I got another cleaner shrimp &question on a yellow tang

Zfishies

Fire Eel
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Apr 5, 2010
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Milky Way Galaxy,
I got another cleaner shrimp just have some questions1. How do they decide who becomes the female or the male 2how do you know when there going to lay eggs 3 what do the eggs and fry look like? 4there is a very small yellow tang at my LFS and he has a small cut and a bruse/somewhat big cut on his side is it worth getting him and trying to heal him? Or just wait till they get more ? I don't like animals dieing espishilly If I can chose for it to live
 

FLESHY

Polypterus
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Jan 7, 2006
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With fish its usually safer to wait. If you have fallen in love with this guy, and if the store takes dead fish back then give it a go...otherwise wait on a healthy one.

Shrimp generally just do their thing. One in a group turns male...or a couple do. Whatever works for them. They can also store gametes...so even if you only had one female it might be able to produce several batches of viable fry. I have bred, and raised to maturity, peppermint shrimp...in the system where they were laid. I basically just had tons of LR, light filtration and they grew up themselves.

GL with the cleaners. I have heard that you usually need to buy those as pairs.
 

shua71

Candiru
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Aug 26, 2009
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I'm pretty sure cleaner shrimps are born sexed already? Don't quote me on it but from what I remember it had something to do with color one being male the other being female
 

Kevin8888

Feeder Fish
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Sep 14, 2009
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They are Hermaphrodites, just buy a handful of them and they will mate (assuming there is a male and female), they also do better in small groups (3-5). The tang I would say leave it unless you can get it stupid cheap, because you will also have to buy antibiotics for him to help with the injurys (as tangs are prone to infection, though cleaners will help with that).
 

Heathd

Fire Eel
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Mar 9, 2010
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Scarlet skunk cleaners will berry when they are pregnant or carrying eggs. The female will have a yellow or muted yellow lower abdomen. I have never reared fry, but I assume and mechanical filtration media would capture and kill the young (at least a majority of them).

And leave the Tang until it heals up or another one that you like becomes available. He is already hurt, and the stress of moving it to a new system would likely just make matters worse.
 

snyder810

Gambusia
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Mar 20, 2008
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agree with all above in terms of the tang, it's just way too common a fish to take the chance unless it comes at a steal of a price $20 or lower imo
 

Zfishies

Fire Eel
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Apr 5, 2010
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Milky Way Galaxy,
Thanks guys I just remembered reading something that they are like clown fish and can change sexes. And I'll ask my LFS about the tang if i can him cheap or even for free
 

FLESHY

Polypterus
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Jan 7, 2006
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Like I said...shrimp can change. I have just heard that you arent supposed to keep more than one cleaner together for some reason. Maybe that was completely unwarranted. I have only bred, (and kept) peppermint shrimp in groups of more than one.
 

Heathd

Fire Eel
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Mar 9, 2010
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FLESHY;4391080; said:
Like I said...shrimp can change. I have just heard that you arent supposed to keep more than one cleaner together for some reason. Maybe that was completely unwarranted. I have only bred, (and kept) peppermint shrimp in groups of more than one.
My scarlets get together just fine with my peppermints.

Now I have heard that coral banded shirmp are solitary and dont tolerate even their own kind very well.
 
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