peppermint shrimp - the biggest mistake!!!

[Milky Way]

Every wenesday-Thursday i do water change. 

I ran out of sea salt and decided to go to LFS.

I saw pepper mint shrimps on sale 2 for 15$. Before buying those i researched if those are reef capable. And almost every resource said that it is coral Friendly.

So i picked from lfs 2 peppermints and 1 purple fire fish.

So as soon as i placed those in my reef 1 of those started eating my green torch coral. I WAS SHOKED!!!!!It ate 10 full tentacles. i Couldn't believe my eyes!!!!!

 

Have you had peppermints???Please share your stories and pictures!!!!!

 

i had to remove those and now it's swimming in my bucket. If smo lives in MD you are more than welcome to have it before it goes to the sink!

[Drewbedo]

Could be a camelback shrimp which look very similar and are NOT reef friendly. It's hard to tell from your top down shot.  Can you take a side shot, usually they have a hump before their tail.  Brighter(top) pic is a camel. Darker (bottom) is peppermint. 

[gulfsurfer101]

I'm thinking that's a camel shrimp as well!

[Milky Way]

23 minutes ago, Drewbedo said:

Could be a camelback shrimp which look very similar and are NOT reef friendly. It's hard to tell from your top down shot.  Can you take a side shot, usually they have a hump before their tail.  Brighter(top) pic is a camel. Darker (bottom) is peppermint. 

 

7 minutes ago, gulfsurfer101 said:

I'm thinking that's a camel shrimp as well!

1 is colorless the second one looks exactly like pic on the bottom. i didn't catch red one eating anything yet! But colorless one started attacking my green torch right away in the first 15 seconds.

[GregEmmitte]

Looks more like a camel shrimp. I've had a peppermint for almost a year and the only thing I've seen him eat is aptasia and mysis.

[Drewbedo]

ushally when a shrimp is clear like that (and it's NOT a ghost shrimp) it's either recently molted or very stressed.  Maybe he just needs some more acclimation time to calm down or just time to harden up. He could be very aggressive for either of these reasons

[Milky Way]

2 minutes ago, Drewbedo said:

ushally when a shrimp is clear like that (and it's NOT a ghost shrimp) it's either recently molted or very stressed.  Maybe he just needs some more acclimation time to calm down or just time to harden up. He could be very aggressive for either of these reasons

he was drip acclimating for about 2 hours before i added those in my tank. Unfortunately i don't have a sump, refugio or quarantine tank.

I don't think its gonna survive in the bucket. i don't know what to do with it right now. I can't just throw that out. and LFS is an hour away without traffic

[Drewbedo]

hmm...maybe just keep it acclimating as long as you can before you go to bed and hope for the best.  Otherwise maybe someone else on here can help out with how to keep it going in a bucket without heat or water movement.  

[Milky Way]

19 minutes ago, Drewbedo said:

hmm...maybe just keep it acclimating as long as you can before you go to bed and hope for the best.  Otherwise maybe someone else on here can help out with how to keep it going in a bucket without heat or water movement.  

i posted on the local FB page that i give those away and someone agreed to pick those up. 

Thanks God. I would not forgive myself if those would die

[SelectedByNature]

1 minute ago, Milky Way said:

i posted on the local FB page that i give those away and someone agreed to pick those up. 

Thanks God. I would forgive myself if those would die

Wow. Epic recovery.

[Milky Way]

I'm still shocked that my green torch is damaged . Don't know if it recovers 

[GregEmmitte]

5 minutes ago, Milky Way said:

I'm still shocked that my green torch is damaged . Don't know if it recovers 

From the picture you posted it'll probably be fine.

[Drewbedo]

Yea the coral should be fine, just make sure to keep it under a medium flow to avoid infection. 

[Milky Way]

Just now, GregEmmitte said:

From the picture you posted it'll probably be fine.

thank you, i feel better now.

 

i will never ever bye pepper shrimp in my life!!!!! You would see how he aggressively and greedy he was eating those tentacles, i tried to move him but he couldn't stop and kept attacking it. 

[Weetabix7]

It can recover. 

Give it a lugols dip and put it in low flow. 

1 cup tankwater, 5 drops lugols iodine, 3-5 mins in dip then return to tank. 

I've had Peppermint Shrimp eat corals, in fact the last one I had at a Hammer Coral right in front of my eyes. 

And yes, I'm absolutely positive it was a Peppermint. 

[Milky Way]

1 minute ago, Weetabix7 said:

It can recover. 

Give it a lugols dip and put it in low flow. 

1 cup tankwater, 5 drops lugols iodine, 3-5 mins in dip then return to tank. 

I've had Peppermint Shrimp eat corals, in fact the last one I had at a Hammer Coral right in front of my eyes. 

And yes, I'm absolutely positive it was a Peppermint. 

thanks God I'm not the only one who experienced it. 

 

I don't have Lugols dip, however i do have ME dip, active ingredients on the picture . do you think it will work???

[Weetabix7]

15 minutes ago, Milky Way said:

thanks God I'm not the only one who experienced it. 

 

I don't have Lugols dip, however i do have ME dip, active ingredients on the picture . do you think it will work???

 

I wouldn't use that on it. 

That looks like a dip to kill pests. 

Lugol's is more antibiotic and used as I described above is gentle and helps with healing. 

Just keep it in lower flow and see how it is overnight. 

[GregEmmitte]

Just now, Weetabix7 said:

 

I wouldn't use that on it. 

That looks like a dip to kill pests. 

Lugol's is more antibiotic and used as I described above is gentle and helps with healing. 

Just keep it in lower flow and see how it is overnight. 

Not to go against the grain here, but tbh I probably wouldn't do anything and let it heal on its own.  :T

[Weetabix7]

Hmm, I just read this tho and it says it can be used to rejuvenate damaged corals: https://mecoral.com/product/wash-off-dip-2x-8oz/

 

Maybe try it at half the strength suggested. 

Just now, GregEmmitte said:

Not to go against the grain here, but tbh I probably wouldn't do anything and let it heal on its own.  :T

 

It might be just fine with that, LPS corals are stronger and more able to recover from that than we think. 

 

I think the Hammer I mentioned recovered fine.

[GregEmmitte]

Euphyllia is pretty awesome. They have a higher tolerance to less clean water and are also barometers for water conditions. If your hammer or frog spawn is full and beautiful and flowing, you're water is probably fine. The only downside is that they can also look great in water that has nitrates at 40ppm. Which can be a bad thing if you also have acropora sp.

[Milky Way]

Which Shrimp is 1000$ reef safe????

[Drewbedo]

Nothing's ever full Reef proof as you will always have your oddball cases but sexies and skunk Cleaners are your best bet

[DocReef]

Peppermints ate my Acans. I hate them. 

[gulfsurfer101]

 I've cut right through euphyullia heads and I'm talking right down the middle not expecting either side to live and I've found it very rare that either side die on me. They're tough as nails imo. Btw I don't dip before or after fragging. I think your frag is going to be just fine as is. That's my opinion. 

[GregEmmitte]

I've had hammers just launch entire tentacles and seem to not be bothered at all.