Will a damsel attack a peppermint shrimp?

[Xolsiion]

I have a 15 gallon tank that has been cycled for two months. After the cycle I added a blue devil damsel, a peppermint shrimp, some snails and blue leg hermits. My damsel has grown like a weed, and has almost doubled its size to about 3 inches. I haven't seen my peppermint shrimp in three days, though in the process of moving rocks to look for him I did find what looked like a partial molting. Today I noticed that my damsel has what looks like a small cut on one side (almost like he had scraped against a sharp rock) and I got to thinking - could my damsel have attacked and killed my peppermint shrimp and gotten hurt in the process?

They were added on the same day and I have never seen any aggression towards the shrimp - but the fish has really grown and is now slightly larger than the shrimp was. I know peppermint's have a tendency to hide after a molting, but he molted a couple weeks ago and only hid for a day or so - and its been much longer this time around.

One other oddity (maybe) is that my damsel likes to push his head against a rock and lash his tail to kick sand up. I have no idea why (he's obviously fed enough flake food considered his growth) - but I haven't read anything about this behavior.

A different thought: Could he have gorged himself on the shrimp and actually had his scales burst around his stomach when it distended?

 

[psteeleb]

my oppinion:

a damsel will attack anything
a peppermint will be attacked by anything

 

[Xolsiion]

I was kind of leaning that way too, but the peppermint shrimp was essentially the same size - the size difference was very slight. That coupled with the fact that I saw no aggression and that I wouldn't think the damsel saw the shrimp as "competition" in the same way as another fish made me wonder.

Can I expect this fish to attack everything that moves in my tank?

 

[matthewscars]

Get a greenwolf eel. It took care of my damsel problem.

 

[psteeleb]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12584640#post12584640 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Xolsiion
Can I expect this fish to attack everything that moves in my tank?

I don't know if the damsel attacked the shrimp or not. You may never know. But damsels will establish territories and defend them relentlessly from anything, including you.

Generally speaking peppermints hide during the day and come out at night, the opposite for the damsels. So, unless it was by chance or lack of hiding spaces the damsel probably did not know the peppermint existed, but if he saw it in what he considered his space I would not put it past him to go after the peppermint regardless of size.

It is very possible that once his territory is established (and it could easily be the entire 15g tank), you will not have any success keeping any other fish or other creature that the damsel considers a threat in the tank (it's his space).

 

[psteeleb]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12584698#post12584698 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by matthewscars
Get a greenwolf eel. It took care of my damsel problem.

haha - that would work

 

[Tswifty]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12584698#post12584698 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by matthewscars
Get a greenwolf eel. It took care of my damsel problem.

I used a trigger for mine :lol:

 

[Xolsiion]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12584779#post12584779 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by psteeleb
Generally speaking peppermints hide during the day and come out at night, the opposite for the damsels. So, unless it was by chance or lack of hiding spaces the damsel probably did not know the peppermint existed, but if he saw it in what he considered his space I would not put it past him to go after the peppermint regardless of size.

It is very possible that once his territory is established (and it could easily be the entire 15g tank), you will not have any success keeping any other fish or other creature that the damsel considers a threat in the tank (it's his space).

I think this peppermint was out and about more than usual in the light (he liked to taunt my cat) so it's probable that the damsel did see him as a threat. I knew that the damsel would most likely not allow other fish, but didn't realize it would treat other creatures the same.

For now I'll just assume I can't get anything else while I've got the damsel. Thanks for the help and education!