Cleaner shrimp stealing my RBTA's food!

[jjwill_sdsu]

So I'm looking for any suggestions from the peanut gallery. I have a rainbow bubble tip anemone in my 50 gallon cube that I feed frozen LRS Reef Frenzy with a baster. The anemone takes it readily, but after the RBTA's introduction, I purchased a cleaner shrimp. The jerk of a cleaner shrimp realized that food eventually ends up in the anemone's tentacles at feeding time, so every time I feed the anemone, I find the cleaner shrimp standing on it a few minutes later picking out the food I just fed the anemone.I'll chase him away with the baster while squirting water at him, but he comes back a few minutes later. Unless I stand guard for like 15 minutes, I don't think the BTA can get the food into his mouth before the shrimp can steal it. Part of me thinks it would be fitting payback if the cleaner shrimp were to get stung and eaten...

Anyway, does anyone have any suggestions for sheltering the anemone during feeding or dissuading the shrimp? Or am I worrying too much and the anemone will still get some food even with the little thief?

 

[journeyman]

Try giving the cleaner shrimp a piece of food first and then feed the rbta while the cleaner is eating.

I've always had trouble with cleaners stealing food from my rbta. I eventually gave up on keeping cleaner shrimp. They were too aggressive stealing food and I got tired of standing guard for my rbta to eat.

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[timnem70]

That's one Reason I do not target feed Nems. Thier clown tenants inadvertently feed the host with what they have caught. I've lost more anemones over the years from overfeeding then underfeeding.

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[timnem70]

The other suggestions are also valid.

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