Gnathophyllum americanum

Guerin-Meneville, 1856

Striped Bumblebee Shrimp, Striped Harlequin Shrimp

Range: Indo-West Pacific Ocean

Size: 1 inch (2.5 cm)

Natural Environment: Inhabits shallow coastal reefs and lagoons and usually seen living with sea stars, urchins, and cucumbers, where it feeds on their legs/feet.

General Husbandry: Occasionally seen in the trade.

A very shy and small species and possibly best suited for nano aquariums where it will be seen more often than in large systems with many hiding areas.

Requires sufficient hiding places in larger aquariums having more tankmates, as its quite shy.

Like true Harlequin Shrimp, will feed on the legs of starfish/seastars, however, they also feed upon regular meaty foods that are normally used in the trade making them far easier to maintain. Therefore, meaty foods, e.g., small pieces of defrosted clam, fish and/or shrimp flesh, or live adult brine shrimp fed once or twice daily will suffice nicely.

Best maintained without other species of shrimp in the aquarium, and maintain either singly or in mated pairs.

Taxonomy:

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Arthropoda

Class: Malacostraca

Order: Decapoda

Family: Palaemonidae

Genus: Gnathophyllum

FYI: Makes a nice addition to smaller reef aquaria!

A South African hobbyist reports these shrimp have been observed cleaning fish in the aquarium.

Experience Level: Beginner

Diet: Carnivore

Temperament: Peaceful

Aquarium Environment: Reef or fish-only aquarium

Coral Safe: Yes

Fish Safe: Yes

Invertebrate Safe: Yes

Acclimation Time: Shrimp are 'very' sensitive to specific gravity/salinity changes. Therefore, be sure to adjust the bag's water to that of the aquarium in which it will be placed by slowly adding small amounts of aquarium water to the bag every few minutes. In most cases, this process should take at least 15 minutes.

Aquarium Hardiness: Moderately hardy

Calcium (Ca): 380 - 430 mg/l

Alkalinity: 2.5 - 3.0 meq/l

Phosphate (PO4): <0.05 mg/l

Magnesium (Mg): approx. 1350 mg/l (relate to specific gravity) Extremely important for molting!

Strontium (Sr) 8 - 10 mg/l

Iodine (I) Trace element additives containing iodine should be used as recommended by their makers, as iodine is also vital for the molting process.

Temperature Range: 72 - 82°F (23 - 27°C)

Minimum Tank Size: Perfect for Nano tanks and/or larger aquaria

Lighting: PAR ratings N/A

Water Movement: WM 1 - 2

Specific Gravity: 1.023 - 1.025

pH: 8.0 - 8.4