sexy shrimp bad??

cmb88 · #1 04/01/2007, 08:57 PM

guys, im torn..
i have 5 sexys..love em..but i think they are eating a zoo in my tank!!
cant prove it..maybe sick zoo? but anyways all research says they are safe, but others have told me a certain few have been known to eat zoos? Any experiances? they never touch my healthy stuff, and sit on palys etc which i just thought was hosting because i dont have anenomes????

im getting a new frag pack this week and dont wanna risk it? any ideas or experiances?
to get rid of or not to get rid of my sexy sexy shrimp!!!
thanks

cherubfish pair · #2 04/01/2007, 09:12 PM

what are they suppose to eat?

cmb88 · #3 04/01/2007, 09:21 PM

supposedly... Brine, Plankton, Flake,.. grazes on algae and anything it can find. will take bits of any food that is added. supplemental feeding not required.

z00crazy · #4 04/01/2007, 10:47 PM

well i think if they dont touch the healty one the why worry?
i they eat the sick and dead ones they doing their jobs! thats just my opinion

z00

cmb88 · #5 04/02/2007, 12:20 AM

agreed..but im wondering if they were sick then eaten..or eaten then looked sick!! lol i dont want to find out the worse with my new exotic pack.mmm

supernareg · #6 04/02/2007, 04:41 AM

i doubt it. i dont think sexy shrimp eat zoos as i've had 3 of them, but after a while they disappeared, but no bad damage to coral any of that time.

Sugar Magnolia · #7 04/02/2007, 07:16 AM

I've been keeping sexy's for years and have never had any that have eaten any of my zoos. They do tend to wander all over them, and will occasionally steal food from the ones that capture food.

slowECUdiver · #8 04/02/2007, 02:28 PM

agree with Sugar Magnolia. i have 2 sexys in my 10 gallon--they're always perching on, near, underneath all my corals. have seen them steal from the zoas and pallys, but no permanant damage ever witnessed.

have witnessed them picking at SPS--but the part of the coral they were picking on was close to death already.

Doglover_50 · #9 04/02/2007, 07:57 PM

what else do you have in your tank?

cmb88 · #10 04/03/2007, 02:40 AM

ive got 3 nassys, 2 blue leged hermiits, 2 turbos, 5 nassys, pistol/yw goby

then palys and zoos and a star polyp

LR and sand and water lol

getting new pack tom ill post pics tomorrow!! yaay

chelskisw6 · #11 04/03/2007, 11:28 AM

IME sexys do not eat zoos, they just sit on them so they are closed the whole time. remember, they are anemone shrimp, and without an anemone, they will perch themselves on corals instead.

cherubfish pair · #12 04/14/2007, 07:45 PM

cmb88,

Can you give us an update on your sexy shrimp?

PLNelson · #13 04/15/2007, 01:03 AM

I haven't had any problems with mine. It just hosts in the GSP.

cschwaj · #14 04/15/2007, 10:10 AM

Mine is very good, but does walk all over everything. A fellow reefer just got rid of his because he swore it was eating zoos (like you, never actually saw it happening). I think the answer is specific to each individual shrimp.

However, they may just be taking care of dying tissue.

cschwaj · #15 04/16/2007, 12:24 PM

I came home last night to find mine laying on the stand!

He was still wet, so I threw him back in. He just lay there most of the night, but seems alright this morning. His tail is a little discolored at the end. I had no idea they would jump (crawl?) out.

cherubfish pair · #16 04/16/2007, 02:45 PM

These shrimp might be hanging on your corals and zoos to eat their mucous. After all isn't that what they eat when they're hosting in 'nems?

cmb88 · #17 04/16/2007, 05:24 PM

Hi guys lol totally forgot about this thread with the pics and the other ones..UPDATE
the one zoo i thought they were eating is gone..mmm eaten? not sure
they do host on others but do not seem to have the munchies at the moment so all five are still there!!

I have since gotten three packs and they have left em all alnoe that i can tell..maybe just eating the mucus and that zoo was sick? mmmm
will continue to keep an eye out..I love them tho soo keeping my fingers crossed!!

Hey I found my biggest one in a chamber..have no idea why or how he got in there..fished him out and he seems to be good...did yours off the stand survive?

I recomend at least three in a tank!! soo fun to watch them!! thanks for all the comments and advice!!

cschwaj · #18 04/17/2007, 08:53 AM

Yep, he seems to be all good with just a little wear on the tip of the tail to show for his adventure. Lets just hope he remembers how poorly that went the first time and won't repeat.

Lpabsolute · #19 04/17/2007, 11:36 AM

I've heard bad / good things about them as well. I've had 3 in my 54g corner before and it was full of zoas. They never messed with them. They did walk over them from time to time causing them to close up but that was it.....

firstimereefer · #20 04/17/2007, 12:28 PM

I have a trio a sexy and I dont find them picking on my zoas, but they love to nibble at my blasto wellsi's. I have tried to get them out without taking my whole tank apart, but I dont have very good luck with that. One of these days I will get them.

cmb88 · #21 04/19/2007, 01:44 AM

yeah i m hoping no probs bc when i tried to catch em it was impossible!! lmao good luck!!

cherubfish pair · #22 04/19/2007, 03:56 PM

Can someone post pictures and how big do they get?

cmb88 · #23 04/19/2007, 05:40 PM

sure here you go.. they are tiny /----------/ biggist actual size lol

saltman123 · #24 04/19/2007, 11:40 PM

now I want one!

Sharkie06 · #25 04/20/2007, 12:13 AM

I don't mind taking them off your hands if you don't want to risk it.