keeping peppermint shrimp alive

unboundmind

New member
we have had a devil of a time getting the shrimp thru acclimation and into the tank and living. with the exception of one small one which i think got eaten, the other 3 have either died while acclimating, one due to a too lg temp difference i think, and the other died shortly after going into the tank. used the usual acclimation by that meaning drip method with tank water and then off into the tank we go. so how do you keep these wonderful aiptasia aka anastasia killers alive?:wavehand:
 
Where have you bought them from?

I've bought about a dozen shrimp (cleaners, blood and peppermint) from SWA. None of them have survived. The shrimp I've bought online do perfectly fine in my tank. And I acclimate them the same way, and they are the same species. I think sometimes they aren't acclimated properly when they're at the store, so nothing you do can reverse that damage.

In general, it's a good idea to acclimate inverts for several hours. They are more sensitive than fish and take longer to adjust.
 
Beware of buying inverts at local stores. I've heard of inverts going up for sale the very next morning after a shipment arrives. We also don't know how long they were at the wholesaler before showing up at the lfs. Potentially, the peps you got could have changed hands three or four times in just a few days.
 
Thanks. Yep from a local store, two different ones. Maybe trying online way. I acclimated for probably an hour or so, maybe sounds like I need to go longer.
 
I've never acclimated for more than an hour. Not necessary, IMO, if the inverts are healthy to start with and you are putting them into a good environment.
 
an hour tops on getting them used to your water, its just one of those things, i can go through 5 to get one that lives a couple years, kinda like chromis, its a crapshoot.
 
I got my 2 cleaner shrimp from petco...on sale 12.99 or something =) going strong for a while now, and the female has had eggs the past few molts! wooho fish food! lol

my method may not be the best way of acclimating, but i just float the bag until temp matches then pour cup by cup water into the shrimps bag.. after a few cups and about 15mins later scoop the shrimps out and thats all. i also dump the water from the bag into the toilet... that has worked for me in the past..ive released about 6 or so shrimps in my tank.. havent lost one. ( i have sold some)
 
I don't acclimate anything, honestly... My peppermint is a HOG and cleaned my tank of aiptasia as the first inhabitant when I set it up. I bought it from SWA and basically swished some tank water into his bag a few times before releasing him. He molts regularly and is a VERY active feeder.

I think it all depends on the health of the specimen that you get. That and you can't care about it. If you care about your shrimp it will die. Look at how well aiptasia do in people's tanks! People hate them and I'm convinced that's why they thrive. The stuff people love seems to die the easiest.
 
I don't acclimate anything, honestly... My peppermint is a HOG and cleaned my tank of aiptasia as the first inhabitant when I set it up. I bought it from SWA and basically swished some tank water into his bag a few times before releasing him. He molts regularly and is a VERY active feeder.

I think it all depends on the health of the specimen that you get. That and you can't care about it. If you care about your shrimp it will die. Look at how well aiptasia do in people's tanks! People hate them and I'm convinced that's why they thrive. The stuff people love seems to die the easiest.


I agree 100% on all said :beer:
 
I purchased my cleaners and Peps from Oasis and they have been doing well for 5 months now. I only did about 20 minutes floating in the bag and then added water for 3 different times to the bag.

I think it is mostly a crap shoot myself.
 
90% tankmates 10% acclimation. I rarely lost pep shrimps at the store, if they were not sold or died in shipment we still had em weeks later. Almsot all wrasses and large tangs will eat them pretty quickly. Six line is usually safe but not always. Fairy wrasses seem to like eating the smaller ones.
 
If you care about your shrimp it will die. Look at how well aiptasia do in people's tanks! People hate them and I'm convinced that's why they thrive. The stuff people love seems to die the easiest.

+1 I loved my car during highschool, so much i ended up crashing it...also loved my first kitten when i was younger... it died.
and yes i blame all of that on the fact i loved them too much. :hmm2:

so, lesson learned..dont love. :lmao:
 
I tend to do better if I add aleast a half dozen peps at a time. They like to be in groups. They never seem to last forever though, no matter how many I start with they always wither down to one and the one lives forever it seems.
 
Never had a problem. You know where you're going to buy them from. Ask their salinity. Set up a temporary tank to keep them in so you don't have a ph shift, shift them slowly.

My first guess would be that you have something in there that likes shrimp for lunch. They often molt and disappear for a week when just moved, and a newly molted crustacean is vulnerable.
 
I bought my peppermint from PetCo. I didn't acclimate him and he has done fine for the last 4 months. He cleared out my aptasia and I haven't seen one since.
 
I got my 2 cleaner shrimp from petco...on sale 12.99 or something =) going strong for a while now, and the female has had eggs the past few molts! wooho fish food! lol

my method may not be the best way of acclimating, but i just float the bag until temp matches then pour cup by cup water into the shrimps bag.. after a few cups and about 15mins later scoop the shrimps out and thats all. i also dump the water from the bag into the toilet... that has worked for me in the past..ive released about 6 or so shrimps in my tank.. havent lost one. ( i have sold some)

I use the same method. Cleaner and blood red doing fine. No problems.
 
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