Peppermint Shrimp, with scientific name (Lysmata wurdemanni) is a small marine invertebrate that has a transparent body with stripes and grows to a size of 5cm. The Peppermint shrimp is a common invertebrate for a marine reef aquarium and can be bought from any good aquarium shop. Other names for the Peppermint Shrimp are ‘Candy Shrimp’ and the ‘Caribbean Cleaner Shrimp’.

Peppermint Shrimp

Peppermint shrimp are known to eat glass anemone (Aiptasia). This anemone is  considered a pest in the marine reef aquarium as it reproduces at a high rate and has the ability to sting coral and fish. To control and get rid of this pest, many reef keepers use the Peppermint Shrimp.

Even though the peppermint shrimp is  regarded as a “cleaner shrimp”, the Peppermint shrimp may not clean as regularly as other shrimps such as the skunk cleaner shrimp.

Peppermint shrimp can coexist with many other of its own species but may fight with other species of shrimp in the tank. Reef hobbyists have had mixed reactions in regards to keeping these inverts in a tank. Some report that they bite into corals, and some are quite shy, very rarely appearing from the rocks for many days in a stretch. Personally I have never had these problems with my peppermint shrimp but I will say that they are more comfortable in groups.

It is a known fact that Peppermint shrimp do not get along with Coral Banded Shrimp of the same sex, so do not put them in the same tank.

Peppermint shrimp can be a shy creature and  are nocturnal, which means you will see most of their action at night when they go out in search of food, while all the other fish in the tank are sleeping.

As for nutrients and health, Peppermint shrimp, like other shrimps need Iodine supplements on a periodic basis to assist them in shedding their exoskeleton. This is known as “molting”. When shrimp molt, they will be quite vulnerable and will usually hide under the live rock until the molt is complete. Some marine reef aquarium owns insist on dosing iodine to help cleaner shrimp and other inverts molt. You must ensure that you use an iodine test kit to ensure that you give the correct of dosage into the water. If you overdose on Iodine, you can get side effects such as too much brown algae within the aquarium or harming and staining corals. If you are doing water changes frequently then there may be no reason to dose iodine.

Do not worry about feeding the shrimp on regular basis, as they will most likely scavenge and eat any leftover fish food, detritus and algae from the tank. They will sift through the sand at the bottom of the tank, so ensure that you put find sand in the aquarium, not coral sand or gravel. From time to time you can supplement their diet with with meaty foods such as scallops, mysis shrimp or other meaty seafoods.