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Peppermint shrimp nipping at frags?


EthanPhillyCheesesteak

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EthanPhillyCheesesteak

I just got a peppermint shrimp, and it was doing well for a while, but then it saw my 2 pocillopora frags and it went right over to them and started nipping at them? I couldn’t really tell if he was eating the coral tho, or some of the algae on the coral? 

I know I’ve been posting a lot lately😂

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Some peppermint shrimp are bad to coral. A few people here have had issues with that. Are you 100% sure it's a peppermint shrimp and not a camelback shrimp?

 

It's ok to post a lot, you learn more that way and the forum stays active that way.

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EthanPhillyCheesesteak
8 hours ago, Coinee said:

Some peppermint shrimp are bad to coral. A few people here have had issues with that. Are you 100% sure it's a peppermint shrimp and not a camelback shrimp?

 

It's ok to post a lot, you learn more that way and the forum stays active that way.

Yes, I’m positive it’s a peppermint.

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Just watch them but it is probably not an issue if they don’t go back. I have fish that pick at every new frag that comes in until they get whatever microscopic stuff they want off of it. Most of the issues with peppermint shrimp are that they tear open the mouths of corals to get the food from them. 

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EthanPhillyCheesesteak

I woke up this morning, and my pocillopora coral is almost completely white bc of him. He touched the one, but didn’t even bother the other.

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EthanPhillyCheesesteak

That’s what I’m doing right now, but could my pocillopora still come back? It still has a few polyps on the underside of it

2 minutes ago, Rob22 said:

That’s bad then. Get him out of there. 

 

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Usually as long as no algae grows over the exposed skeleton the tissue can grow back. I’m not too familiar with that particular coral to say whether it’s likely or not because I don’t know how delicate it is. 

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EthanPhillyCheesesteak
58 minutes ago, jservedio said:

I find the best way to deal with peppermint shrimp is in a hot pan with melted butter, a little garlic, and fresh herbs of your choice - I prefer a simple parsley and a dash of freshly squeezed lemon.

Might just give it to my LFS😂.

1 hour ago, Rob22 said:

Usually as long as no algae grows over the exposed skeleton the tissue can grow back. I’m not too familiar with that particular coral to say whether it’s likely or not because I don’t know how delicate it is. 

The peppermint shrimp pulled all the little polyps out of it, hopefully it can still come back.

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EthanPhillyCheesesteak

One thing I don’t understand is that the peppermint shrimp went after the coral that was the most healthy and was starting to grow, but he completely leaves the other one alone and they are the same exact coral?

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EthanPhillyCheesesteak

THIS PEPPERMINT SHRIMP IS CRAZY!! He has balls of steel or something, I put my hand in the water to try to move the coral that he was going after to a better spot where he might not attack it, and he immediately started chasing me and attacking me? This peppermint shrimp wants me dead. He will also fly across the tank to get to his food, no joke, he literally glides across the entire tank just to get his food. He also isn’t scared if lights or my hands or any other fish. It probably also doesn’t help that he is like a 2 and a half inch peppermint shrimp.

  • Wow 1
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That's a little concerning... I just got one about a week ago. He's been doing alright though. Hasn't bothered the shroom, zoas, or sinularia. Only thing is that he started going after the shroom when it was full of reef roids. I gave him some flake food and he scuttled off to his cave again.

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EthanPhillyCheesesteak

It’s very concerning, he nips at my hand, and it actually hurts. He hasn’t drawn blood yet, but I bet he could if he tried hard enough. I need to get rid of him, I’m going to my LFS tomorrow.

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8 minutes ago, Firefish15 said:

That's a little concerning... I just got one about a week ago. He's been doing alright though. Hasn't bothered the shroom, zoas, or sinularia. Only thing is that he started going after the shroom when it was full of reef roids. I gave him some flake food and he scuttled off to his cave again.

Shrimp seem to learn that if you feed the corals, they can bother them enough to make them puke up their guts so they shrimp can eat it. It's like a vending machine or something lol

  • Haha 1
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3 minutes ago, EthanPhillyCheesesteak said:

It’s very concerning, he nips at my hand, and it actually hurts. He hasn’t drawn blood yet, but I bet he could if he tried hard enough. I need to get rid of him, I’m going to my LFS tomorrow.

Borrow a wrasse from someone, if you want to do the eradication naturally. :rolleyes:

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EthanPhillyCheesesteak

He already eradicated all the polyps from my pocillopora frag, it’s so white, I don’t see a single polyp. Could the frag still come back if I get rid of the peppermint shrimp?

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13 minutes ago, EthanPhillyCheesesteak said:

He already eradicated all the polyps from my pocillopora frag, it’s so white, I don’t see a single polyp. Could the frag still come back if I get rid of the peppermint shrimp?

It's possible, just keep in a place where it won't be too stressed or bothered by anything. 

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EthanPhillyCheesesteak
11 minutes ago, Coinee said:

Do you have something to contain him in overnight inside of the tank to prevent more damage?

 

10 minutes ago, Firefish15 said:

Or a refugium or sump to banish him to?

I have a small container that I use to put stuff in sometimes, but I just tried it, and he can climb up the sides and Jump right out, he can even find a way out with a lid over it?

He’s starting to get on my nerves

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2 minutes ago, EthanPhillyCheesesteak said:

 

I have a small container that I use to put stuff in sometimes, but I just tried it, and he can climb up the sides and Jump right out, he can even find a way out with a lid over it?

He’s starting to get on my nerves

If you have a clean bottle or something you can poke holes into and contain him (inside of the tank) just for the night, I would try that as an option to prevent him from messing up your tank more. Or a small container you can put a mesh top over and secure it with something like that inside of the tank.

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EthanPhillyCheesesteak
7 hours ago, Coinee said:

If you have a clean bottle or something you can poke holes into and contain him (inside of the tank) just for the night, I would try that as an option to prevent him from messing up your tank more. Or a small container you can put a mesh top over and secure it with something like that inside of the tank.

Yea, that may work

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