Caridina spongicola (Harlequin Shrimp) with sponges in a tank?

[bonesy]

I'm in the start stages of setting up my first Sulawesi tank and I'm doing research and the question that came to mind was: "has anyone tried to keep a Harlequin Shrimp in a tank with the sponge that they live with in the wild?"

I think it would look rather neat,
also i have read that this is VERY difficult to keep, could this be something to try to make them live longer?
Thanks for taking to time for my crazy questions guys!

[countcoco]

I think the financial cost of getting the sponge shipped to Canada would outweigh any potentially salubrious effects.

[Mac Myers]

Countcoco may be right... but if you got the money and want a challenge.... I'd say this would be a good one. But the cash outlay would be uh.... enough to feed a family of 3 for a month!

[beijing08]

wow...could you guys give an approximate quote on these sponges? and is there DOA? LOL (how could you tell if it's dead?)
they look cool but it's hard to recreate their natural habitat, low tds/gh and high pH.

[imke_j]

I'm in the start stages of setting up my first Sulawesi tank and I'm doing research and the question that came to mind was: "has anyone tried to keep a Harlequin Shrimp in a tank with the sponge that they live with in the wild?"

The true c. spongicola (PDF (http://download.naturkundemuseum-berlin.de/kristina.rintelen/54rbz271-276.pdf)) is no shrimp that should be caught, traded and kept by hobbiests. It's highly specialized and will die on every little mistake you make. If you like the look, you should try caridina wolterecka if you have already larger experiences in (Sulawesi) shrimp keeping. Otherwise, you will waste time, money and shrimp lives.

[Scorpio]

The true c. spongicola is no shrimp that should be caught, traded and kept by hobbiests. It's highly specialized and will die on every little mistake you make. If you like the look, you should try caridina wolterecka if you have already larger experiences in (Sulawesi) shrimp keeping. Otherwise, you will waste time, money and shrimp lives.

I completely agree. There are far too many cons to keeping C. spongicola; they most definitely do not outweigh the pros. The same could even be said for C. woltereckae - they're much hardier than C. spongicola but they're still incredibly delicate. If only we had Lake Towuti outside our homes to nip down to and nab some water...

I have some good news that might interest people also! I recently sent off my applications to Universities, and during my interview at the University of Manchester they asked me whether I'd be interested in doing research in Sulawesi on the shrimp species during or after my course. They seemed interested too! I hope I could do research there on any creatures!