Peppermint shrimp question

I had 2 Peppermint shrimp in my tank and had all of those Corals and did not have concerns, I did however have some small frags of Zoas that seem to disappear slowly.

 

Mine never live long enough for me to notice.

 

Do you have camel shrimp or peppermint shrimp? Cause that could be your issue.

 

Yes. Peppermints are hardly reef safe, as many stores will claim. They are pretty much 50/50 whether they harm your corals our not. They may be fine, they may stress corals when digging in them for food, or even eat them. I have had them a few times before and had to banish them to the sump for those reasons. They can be destructive little jerks.

Erayki is right too, if you have camelbacks, get rid of them! Those are horrible, not reef safe whatsoever. They look similar to peppermints, but usually a little darker red and have a more pronounced hump on their back.

 

I had some peppermint shrimp (and positive they were Peppermints-not Camels) that destroyed a couple Acan frags as soon as I put the acans in the tank...I thought they were just picking at the algae, but a day later they were wiped clean. Since then, I haven't been a big fan of them.. I've had them before without any issues but their is no sure way to call them reef-safe.

 

I had 8 pepperment shrimp a year ago now I have 0 as they just disappear. Now my zoas are coming back. I didn't know they were an issue.

 

I have had several with no issues. But I did have one that ripped tentacles off a tube anemone.

 

I would say your true culprit is the camel shrimp. I have a had a swarm of around 20 peppermints in my tank the no issue. One camel though in my early reefing destroyed all polyps and lps I had. Get those buggers out and give the peppermints a chance to prove it wasn't them. I will also say that anything dead or dying WILL get picked at just so you know. That's how these ecosystems work. /DesktopModules/ActiveForums/themes/_default/emoticons/wow.gif

 

A simple 2liter bottle trap with a piece of krill works great to catch em. Or you can usually get them in your hand or a net with some food too. Either way get them otta there! Some people don't realize how much they are bothering corals until they are taken out and corals will look a million times happier.