Red Spotted Pistol Shrimp care guide
Red Spotted Pistol Shrimp (Alpheus rubromaculatus) — minimum tank 60 L, temperature 24-26 °C, pH 8.1-8.4.
Compiled by Aquairi from published sources · Published · Updated
Overview
Red Spotted Pistol Shrimp (Alpheus rubromaculatus) is a marine pistol (snapping) shrimp of the family Alpheidae, listed in the Aquairi knowledge base as an intermediate-level species. Pistol shrimp with red spotting on pale body. Less common in trade, prized by reef enthusiasts for goby symbiosis displays.
Taxonomy
- Family: Alpheidae
- Genus: Alpheus
- Scientific name: Alpheus rubromaculatus
- Common synonyms: Red Spotted Pistol
Habitat
Alpheus pistol (snapping) shrimp are alpheid crustaceans of tropical reefs and sand flats that bear one greatly enlarged claw. Snapping the claw produces a cavitation bubble and a loud pop used to stun prey and deter rivals; many species share a burrow with a partner goby in a well-documented symbiosis. In the Aquairi knowledge base this species is recorded from Indo-Pacific.
Tank requirements
- Minimum tank volume: 60 L (15.9 US gal)
- Adult size: 3-5 cm
- Temperature: 24-26 °C (75-79 °F)
- pH: 8.1-8.4
- GH: 8-12 °dGH
- KH: 8-12 °dKH
- Salinity (specific gravity): 1.024-1.026
- Lifespan: 3-5 years
Diet
The species is a scavenger, locating carrion and organic particles around the substrate and burrow; in aquaria it readily takes sinking pellets and meaty frozen foods and helps clear uneaten food from the sand bed.
Compatibility
The Aquairi knowledge base lists this species as peaceful. Suitable tank mates include Shrimp gobies. It should be kept away from Predatory fish. It pairs naturally with a partner goby that shares and guards its burrow.
Breeding
Breeding requires an extended planktonic larval stage in open water before the young settle, which makes captive reproduction very difficult and rarely accomplished in home aquaria. Most specimens in the hobby are wild-collected.
Red Spotted Pistol Shrimp (Alpheus rubromaculatus) Breeding Guide
Overview
Alpheus rubromaculatus Karplus, Szlep & Tsurnamal, 1981 is a snapping (pistol) shrimp of the family Alpheidae, named in a study of goby–shrimp partner specificity and distribution in the northern Red Sea. Like its relatives it has one enlarged snapping claw and lives in a burrow shared with a goby, which is the basis of its appeal in reef tanks rather than breeding.
Symbiosis Biology
The shrimp excavates and maintains the burrow while the goby serves as lookout. Outside the burrow the shrimp keeps an antenna on the goby; the goby's tail signal warns of danger, and both partners withdraw together. Partner specificity between particular goby and shrimp species has been studied in this Red Sea assemblage.
Spawning & Berried Females
Female alpheids carry fertilised eggs under the abdomen until they hatch. Snapping shrimp typically form lasting pairs and the male guards the female through her vulnerable post-moult phase.
Larval Care
Larvae pass through nauplius, zoea and post-larval stages and drift as plankton before settlement. No whitelisted source documents successful aquarium rearing of this species to settlement.