Cleaner Shrimp and LPS

[aquamanstl]

Every time I try to feed any of my LPS (Torch, Frogspawn, Hammer, Candy Cane, etc), my Cleaner Shrimp swoops in and steals the food. Is this typical behavior because the cleaner shrimp is new in the tank. If typical, what can I do to feed my LPS?

Thanks in advance,

Nick

 

[PiXieCath]

Give food(like pellets or whatever) to your cleaner shrimp just before to feed your corals.

 

[impur]

I use a chopstick to ward off the shrimp till the LPS finishes. Takes more time so i don't feed the LPS very often.

 

[JeRmZ]

I'm with impur. This is the only reason I hate cleaner's .... they are the vulture of a saltwater tank. I use a Wooden Skewer to fend off the cleaner until the LPS is done eating!

 

[Rekonn]

I have two cleaner shrimps and every time the turkey baster gets in the tank they know they're getting a meal. I just use enough food to feed everybody.

 

[IslandCrow]

I'm planning on getting rid of my cleaner shrimp for this very reason. I can generally ward him off, but he's a major pain! I've actually seen him drop the food I've just given him to go after the exact same food that I've fed to one of my corals or anemone.

Oh, and by the way, I've yet to see my "cleaner" clean much of anything. My fish hate him, and he's too busy darting around my corals looking for their food to eat anything I actually don't want in the tank.

 

[All Delight]

I feed my cleaner first. I let him eat as much as he wants which is a lot. Then I wait about 2 mins because he always wants seconds which isn't too much but again I let him have as much as he wants. Then I feed my corals. He doesn't bother them at all after that.

I think its too much work to fight him off while you feed the corals. My acan and yumas take forever to consume they're food. I don't wanna sit there for 10 mins and fight this shrimp.

 

[Beastmaster]

I have a large peppermint and usually do exactly as above - fend him off with some tongs. I fed my trachy the other day and waited for him to fully ingest the food. I came back to the tank ten minutes later and found the peppermint had dug through the side of the trachy next to the mouth and was pulling out the ingested food. The ruddy thing's for the sump if I can catch him (if not the sunp then the BBQ...)