D'sreef
Well-Known Member
I think peppermint shrimp can be very useful in your arsenal against the dreaded aptaisa (and several other anemones for better or worse). I also think not enough people are engaging them in a way this is productive for your aquarium. I will say like several inverts whether it be snails, shrimp, anemones, corals, or crabs the starting point is to figure out if what you're buying is actually what you are looking for. There are many look a likes in the world of inverts, as well as many sub species and ect. There is some debate with in the community which one of the many peppermint shrimps are the best for aptasia and which one is the just a nuisance. I believe that debate will never be solved, but I will share the name in image of the one I believe to be the most successful, which is Lysmata Wurdemanni. As always, I encourage each hobbyist to do their research and find out which of the many species will work for you.
Now to the bread and potatoes of the issue about, how do you make your peppermint shrimp an effective predator. Some of the local fish stores practice this religiously, and use the following as an effective way of maintaining aptaisa. Yes I said maintaining, I do solely believe in this hobby aptaisa is like taxes and death it is going to happen, and maintaining is really the end game. If you happen if find one of these local fish stores your worries on the effectiveness of the peppermint shrimp your are buying will be over. For everyone else I will share what has worked for me very well for years in this hobby. It begins after purchase, do not just throw the shrimp in your aquarium and pray to which ever god you may or may not believed in, this is not effective. I suggest using a quarantine aquarium or your sump (if you have a heavy aptaisa infestation in there {I am looking at all you #Heathens with those dirty sumps out there}). The goal is to train the shrimp, just like you would your fish, what foods are available. If you are using a QT tank, just remove something from your aquarium that has aptaisa and place it in the QT tank with the shrimp. That is all there is to it, just make sure Aptaisa is the shrimp's main food source. Rinse and repeat for a couple of weeks and you will have an aptaisa eating army in no time. Now this is only effective if you have the an aptaisa population that can support the shrimp for the period of the quarantine. This may not be successful for those who only have 1 or 2 aptaisa, and using a product like F aptaisa or a kwalkwasser paste may be a better solution for those hobbyist. It may be hard to believe, but if you are getting an peppermint shrimp for when they show up, there are vendors who sale the demons (aptaisa) mainly for people who are breeding bergia. I do hope this finds someone beginner or a well needed hobbyist. Now this is not a guaranteed method, but it does work for me.
Thanks,
D
Now to the bread and potatoes of the issue about, how do you make your peppermint shrimp an effective predator. Some of the local fish stores practice this religiously, and use the following as an effective way of maintaining aptaisa. Yes I said maintaining, I do solely believe in this hobby aptaisa is like taxes and death it is going to happen, and maintaining is really the end game. If you happen if find one of these local fish stores your worries on the effectiveness of the peppermint shrimp your are buying will be over. For everyone else I will share what has worked for me very well for years in this hobby. It begins after purchase, do not just throw the shrimp in your aquarium and pray to which ever god you may or may not believed in, this is not effective. I suggest using a quarantine aquarium or your sump (if you have a heavy aptaisa infestation in there {I am looking at all you #Heathens with those dirty sumps out there}). The goal is to train the shrimp, just like you would your fish, what foods are available. If you are using a QT tank, just remove something from your aquarium that has aptaisa and place it in the QT tank with the shrimp. That is all there is to it, just make sure Aptaisa is the shrimp's main food source. Rinse and repeat for a couple of weeks and you will have an aptaisa eating army in no time. Now this is only effective if you have the an aptaisa population that can support the shrimp for the period of the quarantine. This may not be successful for those who only have 1 or 2 aptaisa, and using a product like F aptaisa or a kwalkwasser paste may be a better solution for those hobbyist. It may be hard to believe, but if you are getting an peppermint shrimp for when they show up, there are vendors who sale the demons (aptaisa) mainly for people who are breeding bergia. I do hope this finds someone beginner or a well needed hobbyist. Now this is not a guaranteed method, but it does work for me.
Thanks,
D
