The Skunk Assassin

[71Percent]

Help! I have 50 gal tank with fish, live rock, some coral, pistol, CuC, and a Skunk Cleaner Shrimp with a lot of attitude. I say this as last weekend I purchased three peppermints to help rid some aiptasia in my tank. The peps - 2 medium size and 1 baby - arrived and started to get adjusted to their new home. I was watching the little one walk across the sand bed when all of a sudden the Skunk Assassin sprung out of nowhere and grabbed the little Pep and pulled him into the rock work. I quickly reacted by sticking a poker into the rocks and used it to scare the Skunk. It appeared he backed away and I thought the fight was over. Not so lucky. A few minutes later I saw some shrimp bits float out of the rocks... Fast forward to the next day. I figured the bigger Peps would be able to stand up for themselves. The two found a nice cave to hang out in and looked pretty happy. The lights turned out and they started to venture out a bit when all of a sudden, the skunk swooped in and tried to catch one of the Peps. Luckily, he took evasive action and the Skunk Assassin missed his target. I watch some more and saw him circle from above like a lion stalking its prey. Couple more swoops and misses, but it seemed he was getting closer and closer each time. I went to bed hoping for the best. Well, now I'm down to one scared Pep! I'm starting to wonder if this was the same fate my three Sexy shrimps met a few months ago. Could a taste for blood turn him from a helpful cleaner to a brutal killer? Is this common once they get large (almost three inches)? I would hate to get rid of him...

 

[smtank]

Yes common behavior for larger cleaner shrimp.

 

[Betta132]

I had a skunk cleaner constantly harass a camel until I got rid of the camel... They can be mean to other shrimp.

 

[71Percent]

So aggressive. Wonder if he could try his luck with a sleeping fish. I lost a few fish recently too...

 

[Betta132]

I doubt they could kill a fish, unless it was very small, although they'll sometimes annoy fish who don't want to be repeatedly cleaned.
Mine stole food out of my shrimpgoby's mouth, literally. It would sit on him, put its claws in his mouth, and pull the food out. I had to feed it separately so it wouldn't do that. They're really neat, though, and I taught mine to come and pull flake food out from between my fingers. Great trick to show people!

 

[71Percent]

Thanks for the info. Mine has never really cleaned fish before. I wonder if it is because I buy mostly tank bred fish and they're not use to it, so they don't let him. I would love to get a smaller one that would cohabitate better with other inverts. I'll ask my LF if they want him. Problem is then catching him!

 

[Betta132]

Lure him up with food and net him. Or just put food into a net and let it sit in the tank, he'll eventually come in after it.
Try a peppermint shrimp, maybe. They're usually nicer. Anemone shrimp are also usually good, but they're small and a little bit delicate when it comes to attacks.

 

[faithenfire]

my skunk is so nice. he is also the biggest thing in my tank other than my kenya tree. he is bigger than all my fish. he used to pet my blennies with his attenae..
i have seen him irritate the gobies because he wants to "clean' them and they want nothing of the sort

 

[snorvich]

Thanks for the info. Mine has never really cleaned fish before. I wonder if it is because I buy mostly tank bred fish and they're not use to it, so they don't let him. I would love to get a smaller one that would cohabitate better with other inverts. I'll ask my LF if they want him. Problem is then catching him!

Some fish, such as clownfish, do not allow cleaning behavior. Others will seek it out by "assuming the position" which asks for cleaning. Note, however, that cleaning will not help with parasite control.

 

[71Percent]

Understood, just would like to witness the behavior. He is now in my sump awaiting transfer to the LFS. My concern is more his behavior towards other inverts. Thanks