flame hawk

[gmusick]

I have a flame hawk in my 35 hex tank. I have just 5 total fish in there, at the moment, with 2 green chromis, 1 sixline wrasse and a split-tail goby. My problem is the hawk predatory nature. I successfully introduced a cleaner shrimp into my tank and the hawk paid it absolutely no attention, so I decided to start adding in my cleaner crew. I added in 2 peppermint shrimp, 3 margarita snails, 2 redlegged hermits, 3 blue legged hermits and 3 nasarius snails. The blue hermits and the nasarius snails are small, as are the 2 peppermint shrimp, so the hawk picks at them constantly. He hasn't killed the peppermint shrimp, yet, but one constantly hides behind my filter and the other I can't find any trace of, no corpse or anything. He constantly knocks the bluelegged hermits and the nasarius off the rocks or glass. My question... Should I take him back to the LFS until I get a cleaner crew established, or should I just do without the cleaner crew or should I forget about having a flame hawk in my tank?
Thanks!
Glen in Atlanta

 

[bean 1]

The flame hawk will take out your cleaner and peppermint shrimp sooner or later. The only hope was to have your shrimp established before the hawk but that is by no means a guarantee for success. It is just the nature of the species. I've seen some folks on here successfully keep cleaner shrimp and hawks but I'm pretty sure the shrimp were well established. Of the hawkfish species, the flame is also the most notorious for picking on hermits and snails. I have 3 hawkfish right now (flame, spotted, and falco) but I don't have any shrimp in their tanks. They leave the cleanup crews alone but the hermits and snails were well established and the hawks were very small when 1st introduced. Half my clean up crew was larger than the hawks. My hawks are all about3-4" now and could take out the crew if desired but they have become model residents. I also add new members to the clean up crew at night after the tank lights have been out for at least an hour in order to give them some time to acclimate and blend with the others. I have yet to lose and of my clean up crew to my fish in almost 3 years (which includes some pred. ie hamlets, hawks, wrasses, triggers). I had more trouble initially with hermits kiling hermits until I read about adding enough empty shells to curb this behavior and haven't had a problem since. Good luck with your hawk!
Bean

 

[guineawhop]

you have to decide if you would rather have the hawk fish or the shrimp. the hermits and the snails should be ok. he can't crack their shells open or anything. but definitely not shrimp. even that cleaner shrimp will get it in the end. good luck

 

[joker_ca]

hawks can be tricky little

[hr]
, i kept a flame with skunk cleaner shrimps and a clean up crew with no problems for over a year, until a bad heater kill almost everyone, after that i got a arch-eye hawk and he wanted to kill everyone
so sometimes you just have to try which fish will work in your tank, but IMO i would take him back and pass on any hawkfish, or you can set up an aggressive tank for your hawk

 

[kdfrosty]

Longnose Hawk may not be a problem. Anyone with experience with a Longnose Hawk eating their peppermint/cleaner shrimp?

 

[lion_crazz]

I would also agree that you should just pass on the idea of having a hawkfish with shrimp. No matter what kind of hawk it is, there is always that potential that one day he will eat the shrimp. Even in professional tanks and aquariums, I have never seen a hawk and shrimp work out very well. Longnose's are a little better, but it is still a hawkfish. Talking from experience with my arc eye hawkfish that I have in my tank and other hawkfish that I have seen in other aquarists' tanks, I would not attempt to house a shrimp with a hawk.