Sexy shrimp (Thor amboinensis) care guide

Group

Shrimp

Other names

Squat anemone shrimp, Sexy anemone shrimp, Hippolyte amboinensis, Thor discosomatis

Family

Thoridae

Origin

Pantropical: Indo-West Pacific, Red Sea, Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico, Madeira and the Canary Islands

Water

saltwater

Maximum size

1.5 cm

Temperature

22–26°C

pH

8.1–8.4

Hardness

dKH 8–12, SG 1.023–1.025

Minimum tank

20 litres

Care level

beginner

Temperament

peaceful

Reef safe

with_caution

Care

The sexy shrimp is a tiny shrimp, about 1.3 cm long, named for the way it holds its abdomen curled up over its back and sways it as it walks. It is olive to reddish-brown with symmetrical white patches edged in thin blue lines. It was once placed in Hippolyte and is often listed in Hippolytidae, but is now in Thoridae. Despite its scientific name (after Ambon in Indonesia) it occurs across the tropics. In the wild it lives among the tentacles of anemones and mushroom corals on shallow reefs. In the aquarium it does well in nano reefs from about 20 litres, in a group of three to five, which shows off its behaviour best. Give it a host such as a carpet or bubble-tip anemone, a mushroom coral or a large-polyped coral, or plenty of rockwork. Water: 22–26 °C, pH 8.1–8.4, dKH 8–12, SG 1.023–1.025, low nitrate, and adequate iodine for moulting. It moults about monthly. Acclimatise slowly to avoid salinity and pH shock. Copper: copper-based medicines and some plant fertilisers are toxic to shrimp, snails and most other invertebrates. Never dose them in a tank holding this animal, and check the label of any treatment or fertiliser before use. Sources: LiveAquaria (liveaquaria.com/products/sexy-anemone-shrimp); Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thoramboinensis). Checked October 2026.

Diet

Carnivore and scavenger. In the wild it feeds on its host's tentacle tissue and the plankton caught in its mucus. In the tank, feed small meaty foods: frozen mysis, brine shrimp and plankton, fine flake and pellets. Well-fed shrimp are less likely to pick at corals.

Breeding

Females carry eggs under the abdomen until they hatch into zoea larvae, which pass through several stages and are drawn to host anemones by chemical and visual cues before they settle. Rearing them needs marine larval methods and is rare in home aquaria.

Compatibility and tank mates

Peaceful with its own kind and other tankmates; eaten by hawkfish, dottybacks, wrasses and other shrimp-eating fish. Reef safe with caution: it may pick at the polyps of some corals, notably zoanthids and mushrooms, especially if underfed. Fine with peaceful nano fish such as gobies and small clownfish.

Last updated 8 October 2026. Community-edited care guide on Aquatic-Auctions.