load of problems that could potentially lead to early death), and it may deprive them if a necessary nutrition source.

So, it may be possible to keep one with the other, but it could also drastically shorten the lifespan.

Edit: Just to add as an example- hermit crabs wouldn't seem to technically need shells if kept in a safe aquarium, but they would be stressed likely literally to death without one regardless.

 

[Ben's Pico Reefing]

Just as a word of caution for anyone interested, a lot of obligate symbionts with relationships like the Emperor Shrimp and Cuke relationship can technically be kept alone, but it may seriously stress the symbiont (causing a load of problems that could potentially lead to early death), and it may deprive them if a necessary nutrition source.

So, it may be possible to keep one with the other, but it could also drastically shorten the lifespan.

From reading it seems that they eat eat similar to other shrimp and that the host kicks up nutrients for it as it scoots along the bottom.

They also as you point out use them as protection and hiding. The only inhabitants other than coral are 2 pederson shrimp and a flaming prawn goby. So there isn't any predators or fish to spook it. Just me on water change day each week lol. But pederson may not like it or vice versa but both seem to be pretty laid back species outside of their own.

Prawn goby is smaller than the pedersons lol.

Again, though, I am not wanting to experiment but think this would be a good opportunity due to what should be lack of predation. You can check out build thread in my signature though and see what you think as you have more knowledge than I do about these shrimp.

Please correct any info that I may have wrong. You seem to be the expert here.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

From reading it seems that they eat eat similar to other shrimp and that the host kicks up nutrients for it as it scoots along the bottom.

They also as you point out use them as protection and hiding. The only inhabitants other than coral are 2 pederson shrimp and a flaming prawn goby. So there isn't any predators or fish to spook it. Just me on water change day each week lol. But pederson may not like it or vice versa but both seem to be pretty laid back species outside of their own.

Prawn goby is smaller than the pedersons lol.

Again, though, I am not wanting to experiment but think this would be a good opportunity due to what should be lack of predation. You can check out build thread in my signature though and see what you think as you have more knowledge than I do about these shrimp.

Please correct any info that I may have wrong. You seem to be the expert here.

I can go digging through the papers I've found on these guys again tomorrow and double check, but, yeah, they likely do have similar diets to other shrimp while also feeding on their host's feces (similar to pistol shrimp with gobies, which show increased weight gain when offered the feces of one of their partner goby species; are the feces necessary? Probably not, but it might be needed for some reason or another).

Anyway, my point with the hermit crab and shell example was that the hermit's need for the shell is as much or more psychological than it is physical - that is to say, even if the crab is kept alone in a little crab paradise tank, it will still be stressed (likely to death) unless it has a shell. So, these sorts of relationships aren't always (just) about the actual, physical protection and nutrition provided by them - it seems they're also frequently about the mental protection they provide, if that makes sense.

From what I've read, that seems to be the case with these - the article below discusses it a bit:

The Emperor’s Shrimp (Periclimenes Imperator)

Periclimenes imperator (Emperor shrimp) on Bohadschia argus (Sea cucumber) via http://en.wikipedia.org One of the coolest thing about this hobby is its diversity in tank inhabitants. This is sadly its biggest problem as well. Due the the immense...

www.reef2reef.com

So, while some symbionts (such as clownfish and anemones) may not literally need each other to survive/thrive long-term, others might (regardless of if they literally physically need each other or not, they may still mentally need each other).

 

[ReeferHD]

It's shrimp per cucumber in this case. It depends a bit on the cucumber's size (the shrimp only live on certain, sand-sifting cuke species, some species get really big, others stay fairly moderate), but typically only a few (like 2-4) per cuke, IIRC (it's been awhile since I last checked).

Yeah, I've heard these tend to be short-lived, but I've also heard of a lot of people buying them without a host cuke for them. Add to that the fact that a lot of people don't realize that they need to feed the cuke/shrimp (let alone what and how much to feed), and it makes a bit more sense to me.

There are (such as sea hares), but I don't believe those slugs are appropriate hosts for these shrimp - and, no, these shrimp won't eat snail feces. Again, they have a limited number of host species that they're compatible with.

Yeah I noticed the majority of people who keep them don’t even give them a proper host, Which wouldn’t be the case for my tank, I’m looking to keep it with a sea apple, which are quite large in terms of cucumbers (in reef aquaria at least) and it will probably be the only shrimp in the tank, there will be no predators to eat it. I also have the ability to spot feed it so I think it would benefit from that too.