RBTA and Fire shrimp

[falco]

It seems that a fire shrimp that I just bought is walking all over my RBTA. I don't know if it is bothering her or not. She doesn't deflate or retract. Has anyone had any issues with any shrimp bothering or irritating a BTA?





Thanks,
Jack

 

[scaz]

shrimp and BTA could be doing a number of things. odds are it's cleanning the BTA.

 

[WDLV]

I've had shrimp do that too. They were usually trying to rob the anemone of something it had captured or that I had fed it.
It could be trying to scavenge.

 

[Amphiprion]

There are numerous reports of Hippolytids (Lysmata sp. in particular) harassing and damaging anemones. The ones I had (L. wurdemanni) were simply eaten by the anemone, though they had never picked at it.

 

[superman1013]

I've spotted my cleaner shrimp dig out a piece of silverside after my bta had already "swallowed" it...

I don't consider that cleaning... LOL

 

[Ciarán]

She doesn't deflate or retract. Has anyone had any issues with any shrimp bothering or irritating a BTA?

Oh hell yes! My cleaner shrimp contantly bugs most of my anthozoan invertebrates, anemones, zoanthids etc. etc. I've discovered a good way of stopping the scavenging and irritating behavior. I feed it (the shrimp) at least twice a day and i make sure to give it large and difficult pieces to break down. It captures the foodstuff and retreats to its burrow in the rock where it proceeds to fiddle with it for several hours! Afterwards it is too full to bother foraging and it doesnt annoy anything.

If you have zoanthids it seem to annoy them to a greater extent in my experience, probably just a personal finding. Probably doesnt apply universally.

 

[falco]

Thanks for the responces. I have other shrimp in the tank as well. No one bothers my RBTA except for when it is feeding time. This fire shimp which I recently added to the tank seem to have a "thing" for my RBTA. I am going to keep any eye on the fire shrimp and if he becomes a problem there is plenty of room in my fuge for him.