Pederson's Clearner Shrimp

Description:

The Pederson’s cleaner shrimp is a small translucent shrimp with blue, light blue, and lavender spots and strips located on the abdomen, tail, and legs. They have long white antennae and grow to a size of about 3cm. The cleaner shrimp’s translucent body with its few markings allows it to hide and disappear among the sea anemone.

Habitat:

Tom Owens Cay, Belize

Notes:

Pederson’s cleaner shrimps have a symbiotic relationship with its sea anemone. They are dependent on the sea anemone and are rarely found far from them because although the shrimps have a shell, the anemone provides protection from predators. In return, the shrimp cleans the anemone removing organism caught in the anemone’s mucus. Therefore, they feed on the tiny organisms and detritus that get caught in the anemones mucus. The cleaner shrimp also wave their antennae to attract fish to their “cleaning stations”. The cleaner shrimp has a mutulistic relationship with the fish. They remove parasites from stationary fish that are passing by. They also clean inside the mouth and gill coverings of the fish. Although the Pederson’s cleaner shrimp have an armored exoskeleton, this does not protect them from the sea anemones sting produced by the nematocysts. The cleaning shrimp has to adapt themselves to their host. This is done by slowly making contact with the tentacles of the anemone. After this process is done repeatedly, the shrimp develops immunity and can move about the anemone unaffected. Similarly, the anemone also no longer notices the presence of the cleaner shrimp.