Something eating my mushrooms

mccullrd · 01/15/2008, 07:58 PM

I've a new tank (first marine tank - 72 gal bow), that's been cycled and up for just over two months. I have 80 lbs live rock, about an inch of sugar-sized aragonite, one Percula, one firefish, a handful of blue leg hermits, two smallish turbo snails, and a few Nassarius and Cerith snails, a zoanthid colony, and three peppermint shrimp. Well, I think maybe only one is a peppermint. The other two have a different stripe pattern, and their tails are pretty much black, but they were supposed to be peppermints (mail order). I added a rock with several nice red mushrooms four days ago. Since then, three of the mushrooms have gone MIA, and this evening I found one almost completely separated from the rock (the only blue-green mushroom).

Iâ€™ve moved the mushrooms to my 10 gal QT, but the light on that tank is less than ideal. So is it the shrimp, or the crabs going after the mushrooms?

stingythingy45 · 01/15/2008, 08:05 PM

Sounds like they slipped you a few coral eating camel back shrimp that look very similar to a peppermint shrimp.I'd get them out of there ASAP if you like your mushrooms.

mccullrd · 01/15/2008, 08:44 PM

They don't look like camelback shrimp. I think I have one Lysmata wurdemanni and two Lysmata rathbunae - at least based on descriptions I've read. I haven't found any good pictures of Lysmata rathbunae.

So how do I get them out of the tank?

fattyratrat · 01/15/2008, 08:48 PM

ohhh boy... i just saw one of my "Peppermint shrimp" gnawing the crap out of my riccordea yesterday. The Ric was a tiny tiny frag when i got it and doesnt seem to be too happy since i saw him in the store, it could be dying and thats why the shrimp was eating him, or it could be one of these other shrimp... are there any ID guides out there?

scowiii · 01/15/2008, 09:46 PM

Shrimp just don't eat live healthy stuff. Your Ric was on its way out and thats what Shrimp and Hermits do is clean up the dead and dying stuff.

I had sevearl rics and other corals and thye ate on ly the dead ones and the ones that were healthy they did not touch them.

01/15/2008, 07:58 PM	#1
mccullrd Premium Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 5	Something eating my mushrooms I've a new tank (first marine tank - 72 gal bow), that's been cycled and up for just over two months. I have 80 lbs live rock, about an inch of sugar-sized aragonite, one Percula, one firefish, a handful of blue leg hermits, two smallish turbo snails, and a few Nassarius and Cerith snails, a zoanthid colony, and three peppermint shrimp. Well, I think maybe only one is a peppermint. The other two have a different stripe pattern, and their tails are pretty much black, but they were supposed to be peppermints (mail order). I added a rock with several nice red mushrooms four days ago. Since then, three of the mushrooms have gone MIA, and this evening I found one almost completely separated from the rock (the only blue-green mushroom). Iâ€™ve moved the mushrooms to my 10 gal QT, but the light on that tank is less than ideal. So is it the shrimp, or the crabs going after the mushrooms?

01/15/2008, 08:05 PM	#2
stingythingy45 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: MA Posts: 3,296	Sounds like they slipped you a few coral eating camel back shrimp that look very similar to a peppermint shrimp.I'd get them out of there ASAP if you like your mushrooms. __________________ Bob Current Tank Info: 90 gallon,mixed Reef,2-250 watt Optix 3 pendants(Phoenix 14K)2-54 watt T5 Super actnics ,ASM G-2 Gate/recirc mods,70 gal. basement sump,20L ref

01/15/2008, 08:44 PM	#3
mccullrd Premium Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 5	They don't look like camelback shrimp. I think I have one Lysmata wurdemanni and two Lysmata rathbunae - at least based on descriptions I've read. I haven't found any good pictures of Lysmata rathbunae. So how do I get them out of the tank?

01/15/2008, 08:48 PM	#4
fattyratrat Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 278	ohhh boy... i just saw one of my "Peppermint shrimp" gnawing the crap out of my riccordea yesterday. The Ric was a tiny tiny frag when i got it and doesnt seem to be too happy since i saw him in the store, it could be dying and thats why the shrimp was eating him, or it could be one of these other shrimp... are there any ID guides out there?

01/15/2008, 09:46 PM	#5
scowiii Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Nebraska Posts: 427	Shrimp just don't eat live healthy stuff. Your Ric was on its way out and thats what Shrimp and Hermits do is clean up the dead and dying stuff. I had sevearl rics and other corals and thye ate on ly the dead ones and the ones that were healthy they did not touch them.