Not reef safe anymore!!

Well, my "least likely to eat invertabrates" pink tail trigger just decided that she likes cleaner shrimp. I was checking out the tank after I got home from work, got out their food to defrost and walked back to the tank to say hi........the cleaner shrimp was waking across the rocks and.......WHAM! The trigger struck and gulped it down in one bite! The rest of the tank went into a feeding frenzy from the little bits that she couldn't get into her mouth and me yelling at her to "drop it" didn't work (it usually works for the dogs ::).

On one hand, I am very disappointed that she just had a $20.00 meal, but on the other hand......wow, I was very impressed by how quick she was and the whole "circle of life" thing.

So now my other cleaner shrimp is doing some serious hiding and grieving for his mate. Everyone had been living together harmoniously for almost a year.

I am not sure what I am going to do at this point, but I do know that inverts are not safe with the pink tail anymore.

After hubby got home, I told him what happened and he said "yeah, when I was cleaning the tank last week, I accidently knocked a snail off of the glass and she came shooting across the tank to catch it."

Oh, and it was definitely not a molt...I was watching the cleaner work her way across the rocks.

 

wow sorry about that.

 

I wonder what made her turn - the shrimp must have said something wrong!

Haha I yell at my fish too, but it doesn't work for me either

 

thats the same fear I have on adding some shrimp. I've added 3 peppermint shrimps before everyone got eaten some within seconds by my clowns.. at 8 bucks a piece I was little mad.

 

She is the biggest thing in the tank and I have no idea what made her turn. All I know is that she didn't eat much of her dinner....she was still full from the appetizer.

Looks like my FOWLR tank might be happening a little sooner than I thought.....aw, what a shame.

 

i have that fear for my niger trigger... i have a peppermint shrimp and a harlequin shrimp and even tho the harlequin came as a hitch hiker I think its one of the coolest things in the tank!! so far "the trigster" is scared of everything cuz hes the smallest fish in the tank and he hides in a little hole that barely fits him. i just hope he continues to stay reef safe and my shrimp don't fall victim to the same fate as urs!! i was also thinking of getting a cleaner shrimp but.. not anymore! thanks for sharing and sorry to hear!!

 

hmmm... I cant recall ever seeing a trigger at a cleaning station, wonder if thats cause they dont play well with others?

sorry about your shrimp, the other will likely hide quite a bit for awhile.

 

I don't consider shrimp eaters to be non-reef safe. As long as it leaves your corals alone, I would only call it non-invert safe. I say keep it and buy some peppermints once in awhile for a good show!

 

I tend to lean towards this thinking as well....."circle of life" was a perfect description. As I often explain to family and friends who ask me about my tank - "that is how nature works" sometimes things get eaten.

My Flame Hawk no doubt devoured my entire peppermint posse - but i harbor no ill will. I always go on the assumption that everything must eat and well, sometimes what they eat may divert from what they are "supposed" to eat.

My purple reef lobster was touted to me as a "bad guy" yet he really hasn't been nearly as bad as i feared.

I bet the trigger is a gorgeous fish If he isnt eating your expensive corals - yeah keep him around!

 

Suprisingly, before this incident the trigger and one of the cleaner shrimp actually shared the cave and I saw the shrimp working on the trigger on more than one occasion. Guess this time, the trigger wasn't happy with the service she got. ;D

Yeah, probably more of an accurate description. LOL! That idea would give a whole new meaning to "dinner and a show" :

Yes, the trigger is the biggest fish in the tank and the most beautiful fish in the tank. Nope she doesn't eat any coral, I am definitely keeping her. As suggested, I just might get her some less expensive appetizers.