shrimp hitchhiker

bought a patch of caluerpa to place in my prototype in tank refugium. as i put the macros in i notice a shrimp dart out of the batch and swim towards the crevice of a rock. i don't have a picture at this time and will try to get one up asap.

I'm thinking it was in its young stage of something else.... the brief time i saw it it seemed transparent/purpleish and a big head compared to the rest of its body....

at this time I'm both concerned that it will be munched by my toby and that it may grow to be a ruthless predator....

it looked very similar to a ghost shrimp but I'm really not sure it was that. the algae was kept with a small coral banded shrimp.

 

pictures aren't very good but this is what i got so far....

 

Are you sure it's not a mantis?

 

thats what I'm terribly afraid of corailline! its front appendages don't bend backwards like that of a mantis though, and if I'm correct the mantis body tends to be rather long without the typical "hump" you find on other shrimps near the tail.. (not sure if you get what i mean)

while this little guy clearly has the shrimp like hump. i thought it may have been an anemone shrimp looking at its blue front arms but the body isn't as transparent as the regular anemone shrimp.

 

couple more picture, you can see both his "paws" on the photo and i have to admit it does look comforting seeing as i don't think its the lethal clutches of a mantis, thought i might be wrong.

 

HA! you've been caught on camera!

he is rather neat actually...but i still fear for my corals

 

Kind of looks like a Saron Shrimp/aka Marble shrimp, very cool, but they are coral eaters.

Google it and see if it's a match.

 

you might be right, ill have to keep an eye on him. if he starts wondering during the day i doubt he will last long before falling victim to my toby though.

 

I swear Corailline, I am always so impressed with your breadth of knowledge!

 

Anyone else wanna chime in?