Will the flame hawk fish eat cleaner shrimp?

[CyberGuy]

I am thinking of getting a flame hawk fish for a 20 gallon tank but I already have a medium size skunk cleaner shrimp. Will the flame hawk fish kill it?

 

[Greg P]

The potential is there

 

[P-Dub]

The potential for anything to happen in a reef tank is there. I, personally, have never heard nor experienced this happening. I'd go for it. Skunks are great and so are hawkfish.

 

[driftin]

I had, in my last tank, a flame hawk with some peppermint shrimp. I think you can improve your odds if you keep the hawk well fed, and if the shrimp is a good size (and has a place to hide when molting)

 

[P-Dub]

I had, in my last tank, a flame hawk with some peppermint shrimp. I think you can improve your odds if you keep the hawk well fed, and if the shrimp is a good size (and has a place to hide when molting)

A peppermint is decidedly not a skunk... Soooo

 

[vetteguy53081]

Yes- Ate my cleaner and coral banded (2) . I wanted a little red in my tank. Not a nightmare

 

[P-Dub]

Yes- Ate my cleaner and coral banded (2) . I wanted a little red in my tank. Not a nightmare

Well, there you go. I've heard something new.

 

[P-Dub]

Get a Long-Nosed Hawk then...

 

[Jeffcb]

That's a good question. I love Flame Hawks but love Cleaner Shrimp as well. I haven't tried it but the people I have asked say it probably will.

 

[amazongb]

My flame hawk ate my cleaner shrimp...

 

[vetteguy53081]

Another thing I should mention is that i still have my blood red shrimp which he never touched and made me wonder if shrimp was smart, quick or was it the reddish color ???

 

[CyberGuy]

Dang, I really want a small red fish but I also love my cleaner shrimp. I do not want to sacrifice my cleaner shrimp.

Or should I add a red blood shrimp to add red color to the tank? But red shrimp often just hide in the rock and can barely be seen until feeding time. Cleaner shrimp is more visible.

 

[ca1ore]

Dunno, my cleaner shrimp vanished around the time I added a zebra eel and a flame hawk ..... one of them ate it!

 

[vtecintegra]

My two flame hawks have never paid any attention to my two cleaner shrimp.

 

[lion king]

In that size tank, a tanaka's possum wrasse would be perfect, there's your red.

 

[Macbalacano]

More likely than not. Mine ate a peppermint and always scared a large cleaning shrimp to hiding. Gave hawkfish back to LFS

 

[ID-Reefer]

I have two flame hawks and a cleaner shrimp. No problems yet.

 

[wmchaseb]

I suspect mine to have eaten my smaller fire shrimp, but the cleaner shrimp is just fine.

 

[Palytosis]

It works more often than not. Also it helps if the skunk is added first.

 

[Squidward]

My pair of Flamehawks didn't eat my cleaner or fire shrimps. The shrimps were on the larger size and were in the tank before introducing the Flamehawk pair.