Peppermint shrimp survived 9 hours out of water in the cold

[reefer gladness]

I'd had enough of my peppermint shrimp, I originally bought 4 hoping 1 would eat aiptasia in my last tank. One did and wiped out the aiptasia and offed the other 3 peppermint shrimp as well within a few weeks. Soon after he started making meals out of perfectly healthy snails. I dubbed him 'The Terminator'.

Most recently he's been slowly eating my sand-sifting star alive, piece by piece, leg by leg until there's only the center body part of the star remains (but is still alive).

So I had enough of the peppermint and managed to net him late last night/early AM. I thought I'd managed to get him into my sump area, tossed the net into the storage room and went to bed. Today I went looking for him and couldn't find him anywhere, it bothered me and then it occurred he might have still been stuck inside the big net I used the night before.

Sure enough, the shrimp was in the net, had been there for at least 9 hours out of water in a storage room that dropped well below 60 degrees last night. I figured he was a goner of course and just plopped him into the trash bin - and then I noticed he was moving. So I picked him up again and this time did get him into the sump area and sure enough he's scooting around looking for another meal. Incredibly surprised the little bugger survived and he's been renamed 'Lucky'

 

[dblasky]

is it the Atlantic or the Pacific Californica (cold water) shrimp that don't eat aiptasia or you might hava a combination of them both. i used the Tassled filefish and it worked much better.

 

[nanoreefing4fun]

Wow - That's a hardy little shrimp

 

[leslie]

That is such a cool story! I cant believe its still alive!!!!! Just continue to feed him and he should be happy. WOW is all I can say!

 

[FishinBob]

When we go camping we take newspaper and soak it in saltwater and lay the shrimp in it and fold it over them place in the cooler and they had them live 24+ hours cold and wet is all they need ! Some sort of hibernation.. Drop em back in the water and they snap out of it quickly ( bait shrimp by the way)

 

[modulok]

lol

I got a Peppermint to eat my Aiptasia, and was annoying my BTA. So I also banished him to the sump. But within a week he found the return pump. I saw him fly out and he was still kicking (until I finished him off). They are tough little shrimps!

 

[lbiminiblue]

Lol i had a similar experience...i placed a sargasso shrimp (mind you, he's about this big l........l and he managed to jump out of the tank, scoot across the floor, and barely make it into the hall about 5 feet away...i noticed a little brown spot, picked him up, and let him float, but he didn't move. so i offered him to my cleaner shrimp, who consequently got it stolen by a Nassarius snail. What a lame excuse for a cleaner shrimp.

 

[reefer gladness]

Well, 'Lucky' the peppermint shrimp survived 9 hours out of the tank but he didn't survive 24 hours of being near the massive Reef Octopus. The Reef Octopus skimmer started gurgling last night and it was clear this morning that it wasn't fractionating air into the water very well, nor was the shrimp anywhere to be seen.

Disassembled the pump intake this morning and cleaned out the shrimpy remains. Oh well, can't say I really miss the bugger but RIP anyway Lucky.

 

[BigAl07]

Lucky.... maybe he didn't like the name LOL!

 

[reefer gladness]

Good one Al, he certainly was a bad*ss when I called him The Terminator

Lucky.... maybe he didn't like the name LOL!