Description
Peppermint Shrimp (Lysmata sp.) are among some of the most commonly kept reef cleaning inhabitants. These omnivorous predators will spend most of their time picking leftover food, detritus, and other waste out of the various nooks and crannies of the rockwork in any reef, and are most commonly kept in order to eliminate pest anemones, such as Aiptasia. Peppermint shrimp are a colonial species in the wild, and will thrive in small groups in the home aquarium, often spawning regularly and providing a valuable source of food for both fish and corals. Peppermint shrimp, while technically a species of cleaner shrimp, are not particularly well-known for cleaning their tankmates, and this role is better left to other Lysmata species such as the skunk cleaner shrimp (L. amboinensis) or the blood red fire shrimp (L. debelius). As this shrimp species is primarily a scavenger, some individuals may occasionally disturb some LPS corals during their foraging.
***We do NOT reccommend these shrimp for controlling aiptasia in predator systems***
