Learning the hard way
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Forum Name: General Discussion
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URL: http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=10809
Printed Date: July 05 2026 at 3:07pm
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Topic: Learning the hard way
Posted By: BrokeFishAddict
Subject: Learning the hard way
Date Posted: March 03 2006 at 9:56pm
Hi, new here. So I learned today the hard way that my peppermint shrimp has a taste for xenia . Purchased a small frag today acclimated it placed it in the tank and was just telling the wife how cool it will be, and right then shrimp devoured it. I never had read anything about other things peppermint shrimp will eat besides apitasia. So I learn the hard way.
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Replies:
Posted By: Jasob
Date Posted: March 03 2006 at 10:00pm
That's a terrible story! Sounds like you have one confused Peppermint Shrimp to me. I've got a peppermint shrimp and it's never touched my Silver Tip or my Pom Pom Xenia. Only one that's attacked the Silver Tip in my tank is me. If you ever need a healthy stock of Xenia and are up for a drive let me know and you can pick one up, free of charge of course.  ------------- Jason Tooele, UT |
Posted By: aaaj
Date Posted: March 03 2006 at 10:02pm
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That sucks! Sorry about your xenia, I have 4 peppermint shrimp (2 in each tank) and none of them have touched my xenia. If you want to try xenia again tons of people have some on here, me included.
------------- Amber 29 gallon reef pictures of some of my frags at frags.org |
Posted By: Mike Savage
Date Posted: March 03 2006 at 10:08pm
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I have 4 peppermint shrimp and pom pom xenia. Never had a problem. I'd try again with a different peppermint shrimp. -------------  |
Posted By: BrokeFishAddict
Date Posted: March 03 2006 at 10:17pm
| I have read a few threads tonight on other web sites and have found a few stories like mine. I think it is rare for a peppermint shrimp to do this. But I guess there are always exceptions. Maybe it was the small size of the frag. It was only 3/4 of an inch tall or so with maybe 6 or 7 closing hands. |
Posted By: shaggydoo
Date Posted: March 03 2006 at 11:26pm
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I've had a pep turn on mushrooms before but not xenia... in fact I wouldn't mind if my pep took a liking to the xenia. I have read others experience with peps can sometimes get sketchy as they have been reported to have a taste for all types of corals. If you want some xenia let me know. I'm always throwing the stuff out. ------------- 60g LPS Cube |
Posted By: amorgenegg
Date Posted: March 04 2006 at 8:58am
There might be some people that would like something that would prune
their xenia for them. Maybe you can rent out the shrimp to club
members for xenia maintenance 
------------- Andrew Morgenegg |
Posted By: n o o d l z
Date Posted: March 04 2006 at 12:45pm
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Peppermint shrimp is sometimes confused with Camelback shrimp, which WILL eat coral...you may want to confirm its actually a peppermint shrimp before getting another one. The easiest way to tell a difference...camelbacks have a more pronounced hump on their backs. Camelback:  Peppermint:  |
Posted By: Mark Peterson
Date Posted: March 04 2006 at 1:35pm
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Noodlz makes a good point. There are other things to consider as well. It could be that the shrimp is extremely hungry. It could be that the Xenia did not do well in transport or that in your tank it was starting to die. Please tell us about your tank. How long it's been going, size, filtration, Alkalinity level, etc, etc. Discussing this with us will help keep you from going more broke and being more addicted than you already are. ------------- Reefkeeping Tips, & quick, easy setup tricks: www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244 Pay it forward - become a paid WMAS member 
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Shrimp are opportunistic feeders, eating anything that tastes good. Dieing things taste good to shrimp.
Posted By: BrokeFishAddict
Date Posted: March 04 2006 at 6:00pm
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Here is the shrimp, looks like peppermint to me
I do not think he was super hungry, but the xenia was looking kind of rough after travel and aclimation. It was only in the tank for about 15 minutes before the shrimp found it. Tank has been up for about 6 months. Tests are amonia=0 nitrites=0 nitrates=0 ph=8.2 i do not have a alk test kit right now. |
Posted By: Mark Peterson
Date Posted: March 04 2006 at 10:31pm
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Yep. Dieing Xenia + hungry shrimp = dinner. If you want to try another bit of Xenia, there is a lot of it here on the MB just for the asking. Alkalinity is one of the three most important water parameters. Read the 3rd post down from the top of this thread to get a better understanding: http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244 - http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244 ------------- Reefkeeping Tips, & quick, easy setup tricks: www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244 Pay it forward - become a paid WMAS member
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Posted By: Jamison
Date Posted: March 07 2006 at 7:00pm
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When I had 6 peppermints in my tank and they had finally dessimated the aiptasia, they did gnaw on some Xenia and healthy woods polyps. If they are hungry, they will find alternatives. I ended this by feeding them krill once in a while. ------------- Educate. Inspire. Conserve. http://[email protected] |