Peppermint shrimp...cleaner or killer? HELP!!

[journey0820]

Hi there,
I just added a new piece to my tank: a yellow colony polyp coral. My peppermint shrimp is going at it...is it cleaning or killing it. I scared him off but he's already back again!

 

[Octavarium]

Mine explore new corals I put into the tank, and ocassionaly climb over them picking up tiny scraps. In 7 months I've never seen one actually harm any coral or other inhabitant however. They also explore my hand when I clean the tank.

 

[journey0820]

Mine explore new corals I put into the tank, and ocassionaly climb over them picking up tiny scraps. In 7 months I've never seen one actually harm any coral or other inhabitant however. They also explore my hand when I clean the tank.

Thanks for that...anyone else? The coral was definitely not happy. I thought that those types of corals had a toxin they released for protection but it seemed not to bother the shrimp at all.

 

[journey0820]

Well...the yellow polyp he got ahold of took a week to come back out and its tentacles were shorter on that polyp. Last night the peppermint shrimp started taking jabs at my ricordia which swiftly produced a slime that only seemed to encourage the shrimp. Now the ric is all smooshed up. What should I do?

 

[journey0820]

Verdicts In: Guilty

Well, the verdict is in. My ricordia bit the dust after being pecked to death by the peppermint shrimp. I was willing to write that off and think, well maybe I just won't get ricordia again. Then, today he attacked my Xenia. That's it for him! I trapped his little coral eating self and took him to the LFS who was all too happy to take his plump little self in and find him a new home. I warned him he was a coral eater - I hope it will get passed on. The other peppermint shrimp is still in there. Innocent till proven guilty.