Attack of the Peppermint shrimp!

[phoenix20]

<span style="color: black;">So a few days ago I picked up some nori seaweed for my hippo tang, coral beauty angel, and friends. I've read that it does a body good.</span>
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<span style="color: black;">I've sporadically seen the fishies picking at the seaweed on the clip, but they weren't in a frenzy over it. A few hours later, the seaweed was completely gone and not to be seen.</span>
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<span style="color: black;">I started to wonder what was going on -- and then I saw...</span>
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<span style="color: black;">The peppermints! The red coats are coming!</span>
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<span style="color: black;">As soon as I would stick a new piece of nori on the clip, all the sudden, the shrimp would start scaling the side of the tank all the way up to the top and start working their magic on the chow. Next, the cleaner shrimp would join in.</span>
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<span style="color: black;">Once they loosened it up and got it to the floor of the tank, the hermit crabs would finish it off in a frenzy. The coral beauty angel / wrasse would fly by and take a few shots at it -- but it was clear -- between the shrimp and the hermits, the seaweed was devoured.</span>
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<span style="color: black;">Is this normal behavior? Are my fishies supposed to get 5% of the seaweed while the other critters obliterate it?</span>
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[FutureInterest]

Its unusual for shrimp to go nuts for nori... unless they're starving . Try feeding the poor lil guys.

 

[dartfrog]

Y'all say that it's not "normal" and I'd agree I'd never seen a shrimp go for nori till a few hours ago!...a few hours before reading this post I watched three peppermint shrimp and a cleaner shrimp devour a peice of nori. It was put there for a tang.Trust me, all the critters are very well fed...probably over fed! Now it's got me wondering whats going on. Any ideas?

 

[corigan]

My shrimp go crazy for the nori and are well fed as well.

I got to the point now where I just put a piece in there and rub it between my fingers and it splits into many little pieces and floats around. Everything in my tank eats it: False percs, 6 line wrasse, Scopas Tang, bi colored blenny, and the shrimp/crabs.

 

[tdwyatt]

Actually, this is normal behavior for any opportunistic feeder, but then again, dried sheets of nori algae processed with flavor enhancers is not often found on the reef in the wild...

 

[soarin']

tdwyatt;215289 wrote: Actually, this is normal behavior for any opportunistic feeder, but then again, dried sheets of nori algae processed with flavor enhancers is not often found on the reef in the wild...

Aha! Is the stuff that is being attacked the pre-toasted kind?