Yes peppermint shrimps eat BTA.

[FutureInterest]

So I got a bleached out, unhealthy RBTA from a friend a few days ago who didn't know how to care for it. I am as such just baby sitting it back to health until we get her tank to where it needs to be for this lil guy to thrive in there.

Anyways, I noticed yesterday that it was deflated and thought nothing of it since BTA's will deflate when the lights are off at times or when they are expelling waste. What I did find odd though was that it moved off the rock it was secured to and was in the corner of the fuge...

This morning I took a closer look and it was inflated again but now I could see that it was torn up quite a bit... tentacles are clearly missing and the internals are clearly visible... This BTA is in my refugium and the only other resident there are zoa frags and of course a peppermint shrimp which I promptly captured and examined... He's full of "color"...

The shrimp gets fed regularly every day, but apparently it wasn't enough.

I do have a peppermint in the main display as well and RBTA, but those are hosted by clowns which will defend them to the death... Anyways this is just a heads up for any potential BTA owners that have peppermints that such a thing is possible. It might also explain some instances of anemones detaching and taking their chances with the powerheads...

 

[glxtrix]

with my exp. they dont eat them but they do steal food or the watse thats expelled and seeing that the anemone will stick to the shrimp it tries to free itself and tears the anemone. No matter how much you feed the shrimp, it will always go for more food, they are opportunistic feeders and will use any means to get food. Your anemone will recover from the torn tenticles, but it will most likely have a difficult life with that shrimp in there, esp with the shrimp knowing it can get food from it. just my 2 pennies.

 

[FutureInterest]

I'm glad your experiences are just thievery. Shrimp in my tank never try to steal food from the anemones, the marroons beat them silly when they try.

As for its injuries I think it will probably recover, but this wasn't just a few torn tentacles. The body was torn up quite a bit and about a 1/4 - 1/3 of the tentacles were missing entirely. Of course there is no direct evidence since I didn't see the peppermint doing anything, but its the only logical explanation I can think of. Of course I isolated the peppermint, and am either throwing it on the barbie or returning it to a LFS.

 

[glxtrix]

glad to know the one in your display doesnt bother the anemone in there, hosted clowns are awesome! Yeah awhile ago the same exact thing happend to me, but I saw the shrimp rip off the tenticles trying to get the food, it will actually go and steal food thats already going down the mouth! But I think thats the same for most shrimp. Hope things work out for ya, let us know

 

[wolfie]

FYI pepperment shirmp will also pick on LPS..

 

[jjw]

I stopped by Deathco after work yesterday. They have a small Sebae that's locked up in a dimly lit tank with 4 fat peppermint shrimps. They were all over it - hovering above, staying closeby, playing with the tentacles. I observed the anemone for 10 minutes, but didn't see any wound or any deflated areas. Now reading your post, I am staring to worry about that little poor thing.

 

[siege]

My banded coral shrimp steals food from my Sebae regularly, if i I let it, but otherwise he seems to avoid the anemone as if it were the big hunk of copper ore sitting under my monitor, as does everything else in my tank. Makes me wonder sometimes exactly how they catch food without a symbiotic partner.

 

[FutureInterest]

Yah you're right that could be part of it. I think thought that it was moderately healthy just not "thriving" per se.