Do Cleaner shrimp eat stomatella?

[cyeast97]

you know.. those egg and sperm spitting snails. I have a 29 gal with just a baby maroon clown and think I might complete the tank with a cleaner skunk shrimp. I've read on here that cleaners will eat bristle worms so I am wondering if anyone has seen them eat stomatellas as well. I have a healthy population of those snails so some casualties will be alright but I don't want to lose them all.
Thanks...also, a maroon won't kill a shrimp will it? It's only about an inch and a half.

 

[pagojoe]

I don't know about the maroon part of your question, but cleaner shrimp will pick at stomatellas, just like they will pick at anything else. I suppose they might kill one if he stuck around in the same spot long enough, though I doubt that would happen since stomatellas tend to move quickly when they aren't hiding. Cleaner shrimp will harrass cowries mercilessly, picking off all their papillae and damaging their mantles.

Cheers,



Don

 

[Bubbashrimp]

I have personally never seen a skunk cleaner(if that is the shrimp you are refering to) eat a bristle worm. I am not saying that it does not happen, indeed it may, and someone may even have a picture of this behavior. What I am saying is that the bristle worms I have been using for photography i have been placing right back into the aquarium. These worms are both large and small. Now it might be that they do not touch this particular spieces, I dont know.

 

[Krazy]

I've seen my peppermints attack and eat stomella snails before...

I havent seen my cleaner do this though

 

[romunov]

They can probably decimate juvenile population while they can still snag them from substrate. Adults are probably more resilient.

So I would say, yes.

 

[reefgrief]

I put a peppermint shrimp in with my 3" marroon clown and it seems to be fine. I have even noted it walking into the little hollow behind a rock, with the clown. Oddly enough, I introduced a 6 line wrasse about a month ago, and it hasnt eaten the shrimp yet, but who knows what will happen when it molts. Before the shrimp and wrasse, I had an HEAVY stomatella population, with adults reaching an inch or better, and it is now dwindling, although I haven't actually observed the shrimp or the wrasse dine on them.

 

[J. Montgomery]

I've personally witnessed my peppermint shrimp pull an adult stomatella off a rock and disappear behind the LR with it.

 

[mastou]

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1101429&highlight=stomatella

 

[wrasseguy2]

i have seen my skunk cleaner many of times have a stomatella eating eat as well as my fire shrimp...i have not seen my peppermints do it but it would not surprise me at all if they did...when i spot feed my corals i always give the shrimp some food too or they will eat what i feed to the corals...i still have a ton of those snails but they do eat them in my tank.

 

[cyeast97]

thanks for the replys. Even though there is a decent chance that a skunk cleaner will eat the snails, I'll still probably get one... about the skunks.. Is there anything in particular to look for when purchasing one?
I know that their color should be vibrant but thats about it. I guess the main reason I ask is because since the local fish store where I live is really expensive, I asked PetCo. to order me one. I got lucky with my maroon clown from PetCo. but aslo realize that its kind of a crap shoot when it comes to corporate fish stores.

 

[cyeast97]

oh, and one more question. Are aptasia a problem with shunk cleaners? I have quite a few of themthat are on the smaller side.

 

[J. Montgomery]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9838681#post9838681 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by cyeast97
oh, and one more question. Are aptasia a problem with shunk cleaners? I have quite a few of themthat are on the smaller side.

I've only heard about peppermint shrimp and copper-banded butterflies eating aiptasia.