Peppermint shrimp and zoa/shroom safety

[ohchiz84]

I want to get a shrimp for my pico tank, lfs only stocks peppermints and coral banded (and i dont really want one of those). ive heard peps sometimes pick at shrooms and zoas, which is what i plan on stocking my tank with coral wise. is it common for them to be a problem, or do you just get a bad one once in awhile?

 

[Elysia]

I'm not sure how often true pepps eat corals. Often camelback shrimp are mistaken for pepps, and camelbacks are known to eat polyps. Some shrimp will steal food from corals, which may be mistaken for attacking... I don't doubt that there are some rouge pepps out there, but I think that most pepps are safe. I would think that your lfs could get in a shipment of sexy shrimp for you if nothing else in your tank would eat them.

 

[captstinky]

True pepps should be fine, I keep them and they are cool. CBS get aggressive,,,in a a pico I'd go pep over CBS..

 

[ohchiz84]

True pepps should be fine, I keep them and they are cool. CBS get aggressive,,,in a a pico I'd go pep over CBS..

yeah that was the plan, id heard peps can be problematic though too just wondered about the likelyhood

 

[jase75]

My lfs carries basic fish (guaranteed sales type), but they have ordered special request for me. Wouldn't hurt to ask.

 

[ohchiz84]

thanks. also, do they bother starfish at all or is that just harlequins?

 

[FishNutty]

I had a pep in a 2.5 gallon pico for month or two, he did just fine, and was loads of fun. i didn't have a ton of coral, but he did fine with the palys, poked at 'em a bit, but didn't eat them, and he cleaned the detritus out from between the polyps:thumbsup: