If you’re considering purchasing a rare invertebrate for your marine aquarium, the $30 and up blood red fire shrimp comes to mind, remember that these critters don’t have a terribly long life span. Unlike fish, which can live for decades under the proper care, most shrimp have an expected lifespan of just a few years. Now, one could argue that $30 isn’t a bad purchase for three or more years of enjoyment, but with the often reclusive nature of most shrimp and the fact that they may disappear after just a few weeks, the price is definitely something to consider. If you need the shrimp to perform a very specific function, however, that’s a completely different story. It might be necessary to cough up a few bucks to get a good cleaner shrimp to pick off some external parasites from your fish.
