Skunk cleaner shrimp (Lysmata amboinensis) care guide

Group

Shrimp

Other names

Pacific cleaner shrimp, Scarlet skunk cleaner shrimp, White-banded cleaner shrimp, Red skunk cleaner shrimp, Hippolysmata vittata var. amboinensis

Family

Lysmatidae (formerly Hippolytidae)

Origin

Tropical coral reefs of the Red Sea and Indo-Pacific, usually 5–40 m in caves and on ledges

Water

saltwater

Maximum size

6 cm

Temperature

22–26°C

pH

8.1–8.4

Hardness

dKH 8–12, SG 1.023–1.025

Minimum tank

75 litres

Care level

beginner

Temperament

peaceful

Reef safe

yes

Care

The skunk cleaner shrimp is one of the best-known reef shrimp. It has a pale amber body and legs, a white stripe running down the back flanked by two broad scarlet stripes, white spots on the red tail and long white antennae. The body reaches about 5–6 cm. The Atlantic Lysmata grabhami looks almost identical and is sold under the same names; on L. grabhami the white back stripe usually runs right to the tail, while L. amboinensis has separate white spots on its tail fan. The name scarlet cleaner shrimp is also used for the blood red fire shrimp, Lysmata debelius. Tank set-up: an established reef or fish tank with live rock, caves and ledges, as it lives in caves and under overhangs on the reef. It is sensitive to high nitrate, swings in salinity and copper, so it needs a mature, stable system and slow drip acclimatisation. Keep it singly or as a pair. Groups of more than two often end with one pair killing the others. Water: about 22–26 °C, pH 8.1–8.4, dKH 8–12 and specific gravity 1.023–1.025. Iodine and other trace elements help it moult cleanly. Behaviour and role: it runs a cleaning station, rocking from side to side to invite fish in and then picking parasites and dead tissue off their skin, gills and even inside their mouths. Cleaning in aquariums happens mostly at night. It is safe with corals and other invertebrates and is popular in touch pools. Supply: it is hard to breed, so most shrimp on sale are wild-caught. There is no evidence yet of harm to wild reefs, but captive-bred shrimp are worth choosing when available. Copper: copper-based medicines are toxic to shrimp, snails and most invertebrates, and some plant fertilisers carry copper too. Never treat a display tank holding this animal with copper; treat fish in a separate hospital tank, and drip-acclimatise new arrivals slowly. Sources: LiveAquaria (liveaquaria.com/products/scarlet-skunk-cleaner-shrimp); Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lysmataamboinensis). Checked October 2026.

Diet

Omnivorous scavenger, classed as a carnivore by LiveAquaria. In the wild much of its food is parasites and dead tissue picked from fish. In the aquarium it takes frozen mysis and brine shrimp, flake, freeze-dried and pellet foods; target-feed it if fish take everything first. It also grazes biofilm and scraps from the rock.

Breeding

Every shrimp starts as a male and becomes a functional hermaphrodite after several moults, so any two adults make a pair. After a moult they mate, one acting as male while the other broods. Each spawning gives 200–500 greenish eggs carried under the tail, which hatch around dusk into 3–4 mm larvae. The larvae drift in the plankton through 14 stages for 5–6 months before settling at about 2 cm. Pairs spawn regularly in aquariums, but rearing the larvae is very difficult and needs a dedicated larval set-up; in a reef tank they are eaten by fish or lost to filters.

Compatibility and tank mates

Peaceful and reef safe; it does not harm corals or other invertebrates. Ideal with most community reef fish, which come to it to be cleaned. Hawkfish, lionfish, large wrasses, triggers, groupers and predatory crabs and shrimp may eat it, especially just after a moult. Keep one or a pair; more than two in one tank leads to fighting.

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