Coral Farms and Peppermint Shrimp

[Duncan Tse]

I've heard many stories of peppermint shrimps eating corals and are not reef safe so this got me thinking what do coral farms use to control aiptasia?

How are these peppermintshrimps not devouring their corals? CoralLab has over 200 of them

 

[homer1475]

I have found that if they have adequate food(aiptasia) they will leave corals alone. It's when they run out of food do they turn to corals for their nourishment.

When I ran out of food for them, they ate the mouth out of my prized scoly. Unfortunately for them, they met the business end of a skewer.

 

[Duncan Tse]

I have found that if they have adequate food(aiptasia) they will leave corals alone. It's when they run out of food do they turn to corals for their nourishment.

When I ran out of food for them, they ate the mouth out of my prized scoly. Unfortunately for them, they met the business end of a skewer.

Yes same thing happened to me too. Shrimp took care of all the aiptasia and then slowly turned to my acans.

Is there some secret that the coral farms are keeping away from us haha they have hundreds in their tanks and I don't think they have enough aiptasia to keep all of them alive

 

[jda]

I have never personally talked with a peppermint shrimp, but it has been my experience that they want to eat corals about as much as you do. If you starve them, they will have a bit... and so would any of us. They are not just going to live off of poop once all of the aiptasia are gone... get them some food. They will come out and actively find flake food if you broadcast feed some.

There are also several different kinds of peppermint shrimp. The L. Wurdmanni from the Florida Keys are the best at eating aiptasia and also the best at leaving your corals alone. Some different species from farther up the gulf can eat corals more than the other kinds. Unless you order from a Keys Diver, then you really don't know what type you are going to get.

 

[living_tribunal]

You just need to keep them fed once the aptasia is gone. Something as simple as feeding your corals once a week or dropping some pellets for them 1-2 a week will keep them off of your corals.

+1 on the wurdmanni, after trying every aptasia solution they were the only one that worked for me. If you have a wrasse, it will keep them at bay from eating your corals for the most part. I wouldn't stress about that too much if you have an aptasia problem.

 

[Duncan Tse]

I have never personally talked with a peppermint shrimp, but it has been my experience that they want to eat corals about as much as you do. If you starve them, they will have a bit... and so would any of us. They are not just going to live off of poop once all of the aiptasia are gone... get them some food. They will come out and actively find flake food if you broadcast feed some.

There are also several different kinds of peppermint shrimp. The L. Wurdmanni from the Florida Keys are the best at eating aiptasia and also the best at leaving your corals alone. Some different species from farther up the gulf can eat corals more than the other kinds. Unless you order from a Keys Diver, then you really don't know what type you are going to get.

You just need to keep them fed once the aptasia is gone. Something as simple as feeding your corals once a week or dropping some pellets for them 1-2 a week will keep them off of your corals.

+1 on the wurdmanni, after trying every aptasia solution they were the only one that worked for me. If you have a wrasse, it will keep them at bay from eating your corals for the most part. I wouldn't stress about that too much if you have an aptasia problem.

Before when I had an aiptasia infestation my peppermint shrimp cleared it all up

I got scared that it may attack corals so then later I traded it away.

Fast forward to now the aiptasia are coming back so as an impulse buy I got another shrimp

Just worried that it may go after corals so I'm trying to figure out how everyone keeps it away from corals

I do feed moderate with pellets, half cube frozen, and reef roids daily in a 40 gallon tank

 

[Abhishek]

I have never personally talked with a peppermint shrimp, but it has been my experience that they want to eat corals about as much as you do. If you starve them, they will have a bit... and so would any of us. They are not just going to live off of poop once all of the aiptasia are gone... get them some food. They will come out and actively find flake food if you broadcast feed some.

There are also several different kinds of peppermint shrimp. The L. Wurdmanni from the Florida Keys are the best at eating aiptasia and also the best at leaving your corals alone. Some different species from farther up the gulf can eat corals more than the other kinds. Unless you order from a Keys Diver, then you really don't know what type you are going to get.

This is one of the rare moments I agree with @jda .. just kidding . I like to give him hard time sometimes

But Doug is absolutely spot on . In all my dealings with peppermint shrimps , the ones I get from reeftopia are absolutely voracious aiptasia eaters and leave corals alone . Interestingly I didn’t have much luck with others procured from Florida . And their prices and shipping are too notch !

I think Reeftopia is one of the best kept secrets for invertebrates and their fish prices are awesome too !!!

 

[jda]

The shrimp only live about three years... about. ...so you have to replace them every once in a while.

 

[living_tribunal]

Before when I had an aiptasia infestation my peppermint shrimp cleared it all up

I got scared that it may attack corals so then later I traded it away.

Fast forward to now the aiptasia are coming back so as an impulse buy I got another shrimp

Just worried that it may go after corals so I'm trying to figure out how everyone keeps it away from corals

I do feed moderate with pellets, half cube frozen, and reef roids daily in a 40 gallon tank

Don’t worry about it until it happens. Then get rid of it.

 

[living_tribunal]

This is one of the rare moments I agree with @jda .. just kidding . I like to give him hard time sometimes

But Doug is absolutely spot on . In all my dealings with peppermint shrimps , the ones I get from reeftopia are absolutely voracious aiptasia eaters and leave corals alone . Interestingly I didn’t have much luck with others procured from Florida . And their prices and shipping are too notch !

I think Reeftopia is one of the best kept secrets for invertebrates and their fish prices are awesome too !!!

I had a lot of luck with the peppermint shrimp I got from @PacificEastAquaculture . They came healthy, large, and cleared the aptasia in my qt frag tank in 2 days flat. Excited to throw them in the dt.

 

[Abhishek]

I had a lot of luck with the peppermint shrimp I got from @PacificEastAquaculture . They came healthy, large, and cleared the aptasia in my qt frag tank in 2 days flat. Excited to throw them in the dt.

That is great news ! I have never tried PEA for peppermint as they are way too costly with them for me when I can buy 12 for 45 from Reeftopia

 

[HockeyRooster]

That is great news ! I have never tried PEA for peppermint as they are way too costly with them for me when I can buy 12 for 45 from Reeftopia

That is crazy cheap. I paid $20 a piece on Sunday. I am in Canada though. I want to pay $45 a dozen...even if it’s US dollars!!

 

[Abhishek]

Here it is

Shrimp, Peppermint - Lysmata sp.

Peppermint Shrimp are very well known for the control of Aiptasia Anemones. These do very well within a reef aquarium and are totally reef safe. Care does need to be taken when introducing to a reef tank that exhibits larger wrasses or groupers. Shrimp are of a very nice size this week.

reeftopia.com

 

[living_tribunal]

Here it is

Shrimp, Peppermint - Lysmata sp.

Peppermint Shrimp are very well known for the control of Aiptasia Anemones. These do very well within a reef aquarium and are totally reef safe. Care does need to be taken when introducing to a reef tank that exhibits larger wrasses or groupers. Shrimp are of a very nice size this week.

reeftopia.com

Have you tried reeftopia peppermint shrimp before? That's a good price if they are medium to full size for sure. They have them listed as lysmata sp. There are I think 8 different kinds of lysmata sp and two for sure that eat them, not sure about the others.

If you do have success with these, let us know because those are good prices.

 

[Abhishek]

Have you tried reeftopia peppermint shrimp before? That's a good price if they are medium to full size for sure. They have them listed as lysmata sp. There are I think 8 different kinds of lysmata sp and two for sure that eat them, not sure about the others.

If you do have success with these, let us know because those are good prices.

Yes they are the real deal Lysmata wurdemanni . They are sourced directly trough divers and hence cheap . @jda uses them too and I have used on a number of occasions with great success .
The 5$ ones are somewhat small to medium but if you can get hold of the 6.50$ ones they are amazing but get sold very very quickly

 

[living_tribunal]

Yes they are the real deal Lysmata wurdemanni . They are sourced directly trough divers and hence cheap . @jda uses them too and I have used on a number of occasions with great success .
The 5$ ones are somewhat small to medium but if you can get hold of the 6.50$ ones they are amazing but get sold very very quickly

I mean for $5 getting small ones isn't a big deal at all, they will still get the larger aptasia in no time. I might give them a shot next time.

 

[Biokabe]

I might have to give those a try if they're really L. wurdemanni. I think the local shops around here just get in mixed species, and I've never had a pep that even sniffed an aiptasia... plenty that stole food from corals though!

 

[AZMSGT]

Coral band butterfly fish and nudis are two critters that many use too

 

[jda]

The peppermints from Reeftopia are sometimes small, but also only like $3 on sale. I usually get them 10-12 at a time, or so, and raise them in my fuge with flake food until they molt a few times, grow up and are deep red - you need to change water or dose iodine/iodate/iodide (use a reef supplement) for this to happen. Then, into the display. They are fun creatures who will come out when the food comes and you can get most of them on your hand trying to clean it, or grabbing food, if you leave it in there for a minute, or so.

The peppermints that live among the reefs, instead of just in the rocks, are usually L. Wurdmanni. The keys is the best place to get them.

BTW - reeftopia is great for ceriths, cucumbers, astreas and especially emerald crabs and urchins...anything that they sell. I have no issues with bubble algae or aiptasia with them. They don't always have a ton of fish, but when they do, they are inexpensive and healthy. Again, the crabs and shrimp have a life span, so be active about replacing them every few years. They also won't be too happy with really high levels of building blocks since they poison inverts - so if you kill inverts, it could be you and not them.

 

[Larry L]

I've been really happy with the peppermint shrimp I've been getting from KPAquatics.com , they do a great job on the aiptasia (99% sure they are L. wurdemanni). And I feed pretty heavily which is probably why I've never had them go after corals.