Likely Reef Tank Suitable
Likely Fish-Only Tank Suitable
Range: Indo-West Pacific Ocean
Size: 2 inches (5 cm)
Natural Environment: Inhabits deeper coral reef environments and found mostly in caves and deep rock crevices.
General Husbandry: Occasionally seen in the home aquarium 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.
As to diet, 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 (especially cleaner shrimp), as it can be quite aggressive towards other crustaceans, including hermit crabs.
Keep singly or in mated pairs.
Taxonomy:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Decapoda
Family: Stenopodidae
Genus: Stenopus
FYI: Sometimes mistaken for S. tenuirostris, the Blue boxing shrimp.
Makes a nice addition to smaller reef aquaria!
Not really considered a shrimp, as it's technically considered more a lobster-like creature, as are all species in this Infraorder.
May eat small bristleworms.
May provide a cleaning service.
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