Junda Lin's Peppermint Shrimp
Peppermint Shrimp are an extraordinarily useful aquarium inhabitant; for years they have been prescribed for ailments as far reaching as Marine Ich all the way to diatom blooms. Their effectiveness at curing many of these ills was not reliable. We often attribute their success at some of these jobs to their remarkable ability to clean aquariums, even in tight spaces. One job that they have long been reliably good at (if enough are used) is aiptasia control, and they remain a favorite for this among many hobbyists. Peppermints have never been the most striking shrimp out there, often being overshadowed by more beautiful, but less useful shrimp like Blood / Fire Shrimp or Candy Cane Shrimp. It is only in the last 15-20 years or so that the hobby even bothered separating them by species (another possible reason that higher populations were needed to ensure they did what you expected them to, as it was likely you were getting multiple species when you bought a group). This still likely happens, though less so, as species are starting to be imported specifically, and on the retail end, consumers are starting to ask for specific animals by species.
Now, on the other end of the identification spectrum we'd like to introduce Junda Lin's Peppermint Shrimp (Lysmata jundalini). This is a fairly “new” species having only been described in 2012; their description as a species is based on a small number of individuals originally collected in Puerto Rico in 2005 and 2009. It is likely that a wild specimen or two of these shrimp may have made it into the country before as a peppermint shrimp, the shrimp available from Quality Marine today are aquacultured! While many people in the Aquarium Hobby will recognize the name Junda Lin, for those that won't, he was the Director of the Institute for Marine Research (IMR) and a Biological Sciences Professor at the Florida Institute of Technology. He was also an outspoken advocate for the breeding of marine fish and invertebrates for the marine aquarium trade. Dr. Lin passed away in 2016, though the shrimp bearing his name will get to live on in journals and aquariums for years to come.
L jundalini are a small but colorful species; having golden legs and a blue spot at maturity. Healthy specimens will have a blueish sheen to their exoskeleton that is enhanced by the blue wavelengths popular in aquariums today. Early testing of these shrimp show them to be effective cleaners and aiptasia controllers. If aquarists are looking for aiptasia control, 5 or 6 per 25 gallons should wipe out pretty much any infestation given enough time. If you are just hoping to add effective cleaners to your tank, 2 or 3 per 25 gallons is a more stable long term population. Like most small aquarium shrimp, they have a fairly short lifespan, generally less than 2 or 3 years, so replenishment will be necessary over time to maintain their effectiveness.
Keeping Junda Lin's Peppermint Shrimp is just as easy as keeping any other “Peppermint”. They will get a lot of their nutrient needs from detritus and left over food, though over time they will require supplemental feeding. They do well with sinking pellets and small chunks of meaty food. The better they are fed, the less likely they are to steal food from corals and other tankmates, however, if fed too well, they won't take their aptasia wipeout or cleaning duties quite as seriously. Like just about everything else in the marine aquarium hobby, balance is the key.
Other points to consider are stable temperatures around 78ish, a stable salinity of about 1.025 (give or take a pointish), a lack of copper and/or nutrient spikes. Obviously these shrimp could (and likely would) become meals for large carnivorous tankmates like big Triggerfish or Puffers, so avoid housing with fish that can eat them. If you keep multiples, which we highly recommend, they are likely to spawn in the home aquarium. While raising them does present some challenges for the home aquarist; it is clearly possible as we're offering these aquacultured specimens to you now!
All of us here at Quality Marine are extremely proud to be able to bring these aquacultured Peppermint Shrimp bearing Junda Lin's name to you now. They are an amazing option for people who are looking for great cleaners for their reef or FOWLR tanks, as long as reasonable choices are made regarding tankmates. They are great looking, effective and the absolute picture of sustainable. Give your LFS a call and tell them you want to get six of Junda Lin's Peppermint Shrimp today!