Coral Banded Shrimp Aaron Race and Sam Minton

Background Scientific name- Stenopus hispidus Found in pan-tropical regions Known for red and white stripes Compatible with most marine fishes Known as a cleaner organism- mutualistic symbiotic relationship with many fishes Other name- banded cleaner shrimp

Proposal In our project we want to observe how the coral banded shrimp, Stenopus hispidus, will respond to changes in its environment. Our goal will be to monitor its behavior and look for typical patterns in the life of the shrimp.

Questions If we took away the shrimp’s home rock or switched the rocks would he change rocks or would he stay on that side of the tank? How would the existing shrimp react if a peppermint shrimp is introduced to the habitat? How often does our shrimp molt and does he do it in a specific place in the tank? Does the shrimp have specific eating habits or is his feeding random? What are the shrimp's main food sources in this habitat?

Hypothesis The shrimp will respond poorly to the introduction of another shrimp of a different species. The shrimp will most likely attack the new shrimp and fight for its own territory, especially in the midst of molting. The introduction of another shrimp is expected to bring about a very hostile environment in the tank. It is expected that the shrimp will molt about once a week.

Methods Observing the shrimp’s daily behavior Taking salinity and temperature Checking the location of the pencil urchin Observing the the growth of the caulerpa algae Introducing peppermint shrimp, snails, and a crab Recording presence of aiptasia in the tank

Question #1 Answer If we took away the shrimp’s home rock or switched the rocks would he change rocks or would he stay on that side of the tank?

Question #2 Answer How would the existing shrimp react if a peppermint shrimp is introduced to the habitat?

Question #3 Answer How often does our shrimp molt and does he do it in a specific place in the tank?

Question #4 Answer Does the shrimp have specific eating habits or is his feeding random?

Question #5 Answer What are the shrimp's main food sources in this habitat?

Challenges Coral banded shrimp was not very active Filming underwater was difficult Observations were very repetitive Pencil urchin was hard to find Not much info on the coral banded shrimp- hard to research Tank location made it hard to get a good vantage point from which to observe Jimmy

What We Learned Coral Banded Shrimp: likes the home rock (rock farthest to the left), not very good eyesight (used its antennae to detect surroundings), eats aiptasia as there was no aiptasia problems on its home rock, very territorial (as soon as the peppermint shrimp were added to the tank the coral banded shrimp ventured farther from its home rock than it had ever been recorded being so)

What We Learned Continued Peppermint Shrimp: like to hide (were usually observed hiding under the overhang of the rock farthest to the right in the tank, especially right after they were introduced into the tank), eat aiptasia (almost immediately following their introduction into the tank the aiptasia was observed to be dwindling on the right rock), do not interact well with the coral banded shrimp (usually hid and stayed away from the coral banded shrimp

What We Learned Continued Snails: very acrobatic (snails were found all over the tanks in areas that would have been very hard to access, the power head), very active in cleaning the glass of the tank Pencil Urchin: likes tight spaces (would position itself into corners or between the rocks and the tank wall), moves around a lot (almost everyday the urchin was observed in a different spot than it was in the day before)

Conclusions Our data supports our hypothesis for the most part We found the coral banded shrimp to react poorly to the introduction of other peppermint shrimp. He became very territorial and he guarded his territory. He molted once every month.

Bibliography Betts, Porter. “Behavior and Breeding of Peppermint Shrimp.” Advanced Aquarist. Advanced Aquarist, Apr Web. 10 Oct Calfo, Anthony, and Robert Fenner. Reef Invertebrates: An Essential Guide to Selection, Care and Compatibility. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print. Fenner, Bob. “The Banded Coral Shrimp, Stenopus hispidus.” Wet Web Media. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Nov Foster, and Smith. “Banded Coral Shrimp (Stenopus hispidus).” Live Aquaria. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Nov “Peppermint Shrimp.” Live Aquaria. Foster and Smith Inc., n.d. Web. 11 Oct Schuller, Zachary, and James B Wood. “Marine Invertebrates of Bermuda: Coral Banded Shrimp (Stenopus hispidus).” The Cephalopod Page. Bermuda Institutes of Ocean Science, n.d. Web. 3 Nov Shimek, Ronald L. Marine Invertebrates. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.