What kind of inverts do flame hawks eat ?? Here is a list of things I wonder about

[merkurmaniac]

I am considering a flame hawk, but I also find inverts really interesting. I read the cautions about Flame Hawks and inverts and I know it would depend fish/fish. I imagine that flame Hawks dont eat everything, so what would I potentially lose out on, if I get one ?

Shrimp, I don't have one yet, but keep hearing yes.
Emerald Crab ?
Hermit Crab ?
Snails ?
Microbrittlestars ?
Small fan worms ?
Stomatellas ?
Copepods ?

I have a fuge and could handle the loss of pods, as thats what they are for. I could probably handle the no shrimp and/or crabs. I am also use to not seeing much in the way of microbrittlestars in my display tank.

 

[finsurgeon]

I've had a flame hawk for around 3 years, and he stays well fed. I've never seen him pick at or eat any of my inverts. That includes several fire shrimp and 4 or 5 pistol shrimp, as well as fan worms, pom pom crabs and several anemone/ porcelain crabs. I have lost a couple skunk cleaner shrimp over the years, but they just disappeared in the course of the years. I think it is possible that he's not guilty in their case, and I think cleaners only live a couple years at best. They were around many months in common with him, and he never seemed interested. Over the years, I've also had emperor shrimp( periclimenes imperator) disappear as well as a couple periclimenes brevicarpalis. They were small and he could have taken them, but I saw him near them on many occasions without any interaction. I have never seen him take ANY of the seastars/ microbrittles, snails, hermits, cucumbers.
That includes leaving microbrittle stars alone as they sink to the bottom having been knocked off a rock by me as I lifted it up (though my Regal Tang and other tangs tend to pick them out of the water column if I drop them). It also includes about a dozen cucumbers, some of which are the small yellow ones that would seem the most tasty. In short, I know that every fish is different, but I have not found my flame hawk to have any interest in inverts.
That also was the case for the flame hawk I kept for about 5 years before this one.

 

[merkurmaniac]

Thanks so much for your detailed post. It helps to put me at ease a bit. Microbrittles and stomatellas are real favorites of mine, for some reason.

I appreciate it,
Richard