Hawkfish attacking cleaner shrimp!

[MLHoenig]

A couple of weeks ago I added a small cleaner shrimp to my 75g tank; he didn’t last two days. I presumed that my hawkfish was the culprit because of his general attitude, but I had no proof.

Today, I introduced a large cleaner shrimp; within about an hour, I found the hawkfish with a pair of feelers sticking out of his mouth. Naturally, I presumed the shrimp had become dinner.

Well, I just spotted the shrimp alive and moving around the rocks pretty quickly; turns out the hawkfish is definitely harassing the shrimp.

Why would a hawkfish, or any fish, pester, maim, and/or kill a cleaner shrimp?

[MLHoenig]

Hawkfish: 2
Cleaner shrimp: 0

[coralbandit]

My arc eye did the same..
He hasn't got the Coralbanded yet so if I get him out during move I won't have a hawk again..I really like the long nose ones..

[Sniperhank]

Refresh my memory, what size system are we talking about here? What kind of hawkfish are we talking about?
Some hawkfish are more territorial than others. This could be the reason, but they are also carnivores...some of them feeding specifically on shrimp.

[Andy Sager]

Originally Posted by MLHoenig

A couple of weeks ago I added a small cleaner shrimp to my 75g tank; he didn’t last two days. I presumed that my hawkfish was the culprit because of his general attitude, but I had no proof.

Today, I introduced a large cleaner shrimp; within about an hour, I found the hawkfish with a pair of feelers sticking out of his mouth. Naturally, I presumed the shrimp had become dinner.

Well, I just spotted the shrimp alive and moving around the rocks pretty quickly; turns out the hawkfish is definitely harassing the shrimp.

Why would a hawkfish, or any fish, pester, maim, and/or kill a cleaner shrimp?

It sounds to me like you are not feeding your hawk enough. The fish's natural response in a tank is that something new to the tank is food. If he's full, that changes.
If you try this again, try feeding the fish on one side of the tank and then add the shrimp on the other side. Turn off the light(s) prior to introducing the shrimp so that the fish go to sleep and the shrimp has a chance to hide in the decor. Make sure you have multiple places for the shrimp to hide in. In nature, the fish just see the shrimp's antennae so they know from that they are not food. If the fish is seeing all the shrimp, it just looks like another piece of food.

Hope this helps.

[MLHoenig]

Originally Posted by Sniperhank

Refresh my memory, what size system are we talking about here? What kind of hawkfish are we talking about?
Some hawkfish are more territorial than others. This could be the reason, but they are also carnivores...some of them feeding specifically on shrimp.

75g – Hawkfish picture attached…