Peppermint Shrimp

[NickTheIrish]

My tank is young still (exactly 5 months, today), but back when I added live rock initially, some aiptasia snuck in on it.
My LFS recommended peppermint shrimp to eradicate the problem, so I bought two (32.5 gallons).
However, they also are becoming an issue because whenever I add snails to the tank, they go straight for them. I just added 6 small snails I read would help with my cyano issue, and even though I flipped them over when they got to the sand, they flipped a couple of them over on their own and killed them.
Well, they’re now picking on my sand sifting star, to the point that one of its arms is all chewed up! This is a new development, as they’ve mostly ignored it until now. I HAVE cut back my feeding to get my parameters in line, but if the result is going to be my PS eating every non fish I put in the tank…I’m just not sure what to do here.
Also, should I just scoop sand over the star to help it heal / hide? It doesn’t seem very active since the shrimp has started picking at it.

Poor guy!

 

[T-J]

I have two Peppermint Shrimp and a lot of snails and have never seen them attack them. They also don't attack aiptasia, but that's another story.

Seeing how white your sand is, is there any chance that there isn't enough food for everyone? Perhaps that's why they are going after living things?

 

[dvgyfresh]

I think peppermint are inherently evil lol I had one and it ate tentacles off my BTA, tank is super well fed to. He was sentenced to 1000 years sump

 

[NickTheIrish]

I have two Peppermint Shrimp and a lot of snails and have never seen them attack them. They also don't attack aiptasia, but that's another story.

Seeing how white your sand is, is there any chance that there isn't enough food for everyone? Perhaps that's why they are going after living things?

They don’t attack aiptasia? I’d be interested in hearing more about your experience with this, because mine were all gone the next morning after I bought the shrimp.
And yeah, the food issue is the only thing I can think of. I cut back from feeding one cube of frozen brine shrimp a day to one every other day. It’s helping with my parameters, but I don’t want to lose animals, if I can help it.
Maybe I need to get rid of one of the shrimp?

 

[NickTheIrish]

I think peppermint are inherently evil lol I had one and it ate tentacles off my BTA, tank is super well fed to. He was sentenced to 1000 years sump

If only I had a sump to banish it to!

 

[T-J]

They don’t attack aiptasia? I’d be interested in hearing more about your experience with this, because mine were all gone the next morning after I bought the shrimp.
And yeah, the food issue is the only thing I can think of. I cut back from feeding one cube of frozen brine shrimp a day to one every other day. It’s helping with my parameters, but I don’t want to lose animals, if I can help it.
Maybe I need to get rid of one of the shrimp?

I meant my peppermint shrimp don't eat aiptasia. It's very hit and miss with them.

Do you have anything else in the tank besides the shrimp and starfish? You probably need to get some food in there. Especially on such a young tank. Not sure how your starfish is surviving unless you're feeding it directly.

 

[ZoWhat]

Best Practices for eradicating Aiptasia is what I've stumbled into over 15yrs.

I best fish to ear aiptasia is the CBB. But you need to buy one that you can watch its behavior at the LFS and its actively picking at LR.

CBB will actively eat baby aiptasia but will leave the ones alone that can sting the CBB past its long snout.

Plan of attack it to get Aiptasia X and squirt and kill the med-large aiptasia knowing the aiptasia will spew thousands of spore to create new baby ones in 2 weeks.

The CBB will actively eat baby aiptasia while you handle the med-lrg ones.

Takes about 45 days but eventually you will win the game.


.

 

[NickTheIrish]

I meant my peppermint shrimp don't eat aiptasia. It's very hit and miss with them.

Do you have anything else in the tank besides the shrimp and starfish? You probably need to get some food in there. Especially on such a young tank. Not sure how your starfish is surviving unless you're feeding it directly.

I have four damsals, several hermits and snails (variety of species) and the starfish.
I had another person express that the tank was too small / young for the starfish, which I didn’t know because I am new to the hobby. But I bought him two or three months ago, and he’s been going strong until recently being picked on.

 

[RGC]

my peppermint shrimp ate aiptasia. HOwever when you didnt ensure they were fed, they started eating my corals. Lost 3 heads of a branching hammer. Got up one am, neon green polyps in sand. To the sump they went never to be seen again.

 

[NickTheIrish]

my peppermint shrimp ate aiptasia. HOwever when you didnt ensure they were fed, they started eating my corals. Lost 3 heads of a branching hammer. Got up one am, neon green polyps in sand. To the sump they went never to be seen again.

Yeah, it’s sounding like if there’s not enough for them to scavenge in the tank, they resort to eating animals / corals. Little punks.

 

[NickTheIrish]

Best Practices for eradicating Aiptasia is what I've stumbled into over 15yrs.

I best fish to ear aiptasia is the CBB. But you need to buy one that you can watch its behavior at the LFS and its actively picking at LR.

CBB will actively eat baby aiptasia but will leave the ones alone that can sting the CBB past its long snout.

Plan of attack it to get Aiptasia X and squirt and kill the med-large aiptasia knowing the aiptasia will spew thousands of spore to create new baby ones in 2 weeks.

The CBB will actively eat baby aiptasia while you handle the med-lrg ones.

Takes about 45 days but eventually you will win the game.


.

Thanks for the tips! If / when they find their way back, I’ll look into this.

 

[LacViet]

Peppermint shrimp are always hungry and probably the same for cleaner shrimp. If the peppermint shrimp didn't eat Aiptasia, put them in the sump or isolate place and did not feed them for a week or so, they will devour Aiptasia in no time. One of the main reason why they eat corals, snails, etc... because the lack of food for them to eat. I feed my tank heavy and twice a day and they still go for food every time.

 

[NickTheIrish]

Yeah, sounds like I’m having to find the balance between over feeding to keep my parameters in check, and under feeding so my PS don’t try to eat things I don’t want them too.

 

[Wulfie]

I think peppermint are inherently evil lol I had one and it ate tentacles off my BTA, tank is super well fed to. He was sentenced to 1000

I think peppermint are inherently evil lol I had one and it ate tentacles off my BTA, tank is super well fed to. He was sentenced to 1000 years sump

I just sentenced 3 to Purgatory Tank.

Plenty of food in the tank...I'm always worried everyone won't get enough. I spotfeed Roids and a variety of frozen and live to whoever needs it. I monitor all feedings.

So I started with 1 shrimp and it was pretty timid. Got 2 more knowing that they'd either kill each other or get along.

They got along so well that they started hunting together.

They ripped apart the mouths of 2 fungia plate corals when the corals caught food at night. They also took turns with a little rockflower anenome, which in retrospect is not a surprise.

They'd take the RFA to the roof of their cave, it would cling to the ceiling, and they would use it like a speedball while shredding it.

Stupid me, I thought the anenome wandered into their territory, but then I saw a shrimp pick up the poor little RFA and do this. Right after I found a huge pile of fluorescent RFA tentacles scattered around.

Now they live in a 10g with evil crabs that came in with live rock!