PDA

View Full Version : Whats eating my Shrimp???


tommyboy2034
10/15/2011, 10:26 PM
I have a 90 gal reef tank which has been up and running for 2 years now. I've had great success in this tank, however I can't keep a shrimp for more than day, literally. I've lost 3-4 Fire shrimp, 2 cleaner shrimp, 3-4 Peppermint shrimp. The symptom is simple, I acclimate the shrimp 30-60 minutes (trying as many techniques as possible). The shrimp moves behind the live rock, the shrimp is never seen again. What could possibly be killing my shrimp.. as I've got 15+ years of experience in the hobby, I'm confident it's not a water quality/acclimation/feeding issue. Below is my current livestock.

Fish:

Bellus angel
Mystery Wrasse
Engineer Goby
Diamond Watchmen Goby
Bartlets Anthias

Inverts:
Emerald Crab
Blue Legged Hermits
Nessarius Snails
Turbo Snails
Long Spine Urchin

MCCOOL
10/15/2011, 10:39 PM
Mystery wrasses are known shrimp eaters.

fishandsail
10/16/2011, 07:49 AM
I got a couple of engineer gobies in my DT, and let me tell you that if I knew those fricks would get to be 12" long and hide under my LR all day, I would have rethought purchasing them. I do know for a fact that them two have eradicated all the shrimp I've introduced into my tank. I even saw one of them a few months back poop a whole one out (it was a tiny peppermint, but still, lol).

I've been wanting to reintroduce peppermints to control a very minor aptasia bloom I had in the past 2 weeks, but there's no way they'd last more than a couple of days. Funny thing at least, though, is that there's a very small aptasia that has been growing under in a sand tunnel under LR that one of the gobies dug out. Every now and then when it gets big enough, the goby decides to clear it out and munch on it!

snorvich
10/16/2011, 08:59 AM
Mystery Wrasse.

tommyboy2034
10/16/2011, 01:54 PM
Sounds like I need to remove both, should be fun trying to capture 2 fish that don't like to be out in the open

spieszak
10/16/2011, 02:02 PM
had an emerald take a peppermint in my pico...

lucky_snapper
10/16/2011, 03:10 PM
as soon as I saw the title I was sure that there was a wrasse in the tank... Mystery Wrasse !! Ding Ding Ding !!!! We have a winner...

tommyboy2034
10/16/2011, 06:50 PM
are there any wrasse (besides 6 line) that won't eat shrimp?

snorvich
10/16/2011, 07:36 PM
are there any wrasse (besides 6 line) that won't eat shrimp?

Fairy and flasher wrasses.

oceanwonderz
10/17/2011, 04:54 PM
I would have guessed mystery wrasse as well.