TankBud

Coral banded shrimp

Stenopus hispidus

Also known as Banded Coral Shrimp, Boxer Shrimp, Banded Cleaner Shrimp

SaltwaterShrimp

Coral banded shrimp (Stenopus hispidus)
Alexander Vasenin · CC BY-SA 3.0

Care at a glance

Temperature
72–81°F
22–27°C
pH
8.1–8.4
Adult size
2.4 in
6 cm
Minimum tank
30 gal
115 L
Temperament
Mostly peaceful
Social behavior
Solitary
Own kind
One male per tank
Tankmates
With caution
Swim level
Bottom
Difficulty
Easy
Breeding
Hard
Rarity
Common
Reef safe
Reef safe with caution
Family
Stenopodidae
Origin
Circumtropical (Indo-Pacific, Atlantic, Caribbean)

Overview

The coral banded shrimp is a hardy, territorial boxer shrimp for a reef tank. It is an easy shrimp to keep.

Did you know

The coral banded shrimp's oversized banded claws and boxer-like posture are a bluff and a weapon at once. It will square up to fish and other shrimp far larger than itself to defend its cave.

Caring for the coral banded shrimp

Give the coral banded shrimp at least 30 gal (115 L) and a cave or overhang it can claim as home base. It stays mostly hidden by day and comes out to scavenge at night. It does not roam openly the way skunk cleaners do.

Keep the water at 72 to 81°F (22 to 27°C) with a pH of 8.1 to 8.4. It picks at and walks over corals looking for food, but it does not eat healthy coral tissue.

The coral banded shrimp is hardy and long-lived, but territorial. It can harass or catch small fish, other shrimp and small inverts with its large claws. Keep it away from small, delicate shrimp.

Coral banded shrimp form bonded male-female pairs that defend a shared territory. Two shrimp that are not a bonded pair will fight, and one often kills the other. Keep one per tank, or a proven pair. Breeding them is hard.

Good to know

Stenopus hispidus is a boxer shrimp in the family Stenopodidae, a different family from the Lysmata cleaners. It has three pairs of walking legs and a very large third pair of claws. Unlike Lysmata, it is not a simultaneous hermaphrodite and has separate sexes.

In the wild

The coral banded shrimp is a circumtropical reef shrimp of the Indo-Pacific, Atlantic and Caribbean. It lives in caves, crevices and under ledges, where it holds a territory and waves its long white antennae and large banded claws.

Common questions

What size tank does a coral banded shrimp need?

A coral banded shrimp needs at least 30 gal (115 L). It spends most of its time in the bottom.

What temperature and pH does a coral banded shrimp need?

A coral banded shrimp is comfortable at 72–81°F (22–27°C) with a pH of 8.1–8.4.

What does a coral banded shrimp eat?

A coral banded shrimp comes out at night to scavenge. It picks over corals looking for food but does not eat healthy coral tissue.

How big does a coral banded shrimp get?

An adult coral banded shrimp reaches about 2.4 in (6 cm).

Related species