Jaw VS/& Sexy Shrimp

I'm going to setup a 55g FOWLR tank soon with about 60-80#LR (as soon as the basements finished )

The fish I NEED are
1 - Dusky Jawfish
1 - Type of sand sifting goby
3 - Cleaner Shrimp (they are so cute)
1 - Target Mandarin - after pod population hits + i get a 'fuge (6mo+)
Then i havent decided yet for the remaining stock.

Unfortunately i cant get the cute little longnose hawk as he is a threat to the shrimp.

My ? however is, the Jaws have a rep for "eating small ornamental shrimp"...If I introduce the Thor after i have some corals (bubble/frogspawn etc) do you think they have a chance, or should they just be left out?

 

First things first.....WELCOME TO 3REEF!!!

To answer your question, it's hit or miss. I've known people who've successfully kept both animals. I've also known people who bought a very expensive meal for their jawfish. Shrimp know that they are prey and are quite imaginative usually at avoiding being eaten.

 

That is the quickest reply ive ever seen!

And, that makes me feel like i should go for it ! Especially with the amt of LR + SPS & LPS i plan on using.

 

Like In wall said . But I'd think you would have better luck with the long nose hawk rather then a Jaw. I kept a L/N hawk for a few yrs with many types of shrimp and I never noticed many disappearing . As was also mentioned that shrimps are good at avoiding being lunch thats why you seldom see them until lights out.

 

Really?

Ive heard from numerous people that the longnose are the "best behaved" of the hawks, but like many others even if well fed will decide its time for a snack one day.

 

That's what he meant by saying you'd have better luck with a longnose. They're less aggressive toward shrimp than other hawkfish No fish comes with a guaranty though so you'd still be taking a chance.

 

If we are talking about sexy shrimp...its tough to say. I have a non reef safe wrasse (i was young and the lfs told me it was reef safe...) and it doesnt mess with my shrimp...but they are pretty big. Actually when i got a small pistol shrimp it didnt waste any time to eat it up. If the shrimp looks like it can fit in the fish's mouth i think its pretty safe to call it a meal.

 

What are the max sizes for longnose hawks & how big can they "open" their mouths (not that they couldnt crunch a shell as they got older).

After consideration I think ill ditch the Thors and just have 3 cleaners.

 

I have had them Long nose hawks to hit 5 inches or so and some stayed al small as 2 maybe 3 inches. On average I'd say 3 maybe 3.5 or so long totaly.