Keeping Peppermint Shrimp in refugium???

Chromis88 · #1 07/02/2002, 06:30 PM

I have heard that Peppermint Shrimp have been known to occationally pick at corals, but on the bright side can be good at controlling aptasia as well as providing plankton if breeding.

I was curious if it would be smart to keep a pair in a 3 gallon refugium. That way if aptasia shows up them can be temporarily employed in the main tank yet won't be around to bug my corals. I do not, however, want them to detriment my other refugium life such as worms and "bugs."

So I guess my question is whether Peppermint Shrimp feed on "bugs" and worms and if so would 2 in a 3g refugium damage the "bug" and worm population?

dattack · #2 07/02/2002, 06:37 PM

Hehe.

My peppermint pretty much ate up every bristleworm that I had in my refugium. There is probably a few pods left however.

I wouldn't chance to place any opportunistic shrimp in the refugium.

rgardiner · #3 07/02/2002, 07:24 PM

Yes, putting a predator in your refugium would mean it would no longer be a refuge.

Chromis88 · #4 07/02/2002, 07:43 PM

Great! Thank you for answering my question!

Randy V · #5 07/02/2002, 08:34 PM

Chromis, the pros and cons of pepps that you stated in your original post are all correct. They are great to have around just not in a refugium. I keep mine in the sump. I just put screens on the pump intakes and they do a great job cleaning up any uneaten food that settles in the sump. They are available for aiptasia duty if necessary and they spwan about once per month. They are common arond piers and oil rigs so I don't think they are unhappy in the sump, at least based on how often they spawn anyway.

Malcolm_C · #6 07/03/2002, 07:25 AM

peppermints eat bristles worms?

JerseyReef · #7 07/03/2002, 02:14 PM

Yup! Including Spagetti worms, pods and practily everything else that lives in the DSB

Malcolm_C · #8 07/03/2002, 02:23 PM

Damn, I have a problem!

holeinone1972 · #9 07/03/2002, 02:43 PM

I just hooked up a 20 gallon in line with the rest of my system. I have no sand bed, just a 20 gallon holding water that overflows back into my 150 sump. I put a few infected rocks into the empty 20 gallon and let the peppermints have there way with the rocks. I feed nothing else when there are aiptasias present. When the aiptasias are gone, take rock back to 240 gallon display and then occasionally drop in some krill for the shrimp. No sandbed to target, or regular food to compete with the aiptasia treats. So far so good. See what happens.

nbeutler · #10 07/03/2002, 02:45 PM

Yes you do. The pair I bough got rid of my aptasia problem, but I'll have to completely reseed my sand bed.