Regal angel trying to kill cleaner shrimp

[Phlynamjax]

My 4" Indo-Pacific regal angel is nipping at my blood cleaner shrimp. At first, I thought he was just trying to get cleaner shrimp's attention. But no, he won't stop nipping at him and shrimp is not doing so well. The cleaner shrimp was in the tank before the angelfish. I have never seen this before. Any thoughts?

 

[miyags]

Feed your angel more & more often.3,4,5 times a day.Nori,raw cut up table shrimp.Try to give the shrimp a safe place to hide.

 

[Jeepguy242]

Banish him to the sump for awhile. Till he learns.

I have a clownfish in the sump for 2 years now. He won’t play nice with anyone

 

[Phlynamjax]

I have kept Angel fishes for years. Even very large ones. I never had one attacking cleaner shrimp before so I am little surprised.

 

[miyags]

Yep,it's hit or miss with any fish.

 

[4FordFamily]

I have kept Angel fishes for years. Even very large ones. I never had one attacking cleaner shrimp before so I am little surprised.

Agree. I would increase feedings as mentioned. Worst case scenario I’d rather have the regal than the shrimp, if it comes down to that!

 

[Phlynamjax]

I do feed them heavily. Not sure why he wants to eat the cleaner shrimp. I do agree that I would never get rid of my angelfish over cleaner shrimp. However, it does not feel good to feed him $30 dinner.

 

[EmdeReef]

My bicolor seems to be eating or nipping asterina...he also goes after an abalone. I’ve had good luck with Masstick food, I put small amounts over 2-3 rocks and it’s distracted my butterfly and angel from nipping my poor frogspawn.

 

[Daniel Waters]

Angels like to nip, and I think sometimes it has nothing to do with food. My regal angel has never nipped at my shrimp, but it would go through periods where it would focus on a specific coral or zoa or rock and would nip constantly till it decided it would focus on something else. I think giving the angel other outlets to nip might help. For example, feeding small clams it can nip on, and mine also will nip at seaweed on a clip (until my tangs devour it all). In the short term, I'd remove the shrimp for a few days and then re-introduce him back into the display on a day you are around and can watch him.

 

[ReefTeacher]

I had a Regal Angel eat my Fiji Yellow Leather once. Fish have personalities and you cannot always predict why they are nipping/eating. There comes a time when you ask, "Which do I want in my tank?"

 

[Phlynamjax]

My shrimp died short after I made this post. My regal cornered him and nipped him to death. I moved the shrimp to my sump, but did not make it. I do have another cleaner shrimp (skunk) that the regal do not bother at all. Both my girlfriend and my mother loved the fire shrimp. I will try again in future and hope my Regal will ignore the shrimp just like he did before.

 

[Phlynamjax]

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[Phlynamjax]

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[dede]

If you just want a shrimp my coral banded puts my tangs in there place if they get too close. He may not play nice though with other shrimp or small fish so depends on what you have in your tank.

 

[Daniel Waters]

My shrimp died short after I made this post. My regal cornered him and nipped him to death. I moved theBoth my girlfriend and my mother loved the fire shrimp. I will try again in future and hope my Regal will ignore the shrimp just like he did before.

My shrimp died short after I made this post. My regal cornered him and nipped him to death. I moved the shrimp to my sump, but did not make it. I do have another cleaner shrimp (skunk) that the regal do not bother at all. Both my girlfriend and my mother loved the fire shrimp. I will try again in future and hope my Regal will ignore the shrimp just like he did before.

Bummer. It's odd that your regal picked on one versus the other. I wonder if the bright red coloring is some sort of attraction for the regal? The reason I say this is my regal went after all my pink and red type of zoas with gusto while it would ignore others completely. I'm just curious if anyone else has observed this behavior from their regal angel.

 

[Phlynamjax]

Now he is nipping at my other cleaner shrimp (Skunk). I guess no shrimps for my tank.

 

[Daniel Waters]

Now he is nipping at my other cleaner shrimp (Skunk). I guess no shrimps for my tank.

Well, at least he is consistent! That's a bummer and quite surprising. I know you said you feed heavily. Are you providing plenty of meaty foods like mysis, mussels, or even krill for the angel? I just wonder if there's some underlying reason we might be over looking. But, then again, even though we like to generalize about a certain type of fish's behavior, it just goes to show that each fish is unique.

 

[Forsaken77]

My 4" Indo-Pacific regal angel is nipping at my blood cleaner shrimp. At first, I thought he was just trying to get cleaner shrimp's attention. But no, he won't stop nipping at him and shrimp is not doing so well. The cleaner shrimp was in the tank before the angelfish. I have never seen this before. Any thoughts?

In case you get another... I have the exact same situation and I will tell you what fixed it.

I have the same shrimp in a tank with a Trigger, 2 carnivorous Wrasses, and a Puffer fish. I put a rock along the back wall that the shrimp can hide behind where the fish cannot get to him. A safe place for the shrimp. He comes out at night and walks all around the tank, even right past the resting Trigger with no issues. Just give him a place that he can retreat to and he will be ok.

 

[alton]

Does your cleaner shrimp actually clean your fish? Many time cleaner shrimp would rather eat out of the column than feed on parasites. A cleaner shrimp that doesn't clean can become food very quickly in an aggressive tank. Years ago before I got into reefs I added a cleaner shrimp to a 200 that housed a large Queen angel and a clown trigger. I was amazed to watched the clown trigger turn completely white while swimming up to the shrimp and watch him clean him all over and then swim off. This lasted for a year until the trigger ate the shrimp, I got mad and sold the trigger (a mistake because he was so gentle) because with years of keeping cleaner shrimp I have learned their ways.

 

[DBrock]

I know this is an old thread, but you are not alone. My regal killed my fire shrimp yesterday and then my cleaner shrimp today