what shrimp is the best?

[Philt56]

Emerald are ok, right? I've thought about adding one to help with some GHA.

They should be fine. But of course nothing is guaranteed in this hobby.

Both arrows and CBS are very mobile and have long arms so I think they are easier to attack each other. I just googled and of course some people have said they have had both in the same tank for years. Prob depends on size of each.

I just remember reading in tropical fish magazine many many years ago that they were natural enemies. I just don't remember which one was the bigger aggressor.

 

[SteveO64]

I had a peppermint shrimp that ate my green striped mushroom anenomes. He didn't last long in the tank. I made a huge mistake and bought a fire shrimp. Put him in the tank and and before he hit the bottom my bird wrasse ate him. I've had a few coral banded shrimp that I've probably enjoyed the most.

 

[Dominat0r]

I went with a peppermint, I might do a cleaner later though.

 

[Irish Reefer]

I've got 2 peppermints in my tank and haven't seen them do anything other than descimate the aptasia I had. I've never seen the messing w/ any corals or stealing food

 

[Vaughn17]

The best shrimp come grilled on a plate.

 

[kamuii]

The best shrimp come grilled on a plate.

now that is something i can agree with, although i do preferred fried...

 

[Highgrade]

Just added a Large Fire Shrimp to my tank and he killed 4 smaller peppermint shrimp in the first day. In another tank I have a few peppermint shrimp but one in particular ate my favorite rock nem. No matter how much I fed them. He's in the sump currently and will stay there most likely. My tiger pistol shrimp is cool to an extent but every few days he likes to rearrange things and cause a dust storm along with stealing corals that are not secured down, no matter the size. Overall the best luck I've had is with skunk cleaners. Only complaint I've had is their antennae occasionally will get red cyanno till they molt.

 

[JayBee26]

I have a skunk that doesn't touch any coral and actually comes out and eats upside down with the rest of my fish

 

[kamuii]

so from everybody's comments... i guess it's different for everyone!

 

[SashimiTurtle]

Last night I noticed my banded coral shrimp was missing one of his large claws. Those grow back when they molt, right?

 

[pirate2876]

 

[Vaughn17]

You are absolutely correct!!!
I was feeding my prized Acans pellets a few times a week and noticed their mouths started disappearing. Didn't know what had happened until my LFS (from which I had purchased 6 or 7 peppermint shrimp) told me it was the shrimp. I hate shrimp!!!!!!!

Yes, that's why I'm not a shrimp fan. I had a cleaner shrimp that I fed heavily (and I mean heavily to stop it from picking on the corals). It kept molting and getting bigger and bigger, while many of my lps corals were struggling. Then I caught it, one night, going from coral to coral, after I'd spot fed them.

So basically, IME, this creature has such a voracious appetite that it is not reef safe if you have corals from the mussidae family or others that need to have their diet supplemented with spot feedings. Too bad, because it is extremely intelligent. Which, lol, is probably why it can be such a PIB (pain in the butt).

 

[samiam69]

I too have decided shrimp aren't worth the hassle. Aside from the above mentioned food stealing, peppermint shrimp have been known to actually eat the coral itself.

Shrimp are rad as hell. I have like 6 or 7 kinds. And no they don't eat corals lady. I have 5 peppermint shrimp that don't eat anything other than aptasia and frozen foods. I haven't had aptasia in ages.

That being said cleaner shrimp go nuts for food. And will totally jack it from whoever and whatever they can. I've found the remedy to be slower feeding of frozen foods and making sure I'm feeding as much as everyone wants to eat.

 

[Katrina71]

Pederson cleaner shrimp. Very very cute.

 

[TheLadyCrash]

And no they don't eat corals lady. I have 5 peppermint shrimp that don't eat anything other than aptasia and frozen foods.

Do a quick search on the R2R forums here and you will find MANY posts of people who have witnessed their peppermints tearing into their coral. You can try and argue they aren't true peppermints but I know for a fact the ones that I watched tear my torches apart tentacle by tentacle are.

 

[jrwoltman]

The right species of peppermint shrimp will eat aiptasia, thank God!

 

[Jlentz]

Best shrimp is peacock mantis shrimp.

 

[Vaughn17]

Best shrimp is peacock mantis shrimp.

This one probably won't bother coral but it might eat your kids fingers, lol.

 

[Jlentz]

This one probably won't bother coral but it might eat your kids fingers, lol.

It definitely limits your fish stocking options. Corals are mostly safe, lps is better, should be lower light. Cuc needs to be restocked about once a month...

 

[TheLadyCrash]

This one probably won't bother coral but it might eat your kids fingers, lol.

What better way to teach your kiddos to keep their hands out of the tank.