Elegant Rockpool Shrimp

Palaemon elegans

Also known as Rockpool Shrimp, Rockpool Prawn

SaltwaterShrimp

Elegant Rockpool Shrimp (Palaemon elegans) — Cisamarc · CC BY-SA 4.0

Care at a glance

Temperature: 61–79°F (16–26°C)
pH: 8.1–8.4
Adult size: 2.4 in (6 cm)
Minimum tank: 11 gal (40 L)
Temperament: Peaceful
Social behavior: Social
Tankmates: Tankmates with caution
Swim level: Bottom
Difficulty: Beginner
Breeding: Medium
Rarity: Rare
Reef safe: Reef safe
Origin: Northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean, from Norway to Namibia
Family: Palaemonidae

Overview

A hardy, peaceful scavenger, recently established in the hobby as a captive bred line from Adriatic stock, that spends the night picking leftover food, algae, and detritus out of gaps other cleanup crew cannot reach. Keepers report it leaves corals and other invertebrates alone. Berried females release clouds of planktonic larvae that double as live food for fish and corals.

In the wild

Lives in rockpools and shallow rocky shores of the northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean, from Norway down to Namibia, habitats that swing hard in temperature and salinity between tides. In the aquarium give it rockwork with plenty of crevices to work through, and expect to see the most of it after lights out.

Good to know

Palaemon elegans is a palaemonid shrimp with a clear body marked in fine dark bands, bluish claws, and yellow accents at the leg joints, with large females reaching about 6 cm. It is a genuine omnivore, and studies of wild populations put its diet at roughly 60 percent small animal prey and 40 percent algae.

Did you know

Rockpool life made it close to indestructible: this shrimp tolerates salinities from nearly fresh water to well above normal seawater, and temperatures from a few degrees above freezing up into warm reef range, conditions that would finish off most reef tank invertebrates.