Mr. Saltwater Tank

Mr. Saltwater Tank TV Friday Am Quick Tip #100: Don’t Believe The Rumors


Cleaner shrimp make a flashy and useful addition to any saltwater tank. With their long antennae and their eye-catching colors, you (or your kids) will fall in love with them. While cleaner shrimp are great eye-candy, there is only one cleaning job you should trust them to do.

P.S. Don’t miss the bonus section to this week’s tip!

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Comments for this article (72)

  • David Larkin says:

    “What is left up?” … haha that was funny. Gotta love blooper reels (even though they are frustrating for you), good laughs though.
    Great tip Mark, thank you! Congratulations on #100

  • Mark H. says:

    Great tip Mark, gotta love the the cameo shrimp. 🙂

  • Steve says:

    The bloopers were great !

  • Ryan S says:

    Great quick tip Mark. Loved the bonus section!

    Question: We’ve all seen cleaner shrimp picking stuff off of our fish before. I always thought they were removing parasites. Are they doing something else? Or is your point, not that they CAN’T remove some parasites, but that we shouldn’t rely SOLELY on them for removing parasites from every fish?

  • kelly says:

    HAHAHAHA! loved the end… Made me not just giggle, but i laughed. Who would have thought it was so difficult… Nice to know that its impossible to get anything done with children..and dogs… and not unruly cleaner shrimp that won’t sit still!

  • Lars says:

    Hey Mark. Thanks for the tips!! Don’t know if you use a teleprompter of any kind, but for around $300-$400 you can get a great iPad teleprompter (plus the cost of the iPad obviously). I couldn’t do half of the work I do without a teleprompter. The Pad Prompter is the one I use. Just a thought.

    Really appreciate your work and insight!! As a new reef keeper, they’ve been very valuable!! Keep up the great work.

  • Michael Gray says:

    “God Dang it … The freakin shrimp moved!” That’s almost up there with
    ” Say Hello to my little friends”. Loved the outtakes.

  • Ryan…cleaner shrimp can remove parasites from fish, but you have to keep in mind ich and velvet rarely (if ever) are observed in nature. Out on the reef parasitic gnathiid isopods are what is mostly found. So to assume cleaner shrimp is suddenly recognize a parasite they’ve never seen, then decide to eat it is a stretch. Plus there is no guarantee the shrimp will get all the parasites when it cleans the fish. If one trophont remains after the cleaning, then it can mature, drop off the fish and divide causing an ich outbreak.

  • Steven says:

    Mark come on you’re giving the shrimp grief…he was the only pro in the shoot.

  • Jason says:

    Awesome! One thing you could do to make it A LOT easier on yourself would be to break the dialogue into smaller chunks and shoot them from different angles. That will look dynamic while also allowing you to not be having to redo the whole shot if you mess up on one word.

  • Jason…great suggestion. I usually do that on longer takes like during my full show. I try to nail the quick tips in one take, and it doesn’t always go so smoothly!

    Thanks for the idea…sometimes a reminder of the basics is really useful!

  • Steven…he was an extra! All he had to do was sit there and hold still!! I was the real talent in the tip! 😀

  • Steven says:

    Touché, Mark seriously thank you for the quick tips. I have not had a reef tank in 20 years and was never very good at it so I appreciate it.

  • Bob says:

    Hi Mark,

    Q on how to get rid of aiptasia. Have tried Aptasia-X (messy) and copper banded butterfly – 2 died did not eat 1- only ate aptasia died after aptasia gone. Latest copper guy only eats shrimp and does not eat aiptasia. Any other more reliable and hardier predators of aiptasia.

    Thanks Bob

  • Bob says:

    Apologize for changing topic – Thought was general email….

  • John says:

    Thank you for stating my Friday morning with good information and I was laughing so hard during your blooper segment, could’nt drink my coffee. Thanks again and congratulations on #100

  • Justin says:

    Mark,
    Thanks for another great video, always starts my reefing weekend off right, and this one made my morning. Solid Information about cleaners, and way to get really human with your audience!
    Thanks, Justin

  • Carrie says:

    Omg that was toooo funny! Thanks for the comic relief. I enjoy all of your quick tips and congrats on #100. Thanks for making this hobby easier!

  • Matt says:

    Mwaaahahaaaa … top tip.. top laugh… Glad I’m not the only one with a dog + small blonde monster disturbing Daddy whilst working… 😀

    With Michael on this one… That’s an excellent line…

  • Matt says:

    The question is how long before Bridger takes over from Dad… 😛

  • Thanks Justin and I’m glad the tip made your morning.

  • John…snotting coffee is a bad thing!

  • Jeff says:

    Thanks for the info, Mark. Also, congrats on the 100 AM quick tips! I look forward to them every week – shrimp or no shrimp in the background.

  • Lisa says:

    Good job Mark! LOL I never realized how pain staking the Friday quick tip could be:) Now I really appreciate them. Happy Friday.

  • Jon says:

    Mark, I know how hard something like a “simple” video can be. You do a great job, and a lot of us really appreciate it. Keep up the good work.

  • Bassem says:

    Hi mark im from lebanon midle east and i have a fresh water tank but when i had start to watch ur tv i wanted to start a salt water reef so i make a 250g one
    i have.a very big problem cz i cant find any hard ware for salt water in my country and i had try to get it from usa but i cant find a web that sell in 220v so plz can u help

  • Steve says:

    Mark, formerly being in media I get it. Thanks for showing us the human side. Thanks for all the hard work, now we know how you get your hair styled. :-). Kidding.

    Keep up the good work, it does help out us newbies.

  • Bryan says:

    Hey Mark ,

    I think now we all know your tank personality…..

    Frustrated !!!

    Lol

  • Tim Briggs says:

    Hey Mark,
    Thanks for your tip. Quick question, it looks like you have a really good looking Wellso just over your shoulder. Do you have any good tips for keeping them healthy and thriving? Mine is alive, and occasionally it will puff up, but not very often. Thoughts?
    Tim Briggs

  • brian says:

    Hey mark you should talk about running the incoming air for the protein skimmer through a reactor filled with soda lime in order to remove co2 and stabilize ph. I figured it would be a good tip for the colder weather coming up and many people will not want to open windows…… I would also like to see a video on bio pellets and see what your opinions are on them.

  • Simon K. says:

    Congrats Mark on the milestone!! We all love your work, keep up the great work. Your videos are always a great way to start my Friday morning.

    Simon

  • Dowtish says:

    Best quick tip vid ever. Thanks for all your hard work Mark. We all love laughing at your expense.

  • Mike Mueller says:

    Thanks for having the sense of humor to show your human side. It is really appriciated. btw when will Bridger be taking the reigns?? lol /jk

  • Hans says:

    LOLO… Funny, by the time I got this email, you’ve just woken up, and we’re nearly going to bed….

  • Jim Aubrey says:

    Love the Friday morning quick tips. The bloopers were great. Sounds like me trying to record a voicemail greeting message.

  • Aaron says:

    It’s good to see your Bellus made it.

  • Daire says:

    That was sooooooo funny!! Thanks for giving me a good laugh!

  • jewels2484 says:

    Loved the bloopers!!!

  • paco b says:

    I had one before the downgrade i need to get another one. congrats on the 100 quick tip!!!! your tank looks so BUSY!!!! i had to watch the tip twice i was so entertain by the fish. you should give us a tour of your tank soon it looks awesome!!!!

  • Doug says:

    Mark, Thanks for your efforts…all this while I thought you knocked these clips out in 5 minute one takes!, try an extra cup of coffee..It’ll either sharpen the tongue or make you throw a brick through your tank…keep up the good work !

  • Devin says:

    Mark great tip and one of your funniest, loved the blooper section!! I was wondering if you could give an updated list of the type of fish you have in your tank? Also what type of fish is that at 2:37, top right of your head?

    Thanks
    Devin

  • kevin pluk says:

    Mark i still can’t see the cleaner shrimp ;).

    Anyhow, i like them, and i get how hard it is. In your mind it’s really easy but for some reason as soon as you open your mouth it comes out different…

    WTB mind reading speaking device ;).

  • Byron says:

    We like seeing your son too.

  • Edward says:

    Mark,
    Congrats on your 100th episode!! Can not wait to watch when you have your 200th 😀 The tank is looking wonderful! so busy and colorful. Truly worth the work and money you have invested.

  • Kevin…a mind reading device would say, “CORAL…CORAL….FISH…..CORAL….CORAL…etc”!

  • Alexander says:

    Love the out-takes. Thanks Mark.

  • Bruce Hall says:

    Congrats on the 100th. Thats alot of video editing. Good luck trying to find more topics to cover, I think you have done a great job.

  • Hector says:

    That was great, you should share those bloopers more often so everyone realizes your just as human. Between your son, the dog, the shrimp and god dang it. We’ll come up with Mr. Saltwater sayings for a beer game.

  • Ben says:

    your gonna go bald man.

Comments are closed.