by Tammy L Mahan

Created on: June 09, 2010

Diet of peppermint shrimp

There are two types of peppermint shrimp (Lysmata wireman and Lysmata wurdemanni) also known as candy cane shrimp, veined shrimp and the Caribbean cleaner Shrimp. The peppermint shrimp referred to as the Caribbean cleaner Shrimp is found living in the Caribbean Sea and the “general” species known as the peppermint shrimp is found in the Pacific ocean.

In their wild habitat both types of peppermint shrimp, live in the reefs. The difference between the two species is that the Lysmata wireman is the species you would purchase at a pet store or an aquarium shop for your home aquarium. The Lysmata wurdemanni species, which lives in the Pacific Ocean, are larger and not suitable for aquariums.

The Caribbean cleaner shrimp eats Aiptasia anemones, which is a small (less than an inch and a half long anemone that causes severe damage to coral reefs and even death to small fish. They multiple quickly and the only species of peppermint shrimp that will eat the anemones (without having harm caused to them as a result is the Caribbean cleaner shrimp.) This is not a normal part of the peppermint shrimps diet but a necessary one for the ecology of the aquarium. It is also imperative that you feed your peppermint shrimp “regular” food. The idea is to feed the peppermint shrimp regular food before any Aiptasia anemones are present (they are not always likely to show up in your aquarium) but in the event that they do your peppermint shrimp will eat them.

Peppermint shrimp should be feed a well rounded and balanced diet of fresh and frozen foods as well as store bought flakes, and pellets. Once the shrimp become accustom to eating a regular diet then if any Aiptasia anemones should take up residence in your aquarium the shrimp will eat them as well while maintaining their regular balanced diet.

If you find that, your peppermint shrimp have stopped eating the regular food you may need to transfer them from the aquarium into a clean aquarium and try to feed them regular food again.

In some cases at least in the ocean, peppermint shrimp will not eat anything other than the Aiptasia anemones and once the supply of anemone food is gone, they will starve to death. Peppermint shrimp are also known to eat any diseased tissue from fish, and other aquarium life.

Peppermint shrimp make a nice addition to any home aquarium. These shrimp are not preyed upon by even aggressive fish in the community tank which, makes them easy to care for and a hardy fish that should live a few years.

Sources

http://www.google.com/search?hl=&q=Aiptasia+anemones&sourceid=navclient-ff&rlz=1B3GGGL_enUS288US288&ie=UTF-8

http://saltaquarium.about.com/od/shrimpcare/p/prpepp ermintshr.htm

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