Peppermint Shrimp "Blackwater Edition"

mapn4reef

mapn4reef

New member
I picked up 3 peppermint shrimp a couple weeks ago at Triton's Garden. I was skeptical about how well they would work on my Aiptasia (not a catastrophic amount, but enough to be annoying)... Well, after just a few days about 80% were gone...even several of the larger ones... This morning, I couldn't find NOT EVEN ONE (I'll pay for that statement I'm sure). One shrimp in particular hunts these things I think, he's the biggest peppermint shrimp I've ever seen and very bold even with lights on. A few of the aiptasia were in the 2" range, GONE!!! Maybe I need to contract them out, LOL. If ya got aiptasia, I'd say pick some up from them...they must go through an aiptasia boot camp or something down there...
 
Fanof49ASU said:
They are awesome on aiptasia.....if you can keep them living.
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Peppermint shrimp are hard to keep living? I've had some the past 4-5 months with no issues so far in my nanos.

Anyway, I got a peppermint shrimp for my office tank after I got rock from an LFS with at least 3 large aiptasia on it. After 1 day the aiptasia disappeared, but a couple weeks later I spotted one of them that I thought had been eaten. I haven't seen that one again for a month, so maybe it's really gone this time. Anyway, if my peppermint shrimp aren't good at eating aiptasia, at least they are good at scaring it away most of the time.
 
At $5 or so each...I'd buy 3 about every few months if need be...but yeah, they seem hardy so far. I heard they eat small aiptasia mainly, I really didn't expect them to eat the big ones. I fully planned to use Joe's Juice on them... tkimmons85 on here got some too, but he said his aren't doing much on the aiptasia, and he hasn't seen them either... Hmmm, I say either something ate them right off...or they don't like the members of the fish stock...or something else tank environment wise...
 
AdrianBryce said:
Blackwater edition, huh? Better keep an eye on your civilians. Make sure none come up missing.
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LOL...No kiddin, I saw the big Pep dancing on my Scoly the other day...maybe he was taunting me...looked like he was going, "WOW, the biggest aiptasia I've ever seen...what do I do with this thing...hey, Al, break out the Binford 360 slice & dice for this thing..."
 
Ya I finally have started seeing a noticable dip in my aptasia numbers. I also have started to see the shrimp more at night. I think they we hiding for a while from my melanarus wrasse. Maybe mine used their covert blackwater ninja training to take out my six line wrasse. Found him dead yesterday :(
 
Good about the aiptasia, glad to see they're at work. Sorry about the six line, as for what whacked him, my bet is on the mel wrasse harassment...
 
rumble said:
Peppermint shrimp are hard to keep living? I've had some the past 4-5 months with no issues so far in my nanos.

Anyway, I got a peppermint shrimp for my office tank after I got rock from an LFS with at least 3 large aiptasia on it. After 1 day the aiptasia disappeared, but a couple weeks later I spotted one of them that I thought had been eaten. I haven't seen that one again for a month, so maybe it's really gone this time. Anyway, if my peppermint shrimp aren't good at eating aiptasia, at least they are good at scaring it away most of the time.
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I've had a tough time keeping them. I've been told it's how they collect them....but I dunno...
 
I thought about getting some when I was in Critter in the other day, but they were all really smaller. I was afraid they might get killed by coral banded shrimp cause of the size.
 
I had a few in my 125 and they seemed to survive well. Transferred one to my Nano when I broke down the 125. He did well at first but then one of my Zoas closed on his legs and he died after being bashed around by the flow. Was surprised the Zoa did him in.
 
pelagic7 said:
I thought about getting some when I was in Critter in the other day, but they were all really smaller. I was afraid they might get killed by coral banded shrimp cause of the size.
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Do coral bandeds get along with any other shrimp?

I've had the peppermint one in my 14G for over 4 months now, and about 3 weeks ago I added a fire shrimp from AC. The fire, which is the smaller of the two, bullied the pep out of his usual hangout within an hour of being introduced. Since then, I really haven't seen any aggression other than at feeding time when the pep is careful to avoid wandering too close to the fire shrimp.
 
rumble said:
Do coral bandeds get along with any other shrimp?

I've had the peppermint one in my 14G for over 4 months now, and about 3 weeks ago I added a fire shrimp from AC. The fire, which is the smaller of the two, bullied the pep out of his usual hangout within an hour of being introduced. Since then, I really haven't seen any aggression other than at feeding time when the pep is careful to avoid wandering too close to the fire shrimp.
Click to expand...

Coral banded does NOT get along with other shrimp. They will eat them if they get the chance....I still have one peppermint we got from the group buy a year ago....He was tiny tiny little thing...grown a lot...I used to have one that eats off my hand before I moved and lost him along with a few other items during the move....Mine LOVE eating the algae pellets I used to feed them.....When I first setup my 90, I had ALL kinds of tulip, aiptasia, rock anemone, etc etc. I bought two peppermints, they wiped out ALL the anemone from my tank....This one seem to stay away from my big anemone right now, some sort of long tentacle anemone....
 
I think I might end up regretting my praise for these critters...one of my small green toad stools is all tattered along one side...and one of my acans is looking iritated for some reason...I think the shrimp have been up to no good...no aiptasia though...
 
You could always banish them to the depths of Hades "a.k.a. the sump" if you have a refugium down there and bring them back into the DT if more aptasia pop up.
 
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