anemone and cleaner shrimp

[ls1grrrl]

We have an LTA that's been in our 54gal for about a month now and is eating well and looking much better than when we got it. However, I've noticed that a few hours after feeding the anemone, our cleaner shrimp comes over to it and begins reaching in its mouth, I guess looking for food.

Does anyone have experience with this? Is it dangerous? Should we move the shrimp to another aquarium? Unfortunately, the anemone has positioned itself in such a way that it's impossible to protect the anemone from the shrimp while/after eating.

Any thoughts are appreciated...

Heather

 

[GSMguy]

my shrimp did this as well when i had a lta i think your ok as long as it does not harm the nem

 

[scoutmaniak]

lol, I think it is cleaning the anemone. If you think about it, the cleaner will do that to fish, so why not an anemone?

 

[AquaReeferMan]

The shrimp is trying to get the food from the nem. I used to have this happen back in my first tank. I had a condy and whenever I fed it my Skunk would climb on it and take the food from it. IME this has never harmed the nems. Try giving the shrimp and piece of krill before feeding the nem so it stays occupied. I dont have that problem now. Both my BTA and Haddoni will try and eat the shrimp if they get to close. Sometime even ripping legs off. I wouldnt worry about it though. Just feed the shrimp before the nem and it shouldnt happen.

 

[ls1grrrl]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8732083#post8732083 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by AquaReeferMan
The shrimp is trying to get the food from the nem.
...
Try giving the shrimp and piece of krill before feeding the nem so it stays occupied.

Yeah, I know what the shrimp is after. It's pretty obvious

We do give the cleaner a piece of krill to distract it at the time of feeding. Then, a few hours after all have been fed, the cleaner goes to the anemone and begins reaching in it's mouth looking for food.

That's the problem. The cleaner is doing this well after the anemone has finished eating, and since the anemone is positioned partially in a rock crevice, we can't protect it from the shrimp. I'm really more trying to figure out if this is potentially harmful to the anemone. (At this point if the shrimp gets eaten, it's his own damn fault as far as I'm concerned...)

Thanks,
Heather

 

[ls1grrrl]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8731734#post8731734 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by scoutmaniak
lol, I think it is cleaning the anemone. If you think about it, the cleaner will do that to fish, so why not an anemone?

Well initially it looked like it was cleaning the anemone, but I watched shrimp actually forcing it's feet (?) into the anemone's mouth trying to get the already eaten food, and am concerned about whether it will do damage to the anemone's internal tissue this way...

Regards,
Heather

 

[bwest]

My larger peppermint shrimp would do the same thing, the smaller one doesn't though. After a couple times I saw this happen, I lured the larger one out, caught it and moved it to maintain another tank.