Coral Banded Shrimp

[brian e]

My coral banded shrimp just ate my cleaner shrimp. From everything I read and heard they should be compatible with shrimp other than there own kind. Does anyone have any clue why this would happen? I have other cleaners and I'm just wondering if it was just something that happened out of the blue or what?
thanks!
Brian

 

[nacl-h2o]

How big is your tank? In smaller tanks they can become territorial and attack or kill other shrimp that they feel are intruding on their turf. Or the shrimp could have died of something else and the CBS just found his dead body a tasty snack.

 

[memnoch]

I have heard of this happening however i've never witnessed a CBS being aggressive towards anything besides the settling food particles after feeding. I would venture this is an isolated incident. I have a CBS, a fire shrimp, and 10 peppermint shrimp who all cohabitate peacefully.

 

[musipilot]

CBSes are scavengers...but they're ALSO hunters of opportunity. For years our CBS has attempted to grab our cleaner shrimps, but never ever caught them. He will sneak up behind them on their rock once the lights are out, and make a lunge, but the cleaners just move away, and the CBS slinks back down. Again, in years he's never caught them, but I bet if he ever did he would do some damage.
The CBS will also go after smaller fish that come in range, but he never catches them. I would assume if a fish were weak or sick and he could get a hold of them, they would be a meal.

 

[robchuck]

How big are everyone's tanks that house a CBS and Peppermint Shrimp or Cleaner shrimp? I've heard stories of CBS hunting peppermints and cleaners, but it's been my experience that my CBS and my peppermint shrimp cohabitate very peacefully.
Thanks!

 

[pstanley]

My CBS ate my cleaner shrimp also. I think if you get two the same size you are ok.

 

[iechy]

I agree with the above. CBS shrimp will get territorial and usually don't eat your other inhabitants simply because they can't catch them. I have a fairly large CBS that is always lunging at everything that goes near it but it never even seems to bother the fish or peppermint shrimps because they know it's coming and know they can get away. Sometimes it looks like my damsel is teasing it as he'll go by it over and over and he just keeps lunging after it in vain.

 

[i like fish]

I have a 125 with 2 CBS, 2 cleaners, 2 camelback and 2 peppermints. They all get along fine, one CBS is pregnant

 

[jonthefb]

i had a cbs that decapitated a cleaner shrimp after a molt. the poor guy was trying to let his new exoskeleton, when whap, mr cbs chops him in half and starts munching. this occured in a 75 gallo reef tank.
good luck
jon

 

[new]

my cbs was caught chomping on 1 of my peppermints after 2 months of peaceful cohabitation. i did not witness an attack nor have i seen any aggressive behavior since but i do watch him closely. they are in a 75gl tall tank.

 

[brian e]

thanks for everyones help. I possitive it was him that killed them because i caught the cbs in the act the other day as he took out a blood shrimp. He got both my cleaners and the blood.

 

[jonthefb]

three fairly expensive snacks hope all goes well in the future Brian!
good luck
jon

 

[sistrmary]

I have a 100gal with a cleaner a CBS and 6 or so peppermint shrimp that have co habitated for over a year. I wonder if it has something to do with the other shrimps' ability to hide after molting...or perhaps size...except that my CBS was larger than all the peppermint shrimp in the tank when the peppermint first went in. Or perhaps my shrimp are smart and fast while my CBS is a lazy SOB *shrugs* He also cleans the lionfish that my cleaner shrimp is afraid of. Maybe he thinks he's a cleaner shrimp