Purple Coral Banded Shrimp (Stenopus sp.)

Purple Coral Banded Shrimp (Stenopus sp.) run on the same body plan that defines the entire CBS genus: oversized pincers relative to body size, bold banded legs, and a permanent territorial posture that announces "this rock is mine" from across the tank. The purple color form trades the classic red-and-white banding of S. hispidus for a deep violet that holds well under blue-spectrum reef lighting, making it one of the more visually distinct members of a genus not short on drama.

Like its red-and-white cousins, it stakes out a section of rock as a personal cleaning station and advertises its services by waving its long white antennae — a genuine cleaning station behavior that fish in the area will occasionally use. It defends that territory fiercely from any other banded shrimp, including its own species, so keep only one per tank unless you have a confirmed mated pair. A mated pair of CBS can share territory peacefully; two unmated individuals of the same sex will fight.

Feed meaty foods: frozen mysis, pieces of shrimp or krill, sinking pellets. They're bold enough to come out for target-feeding fairly quickly once settled.

Scientific name: Stenopus sp. (purple color form; possibly S. cyanoscelis or a related species)
Origin: Tropical Indo-Pacific and Caribbean — reef caves, overhangs, and sheltered crevices at low to moderate depth
Water parameters: Temp 72–80°F · Salinity 1.023–1.026 · pH 8.1–8.4
Tank requirements: 20 gal minimum; provide caves and overhang structures for territory establishment
Diet: Omnivore — meaty frozen foods, sinking pellets; scavenges detritus and parasites
Compatibility: Reef safe; aggressive toward other banded shrimp; peaceful with fish and other invertebrate species
Husbandry note: Don't keep two CBS in the same tank unless they're a confirmed mated pair — unpaired individuals will fight until one is dead. If you want a pair, buy two small juveniles simultaneously and let them grow up together, which gives them the best chance of pairing naturally.