Monday, September 15, 2008

Ruby Tuesday: Shrimp on the Hoof

Cleaner Shrimp

Believe it or not, this fellow really is that red. I don't know which impressed me more, his color or his whiskers. I hope the ones I've been scarfing down all these years aren't this cute.

*Update Sept.16: I saw this in a fish store at the Farmers Market. A friend tells me this critter is kept in salt water aquaria as a pet, rather than ending up as a colorful snack. Which would make sense, as it's really small. Like ... shrimpy.

Check out the rest of the entries over at theteach's place, Work of the Poet.

20 comments:

marcia@joyismygoal said...

That is so cool I have never seen anything like that

Anonymous said...

Ha! I haven't seen many of these alive! Great shot...

Tink *~*~* said...

He's so cute! Where did you find him? I want one! :D

Tink *~*~*
My Mobile Adventures *~*~*

EG CameraGirl said...

I sure didn't know they were that red. Happy Ruby Tuesday!

Anonymous said...

Oh yeah, that's really a cute fellow! I am so impressed at how red it is, and oh my, the whiskers are so impressing as well!

My Ruby Tuesday photo is now posted, too! Hope you can hop by my entry if you have the time. Thanks!

Felisol said...

What a knife sharp photo.
Weird shrimp though.
You must be more than ordinary patient to make these rare shots.
Brilliant.
From Felisol

Maria's Space said...

He is so cute....

Linda said...

I've seen live shrimp but none this red. Simply amazing.

~Just Me Miranda~ said...

That is a really cool shot, whiskers almost look drawn onto the pic.

Raven said...

He is cute. Very cool shot.

Lara said...

a cute post! it's nice not to see them in a plate :)!

Dianne said...

that's a great shot!! A bit like a still from an animated shrimp movie :)

Janet said...

omg he's so cute!!!

Anonymous said...

oh oh, i think they are all that cute :-) Marvellous photo!

Mojo said...

Most of the ones I've seen "on the hoof" like that aren't nearly that colorful. I wonder if this guy is a different species than we're used to?

Sherrie said...

Great Photo!!! Are all shrimp that colorful? Take Care!!

Sherrie

Rambling Woods said...

He is cute...I don't eat them so I can really appreciate how cute he is..

Ivon said...

Your photo is a great shot. The under water world comes alive on a night dive. Things that hide in the day time from predators, come out to feed at night. It is a lovely world down there.

Kiva said...

Your photo is amazing. In all my years at the beach and looking at shrimp, I've never seen one as pretty.

Anonymous said...

I've been a diver since 1970 (yeah, I'm old!) and I can tell you that this shrimp species is quite common in many tropical areas, including here in Hawaii. They're called Cleaner Shrimp. In nature, they make their living by cleaning parasites and dead skin tissue from other marine animals, especially certain fish. If a diver comes upon these guys and holds out a hand, the little shrimp will sometimes jump onto it and start picking at the diver's cuticles (which tickles a lot!).

Happy Ruby Tuesday