Gold Coral Banded Shrimp

Stenopus scutellatus

Also known as Golden Coral Shrimp, Yellow Coral Banded Shrimp, Caribbean Boxing Shrimp

SaltwaterShrimp

Gold Coral Banded Shrimp (Stenopus scutellatus) — Corbari L. · CC BY 4.0

Care at a glance

Temperature: 75–81°F (24–27°C)
pH: 8.1–8.4
Adult size: 1.6 in (4 cm)
Minimum tank: 11 gal (40 L)
Temperament: Mostly peaceful
Social behavior: Solitary
Swim level: Bottom
Difficulty: Easy
Breeding: Hard
Rarity: Common
Reef safe: Reef safe with caution
Origin: Western Atlantic and Caribbean (Florida to northern Brazil)
Family: Stenopodidae

Overview

Reef safe with caution, not because it bothers coral (it doesn't) but because of how it treats other shrimp. Like its relatives, it's territorial and will fight other Stenopus, and sometimes other shrimp species too, especially in a small tank without enough separate hiding spots. Best kept singly or as an already established mated pair, with the male running smaller and darker than the female. A capable scavenger and occasional fish cleaner, picking parasites and dead tissue off willing fish. It's common for a wild caught specimen to arrive missing a claw; it grows back over a few molts.

In the wild

A Western Atlantic species, found from Bermuda and Florida through the Bahamas and Caribbean to northern Brazil, typically on reefs, in caves, and among rubble at depths of about 10–113 m. Wants the same setup as any Stenopus in the aquarium: plenty of live rock with ledges and crevices it can claim as its own.

Good to know

A true boxer shrimp in the family Stenopodidae, the same family as the common red and white banded coral shrimp. Identified by a yellow body and carapace, with the enlarged third pair of walking legs barred in red and white and long white antennae. Smaller and shyer than Stenopus hispidus, often staying tucked in its crevice and picking at food from just inside the entrance instead of venturing out.

Did you know

It's frequently mixed up in the trade with the similarly named Indo-Pacific gold-banded coral shrimp, Stenopus zanzibaricus, but the two come from opposite sides of the world and aren't the same animal.