Banded Shrimp Information
The Coral Banded Shrimp sometimes called the boxing shrimp is a popular crustacean that is kept in saltwater aquariums due to their very interesting body shape and remarkable color patterns. This shrimp is commonly found with red, yellow and white colorations but there are other species that come in different variations of colors such as blue, yellow and gold.
The male is normally smaller than a female at adulthood. When fully grown, The Coral Banded Shrimp will grow to be roughly 3 inches in length excluding its antennae. A few other species coral banded are a hair smaller and are roughly 2 inches in length when full sized. Coral Banded Shrimp can live about 2 to 3 years which allows for plenty of enjoyment for aquarium keepers!
As far as crustaceans go, this shrimp is quite hardy but beware because, like any other invertebrate, it is very sensitive to high nitrate levels and copper.
Aquarium Requirements
A Coral Banded Shrimp should be kept in aquariums that are 30 gallons or larger. For a shrimp, they become quite large and require a bit more space for their unique bodies and antennae. Also, provide many different sized caves this shrimp can enter to keep the Coral Banded Shrimp comfortable.
Just like many other marine fish and crustaceans the Coral Banded Shrimp does best with the following water parameters:
- Temperature: 72 – 78 degrees Fahrenheit
- dKH between 8 and 12
- pH between 8.1 and 8.4
- Salinity between 1.023 and 1.025 sg.
Providing these water parameters should help keep your shrimp quite happy. A well fed shrimp and one that is living in proper aquarium water parameters will help its molt and growth.
Food & Diet
The Coral Banded Shrimp is both a scavenger as well as a hunter. This invertebrate is a carnivore and found searching the fish tank for food. It will hunt for tiny bristleworms, copeopods, parasites & dead tissue on fish. They do a great job as exterminators, removing pesky bristleworms so they do not overrun the fish tank.
In the home aquarium, this shrimp will happily accept any food that may come its way. It will eat flake food, pellets and meaty food. It is not a picky eater at all but more of an opportunist.
Tank Mates
These shrimp do quite well with most peaceful saltwater fish. Do not keep Coral Banded Shrimp with invertebrate eating animals and a few other types of creatures such as:
- Groupers
- Pufferfish
- Lionfish
- Eels
- Triggers
- Slow moving fish (mandarins, clown gobies)
- Non Reef Safe Wrasses
- Other Shrimp
Coral Banded Shrimp are considered to be reef safe but can sometimes nip at coral. Normally if they are fed they shouldn’t bother picking at coral but there is always a slim chance they will. They should also be kept singularly unless a definite pair can be found.
Breeding
Breeding this shrimp is usually quite unsuccessful in an aquarium setting. To increase the possibility of successful breeding, a pair must be found first. Even then it is incredibly difficult or almost impossible to successfully breed them in captivity. Their larvae must be suspended in the water with their food which is hard due to pumps and water circulation propellers.
Final Notes
Coral Banded Shrimp are a interesting creature that can be kept in a home aquarium. They sometimes get a bad reputation for eating fish, shrimp or nipping at coral but regardless should be considered for a reef or peaceful fish tank.
Image by Brian Jeffery Beggerly from S’pore on wikiMedia