Do clams ever eat peppermint shrimp?

[vlangel]

I had 2 peppermint shrimp that I bought last week. They adjusted well and were eating and motoring all over the tank. I only recently read that they could be a threat to my clam so I thought if I ever saw them up high near the clam looking suspicious I'd banish them to the sump and ask questions later! Well, they disappeared, both of them!!! My first theory is the large fuzzy mushroom got them. I'm posting in the mushroom threads to see if other aquarists think that's likely. I've read about clams closing up on unsuspecting fish so I wondered if they could do the same with a shrimp? My clam is a 3 and 3/4 inch crocea. It looks just like it always does so I'm doubting the likelihood that is what happened to the shrimp but I am baffled. My water parameters are all normal and everything in the tank, fish and corals look happy and good. A cleaner shrimp that I bought at the same time as the peppermints looks good. I am worried whatever happened to the peppermints could happen to the cleaner shrimp too though. So, any chance it was the clam????

 

[Tahoe61]

I have never heard of a clam causing a shrimps demise, clams certainly can not eat shrimp.
Peppermints can be very nocturnal so you might want to try looking when the lights are out if you have not.
The cleaner shrimp and the mushrooms are risk though.
Do you have any wrasse or hawk fish, dotty backs?

 

[vlangel]

I have never heard of a clam causing a shrimps demise, clams certainly can not eat shrimp.
Peppermints can be very nocturnal so you might want to try looking when the lights are out if you have not.
The cleaner shrimp and the mushrooms are risk though.
Do you have any wrasse or hawk fish, dotty backs?

No aggressive fish, a small clown, a pair of lyretail anthias and a purple firefish. I didn't see them when the lights were off either. I am thinking the mushroom is the culprit too.

 

[NanaReefer]

Most likely they've gone into molt. In which case you wont see them for up to several days. Not an unusual occurrence when adding new inverts. Different ALK levels can cause them to molt.

 

[vlangel]

Most likely they've gone into molt. In which case you wont see them for up to several days. Not an unusual occurrence when adding new inverts. Different ALK levels can cause them to molt.

Thanks NanaReefer. I hadn't thought of that and its good to know maybe they haven't ended up as dinner. I had not had any shrimp for years because until recently I had enormous serpent stars. I finally took the ss to the lfs so I could have shrimp!

 

[vlangel]

Most likely they've gone into molt. In which case you wont see them for up to several days. Not an unusual occurrence when adding new inverts. Different ALK levels can cause them to molt.

GOOD NEWS! I saw one of the shrimp last night so they both are probably in there. You are probably right about the molt.