Peppermint shrimp problems

ssalt-beginer

ssalt-beginer

Member
I have two peppermint in a 20 gal soon to be reef tank. I recently ordered some cerith and narsuriss snails and when i put them in the tank and feed my fish my shrimp instantly went to my snail fliped him over and started eating him. So i got the net and put them in a cup for right now since i only have one tank. My order was from reefs2go.com also the snail look small id say smaller than a inch. i put the snails back in the tank but on top of my live rock were they cant reach them. I ordered 2 cerith and 4 narsuriss and only 1 cerith and the 2 big narsurisses are still alive what should i do.
 
tangs rule

tangs rule

Active Member
The only thing I can think is maybe some of the snails that you added were already dead/dying - and that odor/scent in the water triggered a feeding response from the shrimp(s).. I keep peppermint & skunk cleaner shrimps with all manner of reef safe snails, and never seen any aggression of a pepp/skunk shrimp to a healthy snail. Though a dead snail or dead hermit in a shell can be a meal for a small shrimp - it's impossible for the shrimp to eat the whole carcass - as there's just too much meat there for a shrimp or 2 to consume in only a day or two.
I would think any snails NOT decomposing should be of NO interest to a Lysmata sp. shrimp - Now a coral banded shrimp (Stenopus sp.) could be a threat to snails/hermits.
Maybe you could post a picture of the offending shrimp(s)? It'd help..
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator
Bury the snails in the sand where the Shrimp can't get to them (Cerith and Nassarius only).
Also make sure they are alive before adding them to Tangs Rule's point.
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator
Second thought - did you acclimate the Snails to the salinity of your tank water? If not, and there's a significant difference in salinity, the Snails would experience osmotic shock and that would definately trigger a feeding frenzy by the Shrimp.
 
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