Disappearing peppermint shrimp!

[dvb]

I saw a small aiptasia last week and checked the boards for the most effective solution. It seemed that most people had pretty good luck with the peppermint shrimp. I bought a small one and put him in about a week ago. I have not seen him since. Would my cleaner shrimp eat him, or maybe my emerald crab? Any ideas? Should I buy another one, or just wait and see if he shows up? I don't want to let the aiptasia get out of control. I now have two right next to each other a little smaller than a dime in diameter.

[ May 03, 2002: Message edited by: dvb ]</p>

 

[Russ1]

The shrimp is probably hiding in the rock. Watch for the disappearing aptasia over the next few weeks.

 

[Anonymous]

I have found peppermint shrimp to be very shy at first. I would hold out for a little while, also check at night after the lights have been off for a while.

Of course, there is always a chance something got him.

 

[danmhippo]

You saw 1 aiptasia and run out to buy peppermint already? Wow, you should've seen my tank!

The hard fact is aiptasia is obviously not the favorite food of peppermint shrimp. When he is running out of food, he will scout and search for the aiptasia.

BTW, try to find him at night with flashlight covered with red filter. Mine has been in my tank for a year and I still don't see them much during the day.

 

[dvb]

BTW, how fast does aiptasia spread?

 

[whusband]

they spread at different rates based on different conditions. at one time i had dozens in my tank and then i got some peppermint shrimp and they wiped them out. currently i have 2, but my shrimp won't eat them. it's kinda hit and miss w/ the shrimp. that pair that wiped out the aptaisia moved on to a healthy sebae anemone after the aptasia were all gone

i've had others that won't eat any anemone of any kind

i moved my current peppermint shrimp to the sump for now (wasn't that easy to catch him -- mine is attracted to red light so i put the flashlight against the glass and he came to look at it and i scooped him up w/ the net from behind), and am going to try putting aptasia infected rocks in there for him one at a time. that way the aptaisia will be his only choice for food

 

[Anonymous]

i just got a peppermint shrimp about 2 weeks ago. he went under a rock and i didn't see him for almost 4 days. i got worried and started watching the tank for hours it seemed. finally, i found him upside down under one of the rocks, doing his little sway dance.

i've got 3 other shrimp - banded coral, cleaner and fire. they all keep to themselves. once in a while the coral shrimp will try to pinch someone, but for the most part, they seem to get along ok. i love my little peppy. i wish he came out during the day.

 

[flameangel1]

Hi dvb,,
Very good that you care enough to try to get answers in the beginning !!!!
Wish all hobbyists cared that much.

Aiptasias do spread quickly , IF you try to kill them but miss pieces of them on the rocks.
They can regrow from little pieces.

Left alone with Peppermint shrimp and or Berghia Nudibrachs in the tank, you should have no problems with them.

By the way- EVERYONE was a novice at one time !!!!

 

[iReef1]

Glad to see a post on this. I was getting ready to do some post searching on this subject. I got some live rock from Premium Aquatics and I've found several aiptasia. A couple are about the size of a quarter or a little bigger. I've been wondering what I should do to get rid of them.Like FlameAngel said, they can multiply quickly if you just mangle them and don't kill them. I guess I'll get a pepperment shrimp after I get my rock work arranged and the cycle is over.
iReef

 

[Moose22]

A couple of comments based on my 1 experience with peppermint shrimp.

1. They're nocturnal for the most part. Get a red light to see them. Heck, get a red light anyway. All kinds of cool creepy crawlies come out when the lights are off.

2. They're social. They'll be more active and more visible if you have more than 1. I had 3 in an infested 40G tank and I saw them a lot. When I only had 1 I never saw him in the daylight.

3. They will eat stuff other than Aptasia. The little buggers started nibbling on one of my mushrooms, and so I gave them the boot. It was a PITA to catch them and return them to the LFS, but I didn't want to lose anything to them.

4. One will dissappear into a complexly aquascaped reef and you won't see him for a month sometimes, but they'll still be alive.

If you keep them fed, they probably won't bother corals once the aptasias are gone. When I experimented with them, I wasn't as confident as I am now and REALLY went lean on tank feedings. They're pretty much like the normal cleaners in most respects. They are Lystmata, afterall.