Blue / purple coral banded shrimp

Care at a glance

Overview

Reef safe with caution, for the same reason as other banded shrimp: it leaves coral alone but won't tolerate other Stenopus, and can be feisty with unrelated shrimp too in tight quarters. Keep it alone or as a true mated pair. Give it enough open swimming room that its long antennae and legs aren't constantly brushing coral polyps or anemone tentacles, since both can sting or irritate it. Accepts most meaty frozen foods and will pick parasites off accommodating fish.

In the wild

Found across the Indo-Pacific, with records from Indonesia and Australia to as far as French Polynesia, living on and around coral reef structure at shallow depths of roughly 0–15 m. Wants the same rockwork with crevices as any boxer shrimp.

Good to know

The smallest of the commonly kept Stenopus species, with a blue violet body and the same red and white banded claws and antennae as its larger cousins. The blue coloring and small adult size, well under 4 cm, are the easiest ways to tell it apart from Stenopus hispidus or the gold-toned Stenopus species at a glance.

Common questions

Related species

• 

  Gold coral banded shrimp

  Stenopus scutellatus

  1.6 in (4 cm) · 11 gal (40 L)

  1.6 in (4 cm)11 gal (40 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)

• 

  Coral banded shrimp

  Stenopus hispidus

  2.4 in (6 cm) · 30 gal (115 L)

  2.4 in (6 cm)30 gal (115 L)72–81°F (22–27°C)

• 

  Randall's pistol shrimp

  Alpheus randalli

  1.6 in (4 cm) · 11 gal (40 L)

  1.6 in (4 cm)11 gal (40 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)

• 

  White-spot anemone shrimp

  Periclimenes brevicarpalis

  1.6 in (4 cm) · 11 gal (40 L)

  1.6 in (4 cm)11 gal (40 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)

• 

  Camel / dancing shrimp

  Rhynchocinetes durbanensis

  2 in (5 cm) · 16 gal (60 L)

  2 in (5 cm)16 gal (60 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)

• 

  Harlequin shrimp

  Hymenocera picta

  2 in (5 cm) · 11 gal (40 L)

  2 in (5 cm)11 gal (40 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)