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Peppermint shrimp eating Favia?

Is my Favia being eaten by my peppermint shrimp? Complete loss of tissue, one polyp at a time and this shrimp is suddenly interested in it. Everything else in the tank looks great.1895E335-137D-47F1-9DF0-6EC24C9E595A.jpeg
 
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Salted

NJRC Member
From what I’ve read, no. The favoa is dying and the shrimp is cleaning off the dead tissue.
 

mnat

Officer Emeritus
Staff member
Moderator
Do you have another picture of the shrimp from the side, could always be a camleback shrimp that is not reef safe and could be eating your coral, or as described above it could just be cleaning it.
 
Do you have another picture of the shrimp from the side, could always be a camleback shrimp that is not reef safe and could be eating your coral, or as described above it could just be cleaning it.
He is naturally hard to get a good picture of, I’ll try for a better one tomorrow morning, usually out a bit more then.13CE0F6F-FC8A-4AD3-A519-406E22AE93E3.jpeg
 

mnat

Officer Emeritus
Staff member
Moderator

Check this post, refishbluefish put up a nice chart.
 

Check this post, refishbluefish put up a nice chart.
Looks like it is C, definitely not A. What do you think?
6344B705-A48D-4BEB-95CF-BD269C7D1F92.jpeg
 

mnat

Officer Emeritus
Staff member
Moderator
According to the only website selling them, they are reef safe but you never know. I would keep an eye on him and if other healthy corals start to go, he might have to go.
 
Yea, I think he has been hunting polyps off the birdsnest too, probably has to go, I’m in it for the corals, not the shrimp….anyone want him? Lol
 
Nothing ever does what you think it'll do 100% of the time. Years ago I had a starry blenny that killed a watchman goby, 2 clownfish, and a Pygmy angel.

Last year I had a watchman goby eat a 2 inch engineer goby.
 
Nothing ever does what you think it'll do 100% of the time. Years ago I had a starry blenny that killed a watchman goby, 2 clownfish, and a Pygmy angel.

Last year I had a watchman goby eat a 2 inch engineer goby.
That is wild! It’s all good though, maybe I’ll do a saltwater planted tank and move him there!
 

amado

Dal
Staff member
Board of Directors
NJRC Member
I wouldn’t blame the shrimp. The shrimp is actually doing its job as part of the cleaner crew. The best way to see what’s going on in your tank is to keep looking at the other corals. If you have a lot of different Coral dying then something is wrong with your tank. I would test everything and then take you water to a LFS and have them test it.

blaming the shrimp is the equivalent of blaming worms for killing a dead deer on the road. The worm is just doing its job the deer was already dead.
 
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