My tank is a death trap for peppermints

[tjkohler]

Well I lost a peppermint shrimp, one of my first additions, withing a couple days after introducing him a while ago. Just vanished, and this was before I had the brittle star. Everything else has survived and is 100% intact. I wanted to see if I could get a couple pepps to spawn so I picked up two more. Acclimated them, and when I put them into the tank they swam away out of sight .... never to be seen again. It's been two weeks and no sign either at night or during the day. Now the brittle could have gotten them, but then why wouldn't the cleaner have bit the dust? Plus I feed the brittle a big chunk of shrimp every week.
My tank is a peppermint death trap is seems.

 

[buzz]

NiceNakago had a similar disappearance with his peppermint...abducted by aliens apparently, because there was no trace...no clue as to what happened. I let him know about your post...although I do remember seeing what seemed like a crop circle formed in the algae on the sand bed in his tank...heh heh...

 

[nicenakago]

I think my cleaner bullied the pep into hiding and then the pep starved to death. Crabs probably made short work of the remains after that.
Let me ask, did your pep and cleaner chase one another at all EVER?

 

[buzz]

I still think it was aliens!
Seriously though, that could have been what happened....

 

[jonthefb]

any chance they might just be hiding very very well? i have a pairin my 20 tht are very cryptic. they only show themselves if there is food in the water, and at night it is really hard to find them.
im hoping they are still in there for you tj
good luck
jon

 

[iechy]

I'm with Jon on this one. They could be hiding in holes you don't even know exist. I never see mine during the day even when I'mmoving things around. I though only one was left alive until last night whenI was looking at everything with a flashlight I saw them both out at the same time. They apparently are hiding from me and the aptasia from them since they haven't seemed to have found it yet. Maybe they're not dead, just spelunking.

 

[twoods71]

I agree with the 2 posts above.
Mine hide very well. Fortunately for me I found 1 of the hiding spots and can see the little guy if I look closely in his hole.
The other one however hides a little better and have only seen him a couple of times.

 

[buzz]

But what about them being out and about all the time, in clear view for a long time, and then up and never seeing them again? That seems to be pretty much what happened here...or am I misreading that?
Is it normal behavior for them to just decide to hide after acclimating to being in the open?
I am trying to understand this myself, because I was thinking of getting one.

 

[tjkohler]

They could be hiding but I'm not sure. The first guy I had stayed in one spot 90% of the time (was it his hiding place? *shrug*). Then one day he was gone. I picked up the cleaner shrimp after that because I wanted the flickering of antenna and this shrimp was giving me the wiggles at the LFS. Later I picked up two smaller peps at the store to see if I could get them to spawn. One hung out exactly where the first one had before it disappeared. Then two days later, it was gone too. I then saw what I thought was a dead shrimp, was it was my cleaners molt.
Now I do have a very cool 18 lb piece of LR that has tunnels that I believe go all throughout the middle of this rock because I used to watch pep #1 go into a cave at one end and then pop out the other end. I've actually got the rock kind of mapped out now because of the brittle star. He has 5 arms and he likes to stick each one out different holes, and I've found new holes all the time.
I hope they are still alive in there. I hate to think that I'm killing stuff. I'm done with livestock in my nano though. I'll throw in more corals, but I think I've maxed out the mobiles I want to put in there now.

 

[q]

Over a period of about 2 months all 3 of mine died the same way. They would get sucked down the overflow. I found one chopped up in my skimmer and the other two ended up getting lodged in my spray bar.
If you have an overflow this would be my guess.

 

[tjkohler]

Q, no overflow. The only thing mechanical in my nano is my powersweeper. I don't think they could get sucked in the 1/8th inch holes. I'm hoping they are still around.

 

[iechy]

Like Twoods I did find where one of mine hides. I can't see the shrimp but I can see his antennae moving. I'd suggest trying to look for that. I fthey're hiding they'll be sure to conceal their bodies but most likely not their antennae.

 

[q]

Well it was worth a shot.
I must of had some freeky peps though. Cause when ever I would feed my corals they would be out to try to take the food right off of the feeder.
Looks like it is time to try sneeking up on them a couple of hours after all the lights are out and the tank/room is in total darkness. Then use a flash light and try to spot one real quick.
Or
Put some aiptsias in the tank and see if they dissapear.

 

[phoenixrising]

All of mine (4 in all) have gone into the overflow and down into the sump. I have fished 2 of them out of there on several occasions only to find that overnight they get back in there again. Now I leave them in there. Don't know why they prefer it in there over the tank where food and shelter is plentiful. My cleaners stay put, but the peppermints like the ride to the sump. Maybe it is the same thrill for them as riding the Magnum (roller coaster at Cedar Point) is for me. Who knows....

 

[tjkohler]

"riding the Magnum (roller coaster at Cedar Point) is for me. "
More like the Milineum Force (spelling). That is a wicked ride. My wife (fiance at the time) freaked out on the way up the thing. And she's no girlie girl.

 

[phoenixrising]

I've heard awesome things about that ride, but haven't made it to "The Point" recently to try it out. I sure do LOVE a great roller coaster though and can hardly wait to sample this one!