Peppermint shrimp are a popular cleanup crew addition for many reef aquariums. Their bright red stripes make them stand out in the tank, and their voracious appetite for aptasia and other nuisance pests makes them very useful. However, some reefers have noticed their peppermint shrimp munching on corals, which leads to the question – do peppermint shrimp eat coral?
The short answer is sometimes Peppermint shrimp are generally considered reef safe and safe for corals, but they may occasionally nibble on corals and can even cause significant damage if they develop a taste for your prized LPS or softies. Their coral munching habits depend on a variety of factors
Why Peppermint Shrimp May Nibble On Corals
There are a few reasons why your peppermint shrimp may start sampling your corals:
1. They are opportunistically feeding on dying or damaged coral tissue
Peppermint shrimp are omnivores and will feed on a variety of meaty foods sources in your tank. They have a very sensitive sense of smell and can detect distressed or dying coral tissue. If a coral is weakened or damaged, the shrimp may pick at it and eat the decaying tissue. This can rapidly worsen any existing problems with the coral.
2. Lack of other food sources
If the shrimp are not getting enough to eat from other sources like biofilm, algae, pods, or intentionally fed foods, they may turn to corals to satisfy their hunger. Make sure you are regularly feeding the peppermint shrimp a varied diet. Target feeding them can help prevent nibbling on corals.
3. Aggressive or territorial behaviors
Some peppermint shrimp seem to act aggressively toward corals, possibly competing for prime real estate spots in the tank. They may pick at coral polyps to damage them and clear space on the rocks. Providing ample spaces and caves for the shrimp to claim as their own territory can curb this behavior.
4. Molting stress
During molting periods where the shrimp are vulnerable, they are more likely to pick at corals possibly for nutrition to aid the molting process or to create a protective nest around themselves Keeping calcium, iodine, and other mineral levels high can help reduce coral nipping during molting
5. Individual taste preferences
Some individual peppermint shrimp just seem to enjoy the taste of coral polyps more than others. If one shrimp keeps attacking the same corals, while others in the tank are fine, it may just be that particular shrimp’s preference. Removing the problematic individual can solve the issue.
Which Corals are Most at Risk of Being Eaten?
Peppermint shrimp are opportunistic omnivores, so in theory they could take a bite of virtually any coral. However some types of corals are clearly more tempting snacks. Here are the corals most likely to get munched:
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LPS corals – Large polyp stony corals like torch corals seem to be shrimp candy. Their large fleshy polyps are easy targets. Many reefers report issues keeping peppermint shrimp with torches, frogspawn, hammer corals, and similar LPS corals.
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Soft corals – Leather corals, Kenya trees, mushrooms, xenia, and other softies also get picked on frequently. Their polyps and tentacles are vulnerable to attacks.
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Zoanthids – With their polyps fully extended during daytime, zoanthids can suffer nibbling and damage fairly easily from peppermint shrimp. Keep an eye on them if you keep these shrimp.
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Acropora and montipora – Some of the smaller polyped stony corals have also been reportedly eaten by peppermint shrimp, especially if they are already damaged.
On the other hand, large robust corals with small retractable polyps like euphyllia and acanthastrea are rarely bothered. The shrimp cannot get a good grip on the polyps to pull them out. SPS corals also tend to avoid too much damage thanks to their hard skeletons and small polyps.
But no coral is 100% safe from an aggressive or hungry peppermint, so monitor all corals closely when first adding the shrimp.
Tips for Keeping Peppermint Shrimp With Corals
While there is always a risk, there are some things you can do to improve the chances of peppermint shrimp successfully coexisting with your corals:
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Add the shrimp first before more delicate corals. Let them establish territory and feeding patterns.
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Provide ample hiding spots and caves with overhangs for the shrimp. Piping along the bottom works great.
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Maintain stable, high quality water conditions. This keeps the corals healthy and less prone to damage.
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Perform regular partial water changes to export excess nutrients and prevent algae overgrowth.
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Target feed shrimp with meaty foods like mysis shrimp, cyclops, or blanched spinach to keep them well-fed.
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Remove any molts quickly to avoid shrimp cannibalism which can heighten aggression.
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Add shrimp in moderation. 1-2 shrimp per 10 gallons is usually plenty. More can increase nipping.
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Closely supervise new shrimp and remove any that seem to prefer corals to other food sources.
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Avoid shrimp if you keep mainly LPS corals or softies – it’s an experiment not worth risking.
With close observation and proper tank care, many reefers successfully keep peppermint shrimp long term without coral damage. But some nibbling is probably inevitable from time to time. You may need to decide if their amazing aptasia control abilities outweigh the small risk to your corals.
Alternatives for Aptasia Control
If you have already had issues with peppermint shrimp munching corals or want to avoid the risk altogether, there are some alternative options for controlling aptasia infestations without shrimp:
Aptasia Eating Filefish
Filefish like the malesso’s pygmy filefish and orange spot filefish are natural aptasia predators. They typically leave corals alone since they have small mouths designed for picking off small food. Their tiny size also limits the damage they can do. But beware, they can starve if stray aptasia are not available.
Berghia Nudibranchs
Specialist berghia nudibranchs live solely to eat aptasia. They are harmless to corals. But they can be tricky to establish in the tank and population can crash if all aptasia are consumed.
AiptasiaX
AiptasiaX is an aptasia specific herbicide you directly inject into individual anemones using a syringe. It kills them within days while leaving corals and fish unaffected. But it can be tedious treating them one by one.
Lemon Juice/Boiling Water
For small aptasia you can also kill them by direct application of lemon juice or boiling water. But this similarly requires treating them individually. Regrowth is also likely.
Peppermint Shrimp Removal Methods
If you already have peppermint shrimp eating corals in your tank, here are some tricks for catching them to remove the offenders:
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Place some mesh screen over healthy corals at night to protect them while hunting problematic shrimp.
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Bait a small bottle trap with mysis shrimp and leave overnight to lure hungry shrimp inside for easy removal.
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During lights out, use a red flashlight to spot and capture destructive shrimp. They can’t see red light.
Peppermint Shrimp (Lysmata boggessi)
This time was going to be different, you said. You had just put together a new aquarium system and were going to make the most of every chance to get it right. You were determined to add everything that should be in the system, and you were also very careful not to add anything that you didn’t want. At the top of the list of things you didn’t want were aquarium pests. And topping the list of most feared pests? Aiptasia anemones!.
But even though they started with dry rock and sand, only artificial seawater, and carefully checking each piece of coral before putting it in the tank, that most-feared invader showed up in the end. Aiptasia anemones!.
Don’t be too hard on yourself. Your hard work to stay away from this bothersome person helped cut down on the number of people who got into your system. But these little guys are tricky. And they are extremely tough. In fact, they love the “suboptimal” conditions that most aquariums have, like the high amounts of particulate organic matter that are normal. Then why don’t they completely take over natural reef habits if they are so hardy and invasive (and let’s add that they grow quickly too)? They do happen in nature, right?
They do, of course. We call coral reefs beautiful, dynamic, and diverse ecosystems. But there are a few reasons why they are not really huge underwater gardens of aiptasia. For one, coral reefs typically have far lower organic and nutrient loads than even the cleanest aquarium system. Not having a lot of food available is the only way for aiptasia to grow at the fast rates we see in many home aquariums.
However, an even more important reason they don’t take over the world is that predation keeps them in check. That’s right, as nasty as we think they are, a few creatures find them to be absolutely delicious. There are even organisms out there that target them specifically as a food source. Luckily, some of these aiptasia-eaters can live in aquaria and will indeed feed on aiptasia under captive conditions. Many aquarists have reported success using Berghia sp. nudibranchs, Molly Miller blennies and the “aiptasia-eating ” filefish (Acreichthys tomentosus). But right now, the peppermint shrimp (Lysmata boggessi) is the most reliable and easy to find species for controlling aiptasia.
The peppermint shrimp (Lysmata boggessi) is native to the Florida Keys, Key West and the Gulf of Mexico. This adaptable species inhabits shallow (2–5 meters of depth), subtidal environments of all kinds. This includes soft-bottom seagrass (Thalassia testidinum) meadows, hard-bottom seaweed beds, rocky shores and coral reefs. When it comes to reefs, it usually lives on the roofs of caves and cracks or inside vase sponges.
The peppermint shrimp is decidedly shrimp-like in overall shape. It stays rather small at an adult size of just under a couple inches. It is white or off-white with bright red lines running through most or all of its body, which is how it got its name.
The peppermint shrimp was in high demand in the aquarium trade long before it was known that it could eat aiptasia. People liked it because it was calm and reef-safe, and it had beautiful colors.
Historically, there has been some confusion (at least within the aquarium trade) in identifying the “true” peppermint shrimp. There are quite a few related Lysmata species that very closely resemble it. And, apparently, these have been lumped in with or confused with some of them. What is important here is that not all of these imposters are as inclined to consume aiptasia anemones. Thankfully, in most of these cases, it has actually been L. boggessi confused with other species (especially L. wurdemanni); in other words, the aiptasia-eating commenced with or without proper identification.
Since pinpointing L. boggessi as the species most collected for the aquarium trade, researchers have been doing some counting. And, it turns out that a lot of these creatures are being harvested. In fact, it seems that peppermint shrimp are one of the most intensively traded species in the western Atlantic and indeed among the most traded ornamental species globally! It is not yet entirely clear what impact this intensity of collection is having on the shrimp’s natural environment.
Thankfully, captive-bred peppermint shrimp have become available to aquarium hobbyists. These farmed fish not only take pressure off of wild populations, but they are also better suited to living in aquariums, less likely to get diseases, and better able to handle shipping and getting used to their new home.
All About The Peppermint Shrimp
Are peppermint shrimp reef safe?
Are Peppermint Shrimp Reef-Safe? The Peppermint shrimp, Lysmata wurdemanni, is generally considered to be reef safe, which means that they are routinely compatible with the fish, corals, and other invertebrates kept in a community reef aquarium. They do pose some risk to LPS corals occasionally.
Do peppermint shrimp eat coral?
Generally speaking, peppermint shrimp pose minimal threat to aquarium inhabitants, including coral. They even get along pretty well with each other. The only complaint you may have is that a peppermint shrimp might steal the coral’s food. While they are stealing food, the shrimp may tear at the coral’s flesh.
What do peppermint shrimp eat?
The Peppermint Shrimp is omnivorous. They feed on food debris, detritus, dead fish tissue, and organic material in decomposition, etc. It is one of the types of animals that are used to clean an aquarium. It is easy to feed them because they usually look for food in the aquarium on their own and they might not require a lot of extra food.
Where do peppermint shrimp live?
It is usually found near the coral reefs and sometimes tube sponges because that is where it finds all of its food, along with very good hiding places. The peppermint shrimp is considered a cleaning animal in a saltwater aquarium.