peppermint not a peppermint

jenajet · 06-10-2006, 05:30 AM

So while shopping online found out what I thought was peppermint shrimp isn't. All the ones I found were red. Mine is red and white makes you think of a peppermint. So what is he? The pic I have probly wont help cause he blends in with the rock.

whatevva · 06-10-2006, 05:35 AM

Jena, that's a Coral Banded Shrimp

tims · 06-10-2006, 07:43 AM

yup that be a CB shrimp alright.
jena here is some good reading on various crabs and shrimp with pictures of each type for ya

Tim224DT · 06-10-2006, 11:49 AM

Yep coral banded shrimp!! They are a very cool shrimp i have one in my 72gallon reef he is always out so i can see him.

Tim

jenajet · 06-10-2006, 04:40 PM

Yeah he is cool and out alot. Thanks for the info.

jenajet · 06-10-2006, 05:02 PM

So from reading the cb shrimp is one of the more aggressive shrimp. I really want to get the peppermint because my new lr brought in aiptasia and it needs to go. They are very small and too numerous to go with the juice. So far the cb hasn't bothered any fish as long as they stay away from its den. Are they agressive to the point that he will kill the peppermint?

leveldrummer · 06-10-2006, 10:16 PM

strangly, the actual peppermints dont look anymore like peppermint. guess they must taste like it.

salt creepette · 06-10-2006, 11:08 PM

ive had three cb shrimp and all of them were meaner than snot (attacking other shrimp and fish). right now i have one in my 20g and everytime I try to put another invert in there with it, it kills it. so far its picked off all my hermits, an emerald crab. the only thing it hasnt killed is one snail and the chocolate chip starfish and the nassarius snails. good luck to you because if you want more variety in your tank youre going to need it with that mean little thing. (do I sound bitter? unfortunately, I like the silly shrimp so I am not going to get rid of it. I have a larger reef tank that I keep things like crabs, fish, other shrimp and snails in)

tdwyatt · 06-10-2006, 11:19 PM

http://www.thereeftank.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=74808

jenajet · 06-11-2006, 06:47 AM

I think I am going to move the cb shrimp to the 12 gallon if I can catch him.

ChrisPrusha · 06-11-2006, 10:54 AM

Good plan...I am not sure that CBs and peppermints will play so nicely together. And Tom has great advice in that thread he posted.

JennM · 06-11-2006, 12:18 PM

That's a heck of a mis-id

While the CB more resembles a peppermint stick...

most LFS staffers should know the difference.

I lost a naso tang to a secondary infection shortly after I pulled a large CBS off his eye

Poor fish was swimming around with this shrimp latched firmly to his eyeball.

I've seen CBS live with eels and hawkfishes that should have eaten them... they're that mean that they are often left alone.

If you're shopping for a peppermint shrimp, beware that camel shrimp are often misidentified as peppermints. Now that we're into the hot summer season, it's harder for divers to find and catch peppermints, as they venture to deeper waters to stay cooler. Usually they are in short supply during the summer and sometimes the price goes up if the demand is there but the supply isn't.

This is a peppermint shrimp: Lysmata wurdemani

This is a camel shrimp:Rhynchocinetes durbanensis

The camel has a distinctive hump on its back - that's the easiest way to tell the difference. They also usually have more pronounced white markings, versus the peppermint who looks sort of pink/red and opaque/transparent. Peppermints can almost seem transparent white under stress (such as when they're in transit).

Hope this helps. The Camel may be destructive to your reef and won't eat aiptasia. The peppermint WILL eat aiptasia but some can be a risk with the likes of yellow star polyps, etc. In my experience there have been few problems with peppermints, but it's something you should be aware of.

Cheers,
Jenn

jenajet · 06-11-2006, 12:33 PM

Yep same LFS. I did talk to the owner tho and he is very nice and going to help me out with the scooter. He will be coming into town and check things out because apparently HE has always given credit on fish he sales. Put the cb in my qt nothing in there but crabs. I like him so gonna keep him. I have had him a while and he eats out of my hand. Thanks for the pic of the peppermint. I looked at them while in store but wanted to wait till I move the cb.

Hardhead Cat · 06-11-2006, 12:43 PM

Thanks Jenn for the excellent comparison pictures!

My peppermint shrimp is very good at keeping aiptasia at bay in the tank and he doesn't bother anyone except my mentally handicapped rock beauty who thinks Mr. Peppermint is a cleaning shrimp. CBS are really aggressive, I'm glad you're going to move him - -

HHC

JennM · 06-11-2006, 12:46 PM

Gotta love Google images

It was easy to find good pictures to illustrate the differences.

As for peppermints as "cleaner shrimp"... they are the same genus as the skunk cleaner shrimp. When I put my hands in my sell system, I often get a pile of shrimp on my hand "cleaning" me - occasionally a peppermint joins in the fun. So it's not unheard of for them to clean.

For that matter, Coral Banded Shrimp are also cleaners - in the wild - but for unknown reasons, they generally don't keep that "job" in captivity.

Jenn