the fishfood i bought for it. I bought flake style. The shrimp grabbed the flakes but didnt eat any of it. I got this shrimp exactly 2 weeks ago. It devoured all the aptasias within 36 hrs, but i havent fed it since except for the one time i put flakes in the tank. its a brand called "aquarian". I assume its getting whatever from the tank, since it's shed twice already. Do those skeletons need to be removed?
My peppermint shrimp isnt eating ....
- Thread starter Mike02
- Start date
I don't know that brand but check what the flake is made out of. If it is plant based then that is your problem. Pepps eat meat. Try feeding a small piece of shrimp. I've never seen a peppermint yet that wouldn't stop whatever its doing to grab a piece of shrimp. Feed after lights are out or actinics only.
When I feed my corals or anemones I have to make sure that I throw in a couple pieces of shrimp/scallop/fish first to keep the peppermints busy so they don't rip the food out of the polyps! I once saw a peppermint snatch a piece of shrimp my purple tang's mouth when he swam too close to the rocks!
thanks. i wasnt sure if peppermint were "meat" eaters or not. are aptasias a form of "meat"? i suppose the peppermints could eat copepods or amphipods. a long time ago when i had another tank, i had a banded coral shrimp that loved the flake food. this "aquarian marine" flake food is made by a company called Waltham.
Yep aiptasia is an animal not a plant. A lot of flake food contains animal protein also so it doesn't surprise me that they would eat certain flake and not others. Regarding pods, if you are ever cursed with a large growth of hair algae like I am you will see your pod population make good use of the cover. At night and under actinics you will see your peppermint shrimp methodically probing these stands looking for pods and devouring any they can find. They're also tough on polyps in my experience and, like GDawson said, they will take food from them sometimes damaging them in the process. I have a love/hate relationship with mine because they have always taken care of my aptasia and they provide food via spawn but I don't like the predation on fan worms and pods and such. I confess that my pair are headed for the sump soon and will only be employed in a main tank upon aptasia outbreak.
i too plan on catching my peppermints and keeping them in the refrigium until they are needed to combat aptasia. i've heard you can make a homemade trap, haven't tried it yet but here's how:
- take an empty 2 liter coke bottle, wash thoroughly removing all labels, gunk, etc.
-cut the top off the bottle 1" before the cylinder starts to taper in. then cut the very top (where the cap goes) so you have a 1" - 2" dia hole (depending on what you're trying to catch).
-silicone the collar piece back onto the bottle outside-in. you now have a trap of sorts that allows critters to get in, and since the opening is an inverted collar it's more difficuly for them to find their way out.
-fully submerse the trap in the front of your tank with a few pieces of clam or shrimp inside. best to do in the evening and let sit overnight.
-lay low for a while and see what you get!
again, i haven't tried this yet so i'm not sure how well it works - anybody else care to elaborate?
cheers
- take an empty 2 liter coke bottle, wash thoroughly removing all labels, gunk, etc.
-cut the top off the bottle 1" before the cylinder starts to taper in. then cut the very top (where the cap goes) so you have a 1" - 2" dia hole (depending on what you're trying to catch).
-silicone the collar piece back onto the bottle outside-in. you now have a trap of sorts that allows critters to get in, and since the opening is an inverted collar it's more difficuly for them to find their way out.
-fully submerse the trap in the front of your tank with a few pieces of clam or shrimp inside. best to do in the evening and let sit overnight.
-lay low for a while and see what you get!
again, i haven't tried this yet so i'm not sure how well it works - anybody else care to elaborate?
cheers
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LOL- I'm not laughing at the upgrade. just it's 50% bigger comment!!
The coke bottle trap should work. I've used the ancestor to it. Take a piece of shrimp, rubberband it to a rock, put it in the bottom of a glass and lean the glass against the rocks. Crabs slide in but don't climb out. On one shipment of LR I pulled out 9 crabs in one night! Couldn't use it for shrimp as the mouths too large and they can swim. The coke bottle solves that.
Greg
LOL- I'm not laughing at the upgrade. just it's 50% bigger comment!!
The coke bottle trap should work. I've used the ancestor to it. Take a piece of shrimp, rubberband it to a rock, put it in the bottom of a glass and lean the glass against the rocks. Crabs slide in but don't climb out. On one shipment of LR I pulled out 9 crabs in one night! Couldn't use it for shrimp as the mouths too large and they can swim. The coke bottle solves that.
Greg
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In a fully stocked reef tank how do you purpose to catch them? I would love to put mine in a nano reef for show. But they can move like lighting the minute they see me in the water. I would require a tear down to get them (this may happen anyway if you've followed the Can Reefs Get Too Old thread)
In a fully stocked reef tank how do you purpose to catch them? I would love to put mine in a nano reef for show. But they can move like lighting the minute they see me in the water. I would require a tear down to get them (this may happen anyway if you've followed the Can Reefs Get Too Old thread)
I'm upgrading my current 10g sps tank where they live to a 15g. Hey, don't laugh, it's 50% bigger! I will catch them when I rip my 10g down. They are very difficult to catch when there are rocks in the tank. I suppose they could be baited to a corner and netted but my reflexes aren't what they used to be and I don't want to injure them either.
Cant you use one of those traps? i never used one but i guess they work. i wondered how i would get mine out too, but so far it apparently hasnt bothered any polyps. i have zooanthus polyps and the only thing i feed is DT's. i also have briarium polyps, same story there.
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