Cleaner shrimp hiding

[FishFanaticSyd]

I have had a cleaner shrimp (my first marine invert btw) for a week now. He molted the first or second day I had him, and is hiding behind the protein skimmer. He will eat (and I feed him every day. Is this too often, he always takes the food with gusto) and clean my hand. My filter is a undergravel system powered using two powerheads. Is there a problem with him?

[Laeris]

Mine gets annoyed if I'm a day late on a water change. How's your nitrates, etc?

[bribo12]

Give it time. Most Sw animals can take a while to adjust to a new setting. If he's eating and everything I'm sure it is fine


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[54seaweed]

My 2 year old fire shrimp hides a lot , the only time I really see him is when I'm feeding or when I only have the blues on , my skunk shrimp is always active doing something so he is out all the time . my coral banded shrimp hangs out under a ledge in the center of the tank , each shrimp has there own personality and preference some don't like lots of light and others do , once a shrimp gets used to you most will climb on to your hand ,
some shrimp will hide because something is picking on him ,

[FishFanaticSyd]

I had my water tested at the lfs last night and the salesperson didn't say anything. My shrimp is eating fine, and crawling all over my hand. He is small. Oh, and he has this pinhead sized black thingy stuck to him. Do skunk cleaners have spots?

[54seaweed]

Originally Posted by FishFanaticSyd

I had my water tested at the lfs last night and the salesperson didn't say anything. My shrimp is eating fine, and crawling all over my hand. He is small. Oh, and he has this pinhead sized black thingy stuck to him. Do skunk cleaners have spots?

If I had my water tested and they said nothing means either they just don't care , or just don't know what they are doing , the reason your bringing it to be tested is to find out your levels , not to be ignored.

this would make me lean towards finding a new saltwater shop , and also purchase your own test kit . it's not only essential but you can catch any and all issues faster , just waiting to go out to get it tested can cause you that prize fish since you couldn't correct the issue faster .


my skunk had a black spot on his back , it took one or 2 molts and it was gone nothing I would be concerned about .

[FishFanaticSyd]

Great. I have had an awesome experience with this store. Actually, they are very helpful with my tanks. I trust them. And, thanks for the advice about the spot. How much longer should I expect him to hide without being worried?

[bribo12]

As long as he comes out to eat he should be fine. I have a pair of golden coral banded shrimp who I pretty much only see at night.

Skunks usually take a couple weeks to adjust to a tank and then stay out most of the time.


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[FishFanaticSyd]

Good. And, yes, I do have most of the home test kit I need, but am running out of strips.

[54seaweed]

I would suggest a liquid test kit as strips never seem to get accurate readings

I also would bring up how the clerk never gave you any readings to the manager , If you had any issues you would have never known , thank goodness you didn't
I would suggest avoiding that clerk for advice since he seems like he is unsure of himself or just don't care .

[FishFanaticSyd]

Thank you. Actually, I think that clerk was the one who alerted me to the problem in the first place. And, I do not like my test strips either. I will definitely save my allowance for some good liquid test kits and buy them the next chance I get.

[FishFanaticSyd]

It's been 2 weeks. Did I neglect to mention that he cast his skin the night i put him in the tank? Should I be worried?