Flame Hawkfish with shrimp

[Teddynola]

I currently have a fire, skunk cleaner and harlequin shrimp residing in my 75g and I really want a flame hawkfish. I've seen videos of tanks with both, but have read/heard that shrimp can be a tasty treat to the hawkfish. Does anyone have experience with the two together?

[Purple Rocks]

hello i have a flame hawkfish one of my favorite he just perches there and stares!

i have pepperment and skunk shrimp he doesnt bother either. However you will catch him bump a snail off you rocks and then swoop down and suck it out of its shell when the snail reaches out. interesting to see.
Otherwise great fish! easy to feed.

[ghostman]

I have a pair of flame hawks and a skunk cleaner shrimp with no problems. That said, I wouldn't recommend it. I think I am lucky, and my flame hawks are well fed. Any peppermint shrimp that I put in for aiptasia control are eaten before they hit the sand though.

[Anemone]

It may work for a while, but you'll notice two things: first, your shrimp will become much more shy (ie, they'll stay in the rocks), and second, no matter how much people say it will work, eventually your shrimp WILL BE lunch (or dinner). It took 18 months in my tank, and longer in others I'm aware of, but eventually it will happen...

Kevin

[Purple Rocks]

Hmmm, i have had no problems, just went and counted, 2 and 2 :)

wasnt even aware that they ate shrimp when i bought him.
I have only seen him eat one snail when i first got him.
About a year now.

I must say that my 3 spot squirrel fish hasnt attacked my shrimp either and i was a little hesitent at first, but he was free. Its been 4 months.

I believe Ghostman has a great point, I think you will have better luck as long as you keep you friends well fed, if they know food is coming they may not feel the need to hunt anything living in proximity.

it may also hlp if your shrimp are bigger than the fish?
lol my fish eat better than me.

[Teddynola]

Thanks for all of the input, guys. I'm going to mull it over and make a decision. They just seem to have so much personality, I'm fascinated, but I get very attached to my critters.

[rathos]

my buddy lost about 4 shrimp before he figured out it was his hawkfish. I guess that is what he gets to not doing research...

[mgargiullo]

The only shrimp I've been able to keep with a flame hawk is a coral banded... Both were really cool animals...

[Detroit_306]

As long as his mouth can't fit over the shrimp you should be fine

[Anemone]

As long as his mouth can't fit over the shrimp you should be fine

Sorry, not true. I watched my flame hawk bite a much larger shrimp in the midsection, then dive bomb it into the substrate to rip out a chunk to eat (and kill the shrimp).

Kevin

[Detroit_306]

yikes

[Anemone]

yikes

Yes, not fun to watch at all.

Kevin

[gonpostal]

It may work for a while, but you'll notice two things: first, your shrimp will become much more shy (ie, they'll stay in the rocks), and second, no matter how much people say it will work, eventually your shrimp WILL BE lunch (or dinner). It took 18 months in my tank, and longer in others I'm aware of, but eventually it will happen...

Kevin
Yup, it took around took 3 or 4 months for me.

[ColoredSticks]

I had a flame hawk with a cleaner shrimp before. He was fine with the one in the tank but I tried adding a new one and he tried eating it as soon as it hit the water column. I ended up removing the hawk because I like shrimp better...

[ALH]

I have a picture of my hawk with a shrimp in it's mouth. Not that I can blame him. Shrimp are tasty

[Bela N]

As long as his mouth can't fit over the shrimp you should be fine

I disagree:lolspin: My 2" flame took a huge 3"+ shrimp. I could not believed it! I thought the flame was going to die. It could not swallow the whole shrimp, so it swam around for 2 day with 1/2" of shrimps tail sticking out its mount. I assume when the first half of the shrimps was digested he swallowed the rest. Sold him the following week.

[Purple Rocks]

ha im checking my tank everyday now for my shrimp! but its been so long and no issues. Got me paranoid now im watching my fish like a hawk.

how big are your hawkfish? mines only 1 1/2 - 2 inch. The pepper shrimp are smaller than it, and the skunk shrimp are bigger/same size.
My 3 spotted squirrel fish is about 3 inch, and no issues either and him i knew ate shrimp, in all honesty im suprised i still have shrimp but not because of the hawkfish.

Im not trying to argue im just curios now, i believe all of you.
I feed meats twice a day during the week, weekns they get spoiled or people come over they usually get an extra feeding :), dry pellets same way.

[mcrist]

I won’t trust a hawkfish again in my tank with shrimp. I had a flame hawkfish once for at least two years with multiple shrimp and had no issues. Then one day it must have realized that the shrimp was food and it started picking off my shrimp one by one. Such a shame since the flame hawkfish has such great personality and was one of my favorite fish.

[exodus]

I *love* hawkfish. I've kept every kind except for the giant clown variety. IME, if you add a shrimp to an already-established hawkfish, they are likely to be lunch. However, if the shrimp is already established, the hawfish is less likely to eat it. They are also less likely to eat cleaner shrimp than other species (I think due to their function on the reef).

If you already have a hawkfish and want to add shrimp, the way to get around this is to remove the hawkfish, place it in QT, then add the shrimp, then add the hawkfish back once the shrimp has established itself.

Also, some hawkfish tend to eat shrimp more than others. Arceye, Flame, and Longnose are more notorious in my experience. I once had a Longnose Hawk that was already carrying a ghost shrimp on the end of his 'nose' suck in another small ghost shrimp with the side of his mouth! It was like he was in a shrimp eating context. Haha!

A Lyretail, Falco, and Spotted hawkfish are less likely with the Lyretail being the least likely.

Having said all that, in my experience, I've had the most success with keeping both by ensuring that my hawkfish are well fed and that I do not feed them ghost shrimp as a supplement. I also keep them in generally non-aggressive tanks.