caught peppermint eating porcelain crab

[shanekennedy]

the crab was still alive & trying to fight back. i chased the shrimp off & pulled the crab out. it had a hole all the way thru its body. did't actually see the shrimp catch the crab. i assume since she was eating it, she caught it. i thought peppermints were peaceful scavengers. the shrimp was carring eggs. maybe her hormones are acting up or something. i turned up my auto-feeder a notch in hope to remedy the problem. has anyone else had problems w/ peppermints?

 

[Dazz]

It could have been wounded from something else maybe a carniverous crab, or even if it had molted it would have been vunerable.

I have so far had no problems with them though.

 

[we_want_Nemo]

My Peppermints will eat anything they can get. They are the first to come when I feed the tank.
One time I "rescued" a red emerald crab (?) who was stuck behing my MAG-pump !!!!! just to find out he was hiding there to molt in peace.
Well needless to say, the three peppermint shrimp where done with him within 5 Minutes (almost nothing left)

Maybe your crab was in distress before the shrimp got a hold of it?
Hope it works out ok
Manuela

 

[shanekennedy]

something is really spooking my porcelains. normally i can see a group of a dozen all swinging their filter arms. last night none of them were active. & the few i could find wouldn't move when i reached in & touched them. also found another dead one this morning.

do pistol shrimp kill crabs?? my rock came w/ some 1/4" pistols. last night i noticed 1 that has grown to an inch.

 

[liverock]

something is really spooking my porcelains. normally i can see a group of a dozen all swinging their filter arms. last night none of them were active. & the few i could find wouldn't move when i reached in & touched them. also found another dead one this morning.

do pistol shrimp kill crabs?? my rock came w/ some 1/4" pistols. last night i noticed 1 that has grown to an inch.

Most likely a molt...

Richard TBS
www.tbsaltwater.com

 

[Splach]

Nah, the pistols haven't messed with anything in my tank. I have about 1/2 a dozen up to about 3" and they just do their little dance across the sand and drive my wife crazy (she thinks they look drunk). Good luck figuring it out, could you still be harboring a mantis?

 

[shanekennedy]

thought about a mantis last night. turned out lights & went searching w/ flashlight & red lense, but found no mantis. will keep searching. found remains of 3 more porcelains last night.
haven't had any problems w. other crabs: mithrax, hermits & decorators

 

[8BALL_99]

Flashlight & red lense. Does this keep from scaren stuff off that normally hide from light? I've got some kinda of shrimp in one of my rocks that I can never get a look at.. Ive only been able to catch the very top of is head and that was in the hole so I couldn't make out to much.

 

[we_want_Nemo]

8BALL_99

I use a red flashlight and it doesn't seem to bother anything in the tank. They all mind their business - and I can watch

If you don't have a red flashlight, just take a normal one, and use a red look through paper (really don't know the name, but you can buy it at a craft store like Michaels or HobbyLobby) and tape it over the flashlight.

have fun watching
Manuela

 

[HillbillyScott]

I want to die in my sleep like my grandfather. Not screaming and yelling like the passengers in his car <~~OMG did I LOL
gonna order some TBS tomarrow