Quote:
Originally Posted by daniella3d
Peppermint shrimps, but what about cleaner shrimps? I think in nature the fishes recognize the cleaner as a usefull shrimp and they don't get eaten. Does the peppermind and pistol get the same favor?
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I didn't have cleaner shrimp with my pinktail when I had him so I can only comment on my experience of my trigger eating the shrimp I had in the tank with him at the time, and yes Christy it was a pricey snack!
Research shows that most triggers will and often do eventually eat shrimp, regardless of the type of shrimp it is. Sometimes you will get lucky and the trigger might leave them alone and sometimes you don't get lucky and the trigger will eat the shrimp. If you're going to add shrimp to a tank with a trigger in it you have to be aware that there is a possibility that the trigger might eat the shrimp. Maybe not right away even, but the possibility exists.
Aquatic Connection states "Triggerfish are carnivores that spend their days nibbling on a wide variety of echinoderms and crustaceans like crabs,
shrimps, sea urchins, worms, and other invertebrates."
http://www.aquacon.com/Triggerfish_saltwaterfish.html
3reef Forum also had a discussion about keeping triggers with shrimp. The general consensus was that you might get away with it for awhile when the shrimp is large and the trigger is small, but as the trigger grows and becomes larger, the shrimp usually become expensive meals. One guy on there
blumoon reefers stated "I have also witnessed the pink tail eat a cleaner shrimp."
http://www.3reef.com/forums/new-hobb...sh-100522.html
FYI my shrimp that I had co-existed peacefully with my trigger for about 7 months before he decided to eat them
Also when I researched triggers the pinktail triggers were supposed to be one of the most reef safe (ie: not eat snails/crabs/shrimp) out of all of the triggers. I also have a bad habit of over feeding my tank so I know the trigger didn't suddenly eat the shrimp because he hadn't been fed well.
So IMO and based on numerous research it's not so much a matter of "will" my trigger eat my shrimp (cleaner or otherwise) but more so a matter of "when".