Peppermint Shrimp Serial Killer

Cleo642 · Aug 21, 2015

mrwizard421 said:
I feed mine Turkey... They love it i have 4. And the Turkey isn't fishy shoo out kinda stops the carnivore in them also My2 Sally lightfootlove it and they get crazy some nights

Deli turkey?

JSeward · Aug 21, 2015

Flashy Fins said:
Sounds like you have camel shrimp, which look very similar to peppermints, but are not coral safe.

I don't consider peppermint shrimp coral safe anymore. I've seen many destroy LPS in my own tank. I don't think they eat coral, but are trying to get to the food the coral has eaten. A problem is that there are at least 6 species of shrimp that are sold as "peppermint shrimp" and difficult to tell a part. My guess is that some species are more prone to eat aptasia or mess with corals than others. There is a nice image of the different types of peppermints on page 196 of this paper on peppermint shrimp.

However, I've never seen a peppermint kill zoanthids and it just so happened to appear that they started doing damage to his newly purchased zoa rock. There is a very good chance that the shrimp are just picking at dead coral flesh and the real killer are zoanthid eating nudibranch and/or spiders that were in the rock. I've purchased larger zoa colonies from fish stores and the rocks were loaded with zoa eating pests, even after QT and multiple dipping. Depending on the size and type of the rock, you can dip them for days and never kill them all. Hopefully that's not the case.

Tyler Harrison · Aug 21, 2015

Wait camel shrimp not reef safe?? I have 5 with no issues. They've eaten y'all's coral??

JoseNovoa · Aug 21, 2015

I have 3 now that went nuts and started eating my LPS, used the bottle trap, they are confined to my sump till death do us part...lol

furni80 · Aug 21, 2015

So it sounds like I better get rid of my peppermint before I get started on my zoa tank... are there any other shrimps that would be safe? I was thinking about a fire shrimp.

mochaclownlover · Aug 21, 2015

I used to have one who went rogue on me a killed my trumpet coral and then ate a tentacle off my BTA:mad:, so i gave him the worst punishment of all..... being dropped off at my LFS

TreyC2010 · Aug 21, 2015

I'll never buy another one.

TreyC2010 · Aug 21, 2015

JSeward said:
I don't consider peppermint shrimp coral safe anymore. I've seen many destroy LPS in my own tank. I don't think they eat coral, but are trying to get to the food the coral has eaten. A problem is that there are at least 6 species of shrimp that are sold as "peppermint shrimp" and difficult to tell a part. My guess is that some species are more prone to eat aptasia or mess with corals than others. There is a nice image of the different types of peppermints on page 196 of this paper on peppermint shrimp.

However, I've never seen a peppermint kill zoanthids and it just so happened to appear that they started doing damage to his newly purchased zoa rock. There is a very good chance that the shrimp are just picking at dead coral flesh and the real killer are zoanthid eating nudibranch and/or spiders that were in the rock. I've purchased larger zoa colonies from fish stores and the rocks were loaded with zoa eating pests, even after QT and multiple dipping. Depending on the size and type of the rock, you can dip them for days and never kill them all. Hopefully that's not the case.

It actually killed off two colonies that were already there but the last straw was the new $100 zoa rock I bought. I dip everything to be safe. These guys went straight for the zoas everywhere. They got them and the plate coral.

TreyC2010 · Aug 21, 2015

furni80 said:
So it sounds like I better get rid of my peppermint before I get started on my zoa tank... are there any other shrimps that would be safe? I was thinking about a fire shrimp.

I have a fire shrimp also. Not very visible until feeding time but he doesn't touch my coral.

Cleo642 · Aug 21, 2015

TreyC2010 said:
It actually killed off two colonies that were already there but the last straw was the new $100 zoa rock I bought. I dip everything to be safe. These guys went straight for the zoas everywhere. They got them and the plate coral.

Definitely no peppermint shrimp for me. Or carpet anemones, I read posts by several people who have had them get anemone ate there fish or were badly damaged by one.

TreyC2010 · Aug 21, 2015

That's good to know. I'll stay away from them for sure

furni80 · Aug 21, 2015

Can't they just all get along. Lol that's why I love this site, there is always someone who has had an experience with what ever you may be going through.

mrwizard421 · Aug 24, 2015

Cleo642 said:
Deli turkey?

Yes i Just ask for cheap unflavored (no hickory or honey stuff like that) and have it thick cut..

Bruce Burnett · Aug 28, 2015

I have never seen a true peppermint shrimp eat healthy corals or zoa. if you have corals that may not be doing well, then anything may go after them. Also if you do not feed the tank enough then who knows what will eat what. I have a 4" long Coral Beauty dwarf angel that picked at some corals that had dying tissue and I have 6 peppermint shrimp that have never gone after corals. once my corals settled down and were healthy the angel never bothered again. I hope your problem is the shrimp and not tissue necrosis.

jcdeng · Aug 28, 2015

mine picks on my lps, not zoa though. Pretty soon they are going to convert my tank into full SPS tank lol. But I dont want to see any of those aptasias ever again in my dt, so i guess the lps are going down with them.