Very small Peppermint shrimp in a mixed reef tank

Bob Escher

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I just received five 1/2 peppermint shrimp ( if that large) I for my 45 gallon mixed reef tank.
i have a large brittle sea star, variety of fish, none that I know of that would attack them, cleaner shrimp. A large diamond goby, Randal goby and prawn goby.
my concern is will they be safe in the tank that small
or should I keep them in QT for several weeks
 

GainesvilleReef

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The brittle star will eat them. I have witnessed this personally. And if they are not well fed they will definitely attack corals. I had 4 in a 40g and had to remove 3 of them. The remaining one is happy and leaves the coral alone now.
 
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Bob Escher

Bob Escher

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The brittle star will eat them. I have witnessed this personally. And if they are not well fed they will definitely attack corals. I had 4 in a 40g and had to remove 3 of them. The remaining one is happy and leaves the coral alone now.
I have several in the past regular size one (1- 2 in or so) and they lived quite a while. The starfish has been in the tank a very long time. I’ve never seen them ( at least in the six years I’ve been keeping them or a reef tank attacking coral.
im only asking this is because they are so small.
if they were regular size I wouldn’t ask I would have just thrown in the tank after acclimating them
 

GainesvilleReef

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What I noticed is that once they get big, they tend to learn to avoid the tentacles. The one I watched was relatively new to the tank. It was a small one though. I have a lot of serpent stars. Many more than I want. I'm a big fan of peppermint shrimp and I hate replacing them as often as I have to.
 

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