Will banded coral shrimp be safe?

Bigfish of La. · Jan 30, 2019

i have an 80G tank with a mix of wrasse, 2 clowns, and a bonded pair of longnose hawk fish. Will this shrimp be safe ?

Would like to order today.

James M · Jan 30, 2019

I wouldn’t add one , especially with the longnose

Bigfish of La. · Jan 30, 2019

I was a little skeptical too.

67chevellemalibu2 · Jan 30, 2019

I have one with a Longnose and two fire shrimp with no issues.

Corey Baker · Jan 30, 2019

I have a Coral Banded Shrimp i have had for maybe a couple years now at this point. With a Flame Hawkfish and Starry Blenny and 4 wrasses, clowns, Harlequin Sweetlips and couple tangs. the CB shrimp is LARGE i made sure when i got it, it was as big as possible. body and claws 4-5 inches antennas spread is 6+ inches. All tank mates get along just fine. in fact fish stay clear of shrimp when he is on the roam. i think the most important is size and if those Long Noses have a taste for shrimp...

nereefpat · Jan 30, 2019

What species of wrasses? Fairies, flashers, and the small Halichoeres should be pretty safe.

The hawks don't really scare me much either, unless the hawks are mature and the new shrimp is tiny.

Bigfish of La. · Jan 30, 2019

Flashers and fairies, and the hawks are medium size, got them 4 months ago and they were about 2 1/2”, maybe 3” now.

Alexreefer · Jan 30, 2019

I would not. He could possibly hurt you hawks. I checked up my tank one night and saw the cb shrimp trying to eat my diamond goby. Pretty scary.

eatbreakfast · Jan 31, 2019

It will be fine. Hawks are sturdy and strong enough not to be hunted by the shrimp, and unless the shrimp is tiny, it is big enough not to be hunted by the hawk.

A sea K · Jan 31, 2019

Alexreefer said:
I would not. He could possibly hurt you hawks. I checked up my tank one night and saw the cb shrimp trying to eat my diamond goby. Pretty scary.

I would be more concerned with the fish than I would the shrimp. Swore off CBS many years ago and will never have another. They are aggressive opportunistic feeders and will catch kill anything they can get their greedy claws on. Hope you dont have any coral that you like to spot feed.

nhlives · Jan 31, 2019

Interesting, my CBS mainly hides out under the rock shelve. When I feed the Rock Flower raw shrimp he never comes near.

A sea K · Jan 31, 2019

So goes the saying YMMV. All tank inhabitants will exhibit their own individual habits. My experience was a bad one and I will no longer risk keeping a CBS due to this.

eatbreakfast · Jan 31, 2019

If worried about spot feeding corals, give cbs a shrimp pellet to occupy him while feeding the corals.

Captain Quint · Jan 31, 2019

67chevellemalibu2 said:
I have one with a Longnose and two fire shrimp with no issues.

Like your screen name and wicked car for sure.

I have no issues with mine ...in fact, it cleans the fishes in my system as a skunk does. lol

Corey Baker · Jan 31, 2019

I guess the only negative is i use peppermint shrimp to get rid of the occasional aptasia.... well they dont tend to last more than a few days if the CBS knows they are in the tank, he has developed a taste for those little guys. The CBS lunges at any fish that comes near him but way too slow to catch anything and at night its to busy climbing the scape and checking the nooks and crannies and doesn't bother the sleeping fish. I do keep the shrimp well fed, which might have something to do with his behavior. Along with the fish he gets a large helping of whatever the fish get daily.

Jesterrace · Jan 31, 2019

Corey Baker said:
I have a Coral Banded Shrimp i have had for maybe a couple years now at this point. With a Flame Hawkfish and Starry Blenny and 4 wrasses, clowns, Harlequin Sweetlips and couple tangs. the CB shrimp is LARGE i made sure when i got it, it was as big as possible. body and claws 4-5 inches antennas spread is 6+ inches. All tank mates get along just fine. in fact fish stay clear of shrimp when he is on the roam. i think the most important is size and if those Long Noses have a taste for shrimp...

Agreed. I am still waiting for the right Fire Shrimp to come along that is Huge so my Melanurus Wrasse will leave it alone. Smaller Shrimp will be food for hawkfish or the more determined Halichoeres Wrasses.

rkpetersen · Jan 31, 2019

Jesterrace said:
Agreed. I am still waiting for the right Fire Shrimp to come along that is Huge so my Melanurus Wrasse will leave it alone. Smaller Shrimp will be food for hawkfish or the more determined Halichoeres Wrasses.

I'm pretty sure that my big male Melanurus is the reason I can't keep cleaner shrimp in one tank anymore (they just vanish after a week or two) when they used to be just fine. otoh it seems to have no interest in the 3 big Fire Shrimp and rather shy yellow Banded Coral Shrimp.