flame hawk

lilchris · #1 10/23/2007, 08:01 PM

I am thinking about getting a flame hawk fish. My LFS here has one and he is pretty cool. He is about 2.5".

I have a cleaner shrimp that is about 2.5" also. I know this is a hit or miss type thing. Does anyone have one i a reef and if so do you have any shrimps? DO you think the shrimp will be okay, especially the shrimp is a good size and it has been in my tank since day one of my setup.

Brandan · #2 10/23/2007, 08:55 PM

I have one in my reef and he is awesome. He waits on rocks until I feed, and then goes crazy. I do not have any shrimp, only because I have him. I think since the size of your shrimp it might be ok, but I think it is just a matter of time until the Flame gets a hold of the shrimp. If you do not mind losing your shrimp in the long run, then get him. Mine is awesome.

seapug · #3 10/23/2007, 10:50 PM

Flame Hawks are great fish, but don't put one in your tank if you have shrimp you can't stand to part with. I had an adult pair of skunk cleaners that got murdered within 2 weeks of a 1.5" flame hawk being introduced to the tank. On the other hand, he hasn't bothered my Eviota gobies or gold banded coral shrimp one bit. go figure.

snorvich · #4 10/24/2007, 05:30 AM

They will eat shrimp. Not IF, WHEN.

cowboyswife · #5 10/24/2007, 11:09 AM

My husband had a flame hawk with 3 peppermint shrimp and 2 cleaners and he never made a move at them.

westcoastreef · #6 10/24/2007, 12:01 PM

i have a flame hawk with a cleaner a coral banded and 3 peppermints they all get along, although I see the flame hawk staring at the peppermints sometimes

Mappelbaum37 · #7 10/24/2007, 07:04 PM

i got a flame hawk about 2 months ago and for the first 2 weeks he didnt even go near my cleaner shrimp, not even look at him. I come home one day to find the shrimps head wedged between 2 rocks, and an antenna sticking out of the flame hawks mouth. Dissapointing but the flame hawk has A LOT of personality and is a rly cool fish. He just sort of perches and waits for food to come by.

snorvich · #8 10/24/2007, 07:31 PM

You might find exceptions but often times, those exceptions are temporary. Flame Hawks are ambush predators and will most likely eat shrimp. But they have great personality if you can overlook that shortcoming.

mile sq. reefer · #9 10/24/2007, 07:33 PM

I just put a MAC certified Flame hawk on hold at my LFS. He has a solid deep red and black coloration with an orange/red tail. Very alert and hungry. I will be picking him up this weekend. I'll post pics. Should make a nice addition to the family.

lilchris · #10 10/24/2007, 08:15 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by mile sq. reefer
I just put a MAC certified Flame hawk on hold at my LFS. He has a solid deep red and black coloration with an orange/red tail. Very alert and hungry. I will be picking him up this weekend. I'll post pics. Should make a nice addition to the family.

Please do post pictures.

Goodwood · #11 10/24/2007, 09:05 PM

great fish, never bothers cleaner shrimp but did eat all my acro crabs.

codeblued · #12 10/24/2007, 10:07 PM

I've had a flame hawk with a pair of coral banded shrimp for 2 years and an arceye for 8 months with no problems ....... but I may have an odd tank since I added these shrimp one year a part, and I have a 2.5 foot zebra eel and he lets the shrimp pick parasites off his face.

mile sq. reefer · #13 10/25/2007, 08:15 PM

Well, I picked up the flame today. Could not wait for the weekend. I'll post a pic tomorrow.

mile sq. reefer · #14 10/26/2007, 11:42 AM

Here is the new guy. Pic quality not great.
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thor32766 · #15 10/26/2007, 04:35 PM

are they ok with snails and hermits?

cowboyswife · #16 10/26/2007, 05:12 PM

Hubby's never even glanced at snails and hermits.

nava405 · #17 10/26/2007, 09:25 PM

i have 7 cleaner shrimps and my flame is about 2.5-3" now, never have any problem. never see him touch any inverts either...sleeps in my birdsnest all the time, i can pick him up with my hand during the night time.

Capt_Cully · #18 10/27/2007, 07:00 AM

Not the best photos, but this WAS a cleaner shrimp. Someone's VERY guilty!

Mattias L · #19 10/27/2007, 10:49 AM

Awaresome fish! Be aware they may jump!

oct2274 · #20 10/27/2007, 11:33 AM

many of them do turn on snails, they will knock them off the glass and eat them. I would says your chances of getting one that through out it's life won't eat shrimp or snails is 25%

mile sq. reefer · #21 10/28/2007, 04:43 PM

Your flame hawk looked like my mystery wrasse when there were shrimp in the reef.

Capt_Cully · #22 10/28/2007, 06:55 PM

I have had another cleaner and a fire shrimp over 2 years that he's never touched. I did add some peppermint shrimp this summer and one of them turned into a $10 lunch for my flame. He was just doing what evolution told him to. My wife didn't see it that way.

You wanna laugh, watch an otherwise smart, beautiful woman, digress into a mouth breathing idiot that argues with fish.

Ed Ricketts · #23 10/28/2007, 08:28 PM

lilchris,

See? this is the problem with "do you think this will be ok?" questions. Simply examining the results posted here, using quick napkin math, reveals that you can expect 25% of your shrimp to meet their doom at the jaws of your Neocirrhites armatus. Quite telling, checking the success of codeblued and westcoastreef against the complete disaster (from the shrimps' perspective) of capt cully and seapug.

So let's say that totally sweet and charismatic N. armatus is introduced into the cage with three (equally personable) Lysmata amboinensis, roll the dice, and crap out. Now you've got a fat and happy N. armatus that costs ($25 plus 3 x $20, conservatively) $85. How about this as a thought consitent with mods harping on keeping the needs of each individual creature in mind: Set a nano for the shrimp, they're cooler up close anyway. And the hawk will enjoy flying around your reef, end to end, eating frozen brine.

Anyway, I fell prey to perhaps an unscrupulous LFS worker, and added a Cirrhitichthys aprinus to my 90 reef. I was told (and long before I could just google info that states he "eats shrimp") that if "his mouth was that small, he won't touch my L. amboinensis." Boy what a massacre. Not exactly the same fish, but my belief is that's it's just cruel to add any member of the beguiling Cirrhitidae to a reef with beloved arthropods.

lilchris · #24 10/29/2007, 05:49 AM

I kind of figured it would be the demise of the shrimp. That is why I haven't brought the flame hawk. I am thinking of going another route and getting a clown fairy wrasse (Cirrhilabrus solorensis). But, I have a christmas wrasse (halichoeres ornate) (sp)?? I have to find out if they will fight or not. Again another "do you think this will be ok" question.

Ed Ricketts · #25 10/29/2007, 04:39 PM

lilchris

Wow! Cirrhilabrus solorensis would be a cool to have that fish. So cool, I might consider dumping some of my other livestock to accomodate him/her.

Check out Schultz's online article at http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/20...hcs3/index.php

But what do I know, I just read the "experts" opinions and spit out the link to you. Good luck!