Seeing is Believing!!

[leslr]

Hi Fun Seekers.
I had recently posted before regarding a unknown Tank guest, and who now has got quite nosiy during the night. So it was not unusual to hear this clicking/snapping coming from the tank at=1am. Only this time I happened to look over and see my wife's clown fish going nuts chasing the cleaner shrimp all over the tank. I thought this was quite unusual as the lights were off and only the glow from a night light was on. So I got out of bed and snuk(well tried) to get a better look at the goings on. I could just make out the shrimp had something in his arms and the clown wanted it. I quickly turned on the light and the shrimp stopped and turned and low and behold had something quite large in his arms. I tried to make it out but being 1am I'm not to swift on puting on my glasses. All I could make out was it had lots of little arms etc. It took a moment to realize that is was the wife's little hermit crab minus his shell,(ugly little guy without it). Anyway I found my glasses and had another look and here was the cleaner shrimp merrily eating/cleaning the poor little hermit, who by the way he was squirming was still very much alive. This lasted for a couple more minutes till the shrimp went behind the rocks and hid. I did a quick check and after a few minutes located the hermits shell unside down in the rocks. I figured he had flipped over in the rock and had gotten stuck and maybe came out of his shell to try and get out or something and the shrimp got him or the mystery guest got him and the shrimp stole it away. Anyway the wife was out one hermit crab. However the next morning after the lights came on there was the little hermit in his shell merrily strowling across the front of the tank. Yes I check and it was he and the shell was the same as we only have one hermit crab in the tank!!. Anyway there ya go the cleaner was only cleaning him. How he got back to his shell unharmed i guess i'll never no.
Sorry to be so long winded, but it was worth the experience, I guess thats what makes reefing so great,
leslr.

 

[kanapino]

Iesir,

I watched my two cleaner shrimp finish off one of my timy blood shrimp. I was watching my tank one night and saw my cleaner shrimp on the sand next my new blood shrimp and thought nothing of it. I was scanning the tank with a flashlight for the weekly rid the nasty critters evening. I turned to grab one of those nasty tiny sea stars and two minutes later turned back to see my two cleaner shrimp picking apart my blood shrimp. The big one had the "Grip of Death" on his head the other one was tearing him limb by limb. Vicious cleaner shrimp.

Just when you think"Ahh look he climbs on my hand and picks at skin, how sweet." they turn on you.

Brian

 

[Mouse]

Sounds to me like theres two hungry clean up crews out there.

I reccomend affixing a pice of muscle/krill/silversides to a rock with a rubber band. This will enable the food to stay put and makes it more difficult for the fish to munch on. Id feed a crew of about 20 crabs & 1-2 shrimps 1-2 of the forementioned items about once every three days.

I remember when i used to have 20 hermits in my tank, they looked like a little pack of dogs running down the rocks when i put the food in for them. But IMHO, i wouldn't use them again.