Pistol shrimp killed my coral beauty.

mathesandrew · 02/27/2011, 06:05 PM

So I noticed recently that my coral beauty's fins had some nips in them, I wasn't sure what the cause was because i never see anything bother him. Well today I found him dead and the pistol shrimp was eating him. I know this doesn't necessarily mean the shrimp was the killer, but i dont know what else could have caused the nips in his fins.

Any one else have any trouble with pistol shrimp attacking their fish? I know they are supposed to be peaceful. Mine is about a 2" Tiger pistol shrimp, and the coral beauty is around 2" long as well.

jeff1974 · 02/27/2011, 09:09 PM

what else do you have in the tank other than them 2 things the coral beauty was pretty small what size tank is this ?

mathesandrew · 02/27/2011, 09:45 PM

I have a 29g long tank. live stock consists of 2 gold stripe maroon clowns, chromis, algae blenny, yellow watchman goby, peppermint shrimp, condy anemone, and bubble tip anemone. along with hermits and snails.

Dratini · 02/27/2011, 10:05 PM

I'd suspect the Maroon Clowns before anything else there. Though gold stripes are known to be less aggressive than their white striped counterparts.

mathesandrew · 02/27/2011, 10:09 PM

I noticed a nip in the gold stripes fin too, but not a bad one, and i never saw them bother each other. They would swim right next to each other without any issues.

jayelblock · 02/28/2011, 05:28 AM

Although many people insist that pistol shrimp are harmless, my experience has been otherwise. I believe the smaller varieties may be fish safe, but I had a mated pair of tiger pistols, and they were confirmed fish killers. The female was 2.5" and the male was 2", and they killed a tangaroa goby (which is a shrimp goby) and a neon goby. Both were healthy fish who just made the mistake of sleeping on the sand bed one night. Granted, those fish were considerably smaller than your angel. I finally gave them to a fellow reefer who provided them with a dedicated tank.

mscarpena · 03/01/2011, 04:44 PM

I have had numerous pistol shirmp and none of them have eaten any fish. Many of my fish are 1-2 inches and have never had an issue.

peasofme · 03/11/2011, 02:25 PM

pretty sure my tiger pistol killed my tailspot blenny. i'm pretty sick of pistols cause i never see them.

02/27/2011, 06:05 PM	#1
mathesandrew Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Posts: 3	Pistol shrimp killed my coral beauty. So I noticed recently that my coral beauty's fins had some nips in them, I wasn't sure what the cause was because i never see anything bother him. Well today I found him dead and the pistol shrimp was eating him. I know this doesn't necessarily mean the shrimp was the killer, but i dont know what else could have caused the nips in his fins. Any one else have any trouble with pistol shrimp attacking their fish? I know they are supposed to be peaceful. Mine is about a 2" Tiger pistol shrimp, and the coral beauty is around 2" long as well.

02/27/2011, 10:05 PM	#4
Dratini Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Posts: 73	I'd suspect the Maroon Clowns before anything else there. Though gold stripes are known to be less aggressive than their white striped counterparts. __________________ 30g Nano Reef

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02/27/2011, 09:09 PM	#2
jeff1974 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Posts: 91	what else do you have in the tank other than them 2 things the coral beauty was pretty small what size tank is this ?

02/27/2011, 09:45 PM	#3
mathesandrew Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Posts: 3	I have a 29g long tank. live stock consists of 2 gold stripe maroon clowns, chromis, algae blenny, yellow watchman goby, peppermint shrimp, condy anemone, and bubble tip anemone. along with hermits and snails.

02/27/2011, 10:09 PM	#5
mathesandrew Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Posts: 3	I noticed a nip in the gold stripes fin too, but not a bad one, and i never saw them bother each other. They would swim right next to each other without any issues.

02/28/2011, 05:28 AM	#6
jayelblock Registered Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: tulsa Posts: 408	Although many people insist that pistol shrimp are harmless, my experience has been otherwise. I believe the smaller varieties may be fish safe, but I had a mated pair of tiger pistols, and they were confirmed fish killers. The female was 2.5" and the male was 2", and they killed a tangaroa goby (which is a shrimp goby) and a neon goby. Both were healthy fish who just made the mistake of sleeping on the sand bed one night. Granted, those fish were considerably smaller than your angel. I finally gave them to a fellow reefer who provided them with a dedicated tank.

03/01/2011, 04:44 PM	#7
mscarpena Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Buffalo, New York Posts: 1,924	I have had numerous pistol shirmp and none of them have eaten any fish. Many of my fish are 1-2 inches and have never had an issue.

03/11/2011, 02:25 PM	#8
peasofme Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: usa Posts: 1,405	pretty sure my tiger pistol killed my tailspot blenny. i'm pretty sick of pistols cause i never see them.