Im going to KILL my pepps

[Bri Guy]

Im soooo mad, they have been eating my corals lately!!

So far on there lunch menu has been a pocillapora, sun coral, rhocdtus mussious (sp), and my green nepthela. There might have even been more, I just blocked that memory out. I see my shrooms look like theyve been bitten from time to time too.

Anybody else have problems with there peppermint shrimp eating stuff they shouldn't be?

[xcreonx]

U sure they are pepps??

Sounds likethey could be 'Camel' shrimp, commonly mis-identified and sold as peppermint shrimp, and they wreck corals.

[Snowboarda42]

Sounds like you should dose interceptor and take em out lol

[LukFox]

I agree. Sounds like you possibly have camels. If they're really pepps, that's really unusual and I've never personally heard of that happening.

[Bri Guy]

Im 100% sure there peppermints, Ive had them almost a year now, theyve even been breeding.

I know what the camel shrimp look like, close to the pepps but differant enough to know them apart.

Its not the best pic, but the only one I had on hand with the pepps in it, and ironicly it also has the rhocdus that they were munching on.

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i319/podheadx/peppermintshrimp.jpg

[Bri Guy]

Found one more pic...

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i319/podheadx/pepp.jpg

[reefer1024]

I had 2 peps that would eat my LPS. I lost a few heads of frogspawn and a torch before I caught 1 of them in the act. I am sure they were not camels. In the same tank I tried another peppermint a few months later to combat aipatasia and that shrimp ate all my aipatasia and never touched any coral. Don't ask me why but thats what happened.

[Eric55]

A few weeks ago I saw one of my peppermints attack my torch coral. I thought my eyes were playing a trick on me so I decided to watch and wait to see if it did it again.

It did. It didn't just bite it... it started ferociously shredding the tentacles of the coral with it's front legs.

Within 10 minutes, all 3 peppermints were out of the tank and disposed of.

I know these were true peppermints because I bought them from Drs. Foster and Smith. Additionally, I always went out of my way so that they had pellet food on the sand.

Anyways, they're gone.

[yeldarbj]

I've got peppermints that have completely consumed ricordea and hammer corals.

On the positive side, I have no aiptasia.

[greyfox]

Bri Guy,
We had this same discussion about the pepps attacking our corals over at club-zoa. You're not alone.

[SuperNerd]

maybe they're hungry

[Bri Guy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10674408#post10674408 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by SuperNerd
maybe they're hungry

Im thinking this is my problem, I have 3 pepps in a 30g, I feed my tank as much as I think is enough without over feeding (closed systems are delicate you can't over do it) and they just want MORE, I cant tend to just them, I have to feed the system as a whole. Im going to try and get rid of 2 and see how the last one does, if he starts eating my corals too then they are all out.

Im kinda torn though, I like the pepps, there colorful and active, but Man are they kissing me off.

Does anybody have a good idea on how to trap them? as soon as you get 3" away from them there tenticals feel you, there gone. Suggestions?

Thankx alot, and im glad Im not the only one with this problem!

[reefer1024]

I got kinda lucky when I caught mine. When I tried to net them they went into the rocks, but I could see they were hanging on the bottom of a big rock. With 1 hand I slowly picked up the rock they were on and they clung to the bottom. Then I used my other hand to net them. Got em both on the first try:)

[clown2be]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10674408#post10674408 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by SuperNerd
maybe they're hungry

YUP, I was thinking the same thing:D

[HowardW]

Peppermint shrimp can actually become pretty ornery and aggressive when they get bigger and they're hungry, I would not consider larger specimens reef safe.

[Eric55]

I took care of the problem using my hand. It was over quickly.

[Bri Guy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10675427#post10675427 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by HowardW
Peppermint shrimp can actually become pretty ornery and aggressive when they get bigger and they're hungry, I would not consider larger specimens reef safe.

Im finding this to be true, I had no problems when I first got them (not quite full grown) but now that there 2" (just the body) they are little pests. The original reason I got them was to combat aiptasia, now that I have none, I think there job is done here!

Any other trapping ideas?

[SuperNerd]

could always target feed them little pieces of food.

[thrillreefer]

Get a trigger and then once he takes care of them, spearfish him and have yourself a nice sandwich!

[revenant]

^^ lol

Yeah - I had a bad pepp also.. it destroyed a torch and hammerhead coral.. GRR! my flame hawk ate it..

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e40/r3v3nant/gulp.jpg

what a good little fish. :) I still have one pepp left but it seems to behave itself.. maybe scared for it's life?? Anyways, I almost never see it either.. sometimes when the moon light LEDs are on..

[davocean]

Fish/shrimp are ALWAYS hungry IMO.
I got peps to rid some aptasia, they ate evrything but.
I'd watch them push my snails over and eat them, and maybe not even eat the whole thing b4 killing another.

[Eric55]

I love that picture.

[revenant]

I took that the day before or after thanksgiving last year.. fitting. :)

[Bri Guy]

Can I borrow your flame hawk for awhile :strooper:

[althemean]

the larger of my 2 pep is aggressive. I think it is responsible for the death of a tridacnid clam. It also will jump right onto my hand when I clean the tank and start picking at my fingernails.