Cleaner Shrimp went AWOL

[Macaw Guy]

I had a pair of cleaner shrimp until yesterday morning. Have not been able to find a corpse or a molt, although I didn't really look too hard because I didn't want to stick my hands in the tank. Now I cannot find one of them. Here's the lineup of suspects from the 75gal FOWLR:

12 Blue-leg hermits
2 Peppermint Shrimp

3 damsels
1 diadem pseudochromis
1 coral beauty angel

1 red brittle star
1 black-banded star

I'm at a loss here because this guy has molted before but doesn't do the usual hidey-hide routine afterwards.

Any suggestions would be welcome.

TIA-
Andrew

[Macaw Guy]

Oh yeah I just realized that I din't look around the tank...have cleaners been known to jump ship like eels?

AARG! I love the interaction between the missing guy and the coral beauty angel - that fish seemed to prefer one cleaner over the other, and unfortunately the one he preferred is the one that is missing.

[Flatfish]

I have never had a shrimp jump out of a tank, I suppose they could climb. The point is that I haven’t had one die that way. When a shrimp dies with a cleaner crew like yours it will take a very sharp eye to find any leftovers (if any). So, yes, is may have just disappeared. I have had a few shrimp disappear like that. My cleaner when he molts does not hide so you can see it. You can usually find the antennae lurking somewhere. Like a brittle star hiding under a rock with its arms splayed out.

[Macaw Guy]

Thanks flatfish.

I suppose the cleanup crew would be especially hungry since Wednesday is my no-feed day.

Didn't think of that one!