Shrimp compatibility - peppermint with ?

[Reefmack]

Hi. Does anyone keep peppermint shrimp with any other types of cleaner shrimp? I've heard there may be compatibility problems, but I have no idea which shrimp are compatible?

 

[J. Montgomery]

I've heard that coral banded shrimp are pretty mean toward other shrimp. Peppermint shrimp are among the more passive shrimps.

I highly recommend getting a white porcelain crab.

 

[mamagoose45]

We currently have 2-5 peppermint shrimp (depending on how many you count at one given time!), a skunk cleaner shrimp, a fire shrimp, and a reef lobster in a 90 and have had no problems. The shrimp have to think twice about going for food near the lobster's cave, but I've never seen any issues between the shrimp themselves.

Coral banded shrimp are best kept alone unless in a very large tank where there is room for being territorial. I have not tempted keeping them with other types of shrimp, but I've heard they can cause a massacre of other shrimp... I wouldn't risk it.

 

[Reefmack]

Thanks. I've got 2 peppermints (well, I did - haven't seen the second one in a week) and I'd like to get a skunk or even a fire shrimp, but I didn't want them going at each other. Are the skunk & fire like the peppermints - pretty much only out at night?

 

[mamagoose45]

Our skunk is out most of the time...He hangs out right at the edge of one of the caves but goes cruising the tank on a pretty regular basis. Much more than I ever expected him to. He does come out much more so after the lights go out though.

Our fire shrimp is dead to the world most of the time. We thought he had died because we hadn't seen him in almost a week, and then we spotted him. So...their cool shrimp but you won't see them much.

 

[Reefmack]

Thanks. I'll try a skunk & hope I see him more often. I can always find one of my peppermints - he's taken up quarters in a cave on the bottom of my rocks. Maybe the second will reappear eventually.

 

[Brent Porterfie]

I agree with mamagoose about the coral banded, LFS sold me one and said "yeah, it'll do great with your 3 cleaner shrimp", it killed one and would like to kill the other 2.

 

[madadi]

i have a mated pair of coral banded shrimp and they never botherd my pepermint shrimp in my 90gal. i think as long as they have room to not be in each other face all the time they will be fine, but im sure there are exceptions to every species