shrimp suggestions

Great on the heads up. another one to add would be that you always run a risk of getting camel shrimp instead of peppermint shrimp. The camels are mean little suckers that like to munch on corals as well

 

i never knew blood shrimp ate polyps.thanks for the heads up.my cleaner just died at 2 yrs old and needs replaced.you may know this but some people sell camel shrimp as peppermint.not usually a problem but if your buying them to eat aiptasia from your tank you need true peppermints.sexi shrimp are very cool but you need a bunch cause their tiny and run like $16 a shrimp.wow we both typed that at the same time lol.by the way its pronounced authoritie lol

 

WOW, OK, fire's out then.

Just to make sure I can spot the difference at the LFS - a camel shrimp is red with white stripes (distinct colors) and a peppermint is kind of clearish with red stripes, right? Kind of faded looking.

I was briefly thinking an arrow crab would be cool, but I've read they can be pretty nasty. Neat looking critter though.

From the responses, I'm getting the impression Fire and Blood shrimps are the same thing - is that true?

And so that my earlier question does not get buried in my own thread :

Can someone give me an idea of how much food the shrimp will need? My reading lead me to believe they would be self sufficient (but like you said, I do have a large CuC). I feed my 2 clowns once every three days, currently.

I was also thinking of a 2 skunk cleaner, 4 total peppermints combo (would the social phenomenon work on the peppermint if it were 3 other types of shrimp, like say 3 bloods and 1 peppermint, or would he be ignored/picked on)?

 

Why do you want so many peppermints? They aren't that great. They eat feahter dusters, most are nocturnal, and they can really bother your coral. I have 1 peppermint for a few aptasia I had, a fire shrimp a skunk and a cbs. Never had any problems. The cbs can be a little aggressive but not that bad. My fire and skunk both clean all day. The cbs doesn't really serve a purpose but looks cool. They get along but all have a lot of tank. A 55 gal may be a little cramped for 1 of each. I would not waste the space on the peppermint. And the skunk and fire can run you 20 to 50 bucks each. Start feeding your clowns more once you get a skimmer too, IMO. I have notice my fish doing much better with more frequent feedings. The shrimp I have eat like fish. Everytime I feed they are coming out going to the top and eating. I feed up to 3 times a day.

 

also never heard of any fire shrimp eating polyps. I have one in both tanks, and one is nothing but zoas, hundreds, in a 15 gal. Never touched them, fire shrimp are the best imo. They always getting the best responses from anyone, reefer or not, looking at them. The skunk is next. Don;t get too many. They will not have enough room. They will get really large and want privacy, alot. Also iodine comes into play here. I do dose and would recommend it, kents is good, just follow the directions.

 

they will eat as often as you feed them no matter how often that is.i would'nt feed extra.they will eat the left overs

 

Ive never personally had to feed shrimp, so I honestly dont know. I just have the one skunk shrimp. He races around getting the food during normal feedings. He is also really happy getting a small pacifica krill every now and again that I personally hand to him

 

I think they're awesome. I really enjoy the one I have already.

Is this a common experience with them? Anybody else have feather duster/coral issues with peppermints?


Thanks for the experiences antonym!

 

Not with peppermints, but the Camel's will. As stated earlier, easy to get the two cross-identified

 

No I am not getting them confused. I know the difference. The peppermints will eat feather dusters, small and big. Also will take food from corals, and really I only have seen them out at night. I would not get too many peppermints. They may pair up but thats it. You probably won;t see them hanging out in groups.