Peppermint Shrimp Having Maxima Clam for Lunch??

[xxnonamexx]

Hi- My friend has a 46gal tank. Reef he has had it for 5 years, all water parameters great. He recently purchased a 2" Maxima clam and his 2 peppermint shrimp were on top of the clam later in the day. When he went home from work he noticed the insides were all eaten up and just the shell remained. I thought Peppermint shrimp were reef safe? My neighbor has 2 clams w/o any problems with the Peppermint shrimp. What went wrong? Thanks

 

[tripper]

I know this might sounds dumb, but are you sure they were Peppermint Shrimp and not Camel Shrimp? These two look very similar but Camel Shrimp are more likely to terrorize a clam than a Peppermint would. Camel Shrimp are considered reef safe "with caution" and can nip at corals while Peppermints are much less likely. Either way, I'm sorry to hear of the loss . . . I like those Maxima clams a lot.

tripper

 

[Hara]

If the clam was not healthy, they would have known and started picking at it. My suspician is that the clam was on its way out. It would be hard for 2 shrimp to eat a whole clam in a few hours.

 

[xxnonamexx]

I have to double check but my LPS told me it was a peppermint. I will Keep u posted.

 

[xxnonamexx]

It is definately a peppermint shrimp

 

[DragonForce]

The clam was probably dieing like states above. The shrimp were just doing their job.

 

[Brenden]

I have 12 peppermints in my tank and 3 clams. Never once saw the peppermint bother them. Cleaner shrimp checks them out every once in a while.

 

[IndyReefMan]

Agreed... the clam was probably on it's way out. Have your friend try a larger clam next time, 2" is pretty small. The larger ones are a LOT easier to keep.