BustytheSnowMaam Posted September 9, 2002 Share Posted September 9, 2002 Hi, I am thinking of ordering a peppermint shrimp and wondered if I should stick with one or if it's more fun to watch two interact? Is two too many for a 10 gallon? I have 20 lbs of LR and have arranged it with lots of hiding spaces. Tasha Link to comment
john76 Posted September 9, 2002 Share Posted September 9, 2002 Two p-mint shrimp will spawn readily. Providing food for your coral. They will also be less inclined to hide. BTW, they will be fine in a 10gal. Link to comment
jdiver Posted September 9, 2002 Share Posted September 9, 2002 IME, two peppermint shrimp means two killers instead of one. My advice would be to go with two cleaners instead. Link to comment
john76 Posted September 9, 2002 Share Posted September 9, 2002 Oh yeah. I forgot to add that some eat coral. Mine eat nassarius snails. If I could catch them they'd be outta there. I'm contemplating squashing the little buggers to avoid any more carnage. But, many people have them with no ill effects. Buyer beware. Link to comment
spoondigity Posted September 9, 2002 Share Posted September 9, 2002 One note on cleaners if you decide to go that way. I have been told that it is tough to tell how any 2 cleaners will do together in a small environment. I was told that in some cases, one will eat the other while it is molting. In other cases, they can become a mated pair and do fine. He mentioned that sometimes they will go for some time without this happening and then all of a sudden something (possibly chemical with the molt) causes them to cannabalize. Just what I was informed of by someone at the LFS that really seems to know salt envrionments well. If the tank isn't small, then there is evidentally much less to worry about. Link to comment
BustytheSnowMaam Posted September 9, 2002 Author Share Posted September 9, 2002 Thx for all your replies. I personally would prefer a single cleaner shrimp, but I have about a half dozen aiptasia I would like to get rid of. I realize that they may eat more than just the aiptasia- my husband says he's going to be furious if the pep shrimp eats the corals we spent so much $ on! I do feed my hermits quite a bit so I'm thinking if I keep the shrimp fed maybe I'll be ok (???). Tasha Link to comment
printerdown01 Posted September 9, 2002 Share Posted September 9, 2002 Pepps eat aptasia more often when they are very hungry... They will probably not cause much damage to your corals, although every shrimp IS different (some of them won't even touch the dreaded anemonies)! I have had great luck with them however. I did loose a couple of baby shrooms, thanks to my old pepp! But it was well worth it to clear out the pests. If you have any large aptasia, I recommend pulling them by hand (leaving the tissue behind to reform small anemonies, that the peppermint will actually consume). The larger the shrimp the larger the stuff he will attack (i.e. larger anemonies and larger zoanthids and shrooms). If you have yellow polyps I recommend putting them in a guppy breading container so they are not eaten! Link to comment
nmduke2001 Posted October 18, 2002 Share Posted October 18, 2002 My new tank has an aptasia. I just bought a peppermint to eat it. The aptasia has a center about the size of a nickel and "arms" almost an inch long. I haven't fed the peppermint in hopes that with no other available food he will eventually attack the aptasia. Is this realistic or is the aptasia too large for the shrimp. If so, what should I do? I would really like to stock my tank soon since the cycle is complete, so any help would be appreciated. Thanks. Link to comment
ross76053 Posted October 18, 2002 Share Posted October 18, 2002 That would have to be one big-@ss shrimp to eat an aptasia that big! Take printerdowns advice - pull the sucker by hand, and hopefully the smaller sprouts will be eaten. Tasha - I've had two peps for three weeks now (I know, not much of a test) with no problems. I have tons of mushrooms & a few corals that haven't been bothered yet. As far as interacting with each other - they just don't. Each has his own place behind the rock. Ross Link to comment
BustytheSnowMaam Posted October 18, 2002 Author Share Posted October 18, 2002 Hmm- thanks for the replies here- I posted this awhile ago and still have not acted on anything, debating whether to drive 2 hours to the not-so-LFS or order from Premium Aquatics. My aiptasia are big, but maybe the peps can get it under control. Ross thanks for letting me know yours haven't eaten anything, that helps alleviate the reservations I was having. Why is it that the things you want to grow, don't, and the things you don't want, do? Did that make sense? Tasha Link to comment
Pikelet Posted October 18, 2002 Share Posted October 18, 2002 FWIW, my peppermint prefers ceriths to nass if given the option. Of course once the ceriths are all eaten, it'll switch over to the nass. Interestingly enough it won't touch my trochus or astraea. Funny little thing, isn't it. Link to comment
printerdown01 Posted October 18, 2002 Share Posted October 18, 2002 Hey Ross, do you have any zoanthids by chance?? Or... anyone else out there with pepps & zoanthids in the same tank?? I am really curious if anyone has had major problems with these guys... I'm thinking about trying it, but structurally they look a LOT like aptasia, so I'm a little weary about doing it. If there is even a single person out there that has this arrangement I'll give it a shot... Link to comment
badpacket Posted October 18, 2002 Share Posted October 18, 2002 I'd say go with 2 shrimp, they seem to be just a bit more adventurous and willing to come out of the rocks from what I've heard, and read on some Shimp spawn sites. Link to comment
ross76053 Posted October 18, 2002 Share Posted October 18, 2002 Nope - no zoanthids here. I'm slowing down on stocking until I get this freakin' Algae under control. Ross Link to comment
SeaFish Posted October 18, 2002 Share Posted October 18, 2002 i am not sure, but i heard most people mistakenly taek camel shrimp to be pep shrimp. i heard it is the camel shrimp that eats corals and that true pepps dont eat corals at all but rather eat the dreaded aneme that no one wants and also scavenge for food. I had heard this from m y local pet store and i swear i read it somewhere. If i am wrong about this, can someone correct me please. Link to comment
J-Bass Posted October 18, 2002 Share Posted October 18, 2002 How bout no shrimp instead. Shrimp are best when dipped in batter and fried, then served with beer and cocktail sauce. Link to comment
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