Symbiosis?

baz · Post by **baz** » Thu Nov 10, 2005 10:24 am

Last night I noticed a juvenile Albino Cory lying on it's side atop a bed of Java Fern. Looking closer there was a Cherry shrimp on top of the fish picking at it. I went to remove what I thought was a dead fish from the tank but when the net got near it, the cory righted itself and bolted back to its shoal of other cories. Since then its been acting normal and looks completely healthy. Could the shrimp have been actually "cleaning" the fish?

Post by **Mustafa** » Thu Nov 10, 2005 9:32 pm

I have observed shrimp pick at stuff on fish and even other shrimp, but I don't really think it works the same as with the cleaner shrimp in the oceans. The shrimp are just looking for food and the fish just don't care.

baz · Post by **baz** » Fri Nov 11, 2005 8:48 am

Thank you for your reply. What amazed me was that the fish was on its side letting the shrimp do its thing. From my experience fish don't normally lay on their side unless dead or dying. Maybe I'm looking too much into this set of circumstances.

Post by **Mustafa** » Fri Nov 11, 2005 8:53 am

Some fish species actuallysleep on their sides, but maybe you're on to something.

GunmetalBlue · Post by **GunmetalBlue** » Fri Nov 11, 2005 2:37 pm

This is a cute thread and symbiosis is an interesting topic.

My cherry shrimp tries to pick at micro items and the algae growing on my Bamboo shrimp's carapace. But at some point, the Bamboo shrimp uses its antennae to "whip" the grazer away (no harm done to either), so can't say it's truly symbiotic. There are areas the antennae can't quite reach, so the Bamboo ends up with an asymmetrical "haircut."

-GB