Peppermint shrimp killed by clownfish?

[Gurnie]

It seems my black saddleback clownfish killed my peppermint shrimp after the shrimp was in my 14 gallon biocube for less than 24 hours. I assume this is abnormal behavior, and while I can not be certain wither it was the clownfish or not I can't think what else in the tank could have killed the fish (I have 5 burgundy hermits, 3 blue hermits, two black saddlebacks, snails, two bristle worms, and micro stars).

 

So are saddlebacks especially aggressive towards peppermint shrimp? Would a coral banded shrimp work? I heard they can be aggressive.

 

Secondly:

 

I just added my 2nd saddleback into the tank two days ago. So far they seem to be getting along (occasional chasing but no biting).

 

They do this cute thing where they'll swim on their sides and twitch, then swim on their other sides, and do a twitch.

 

Is this some sort of mating dance? The new fish is bigger, and I assume is female (or in the process of her change). The smaller one is about 1 year old and doesn't act as agressive as the larger fish.

 

Thanks!!

[jamal]

it was most likely the coral banded shrimp. in even large tanks they are known to kill and i dont consider them reef safe. some clowns are aggressive but this is a very unlikely scenario with the clown as the culprit

[zotzer]

Do you know for sure dead? It could have molted. Peppermint shrimp are great at hiding (even in a little tank) and are nocturnal....so watch for it after lights out.

 

I suspected my clown in a cleaner shrimp death, but that's because it would not stop trying to steal food from the anemone.

 

Tracy

[Gurnie]

There is no coral banded shrimp in the tank, i just proposed getting one since the peppermint was attacked

 

It wasn't a molt. There was shrimp meat that the crabs were consuming :P

 

So with that and two days passed, i assume that was a carcass my crabies ate.