Cleaner shrimp attacking fungia

[Graduate.Reefsearcher]

Hello all,

Graduate.Reefsearcher here, first time poster. I hope this is the right place for this question. I noticed my fungia was abnormally closed up and noticed my shrimp had a bit of green in its mouth, see picture.

The fungia has been doing great otherwise (see other picture) and I was wondering if you have any advice on how to keep the shrimp from bothering it?

Thanks.

 

[resortez]

Hey & welcome. There’s not much info to go by but I would look into the shrimps behavior pattern. Is the shrimp picking at the plate at any given time or after feeding? Is the plate releasing any substance from its mouth? In my experience, shrimps are great at finding food through odor & if the plate caught food, the shrimp will pounce on it before the plate can swallow its dinner. Plates are very slow at gathering their food & inverts or fish will capitalize on that. It’s like snatching food from a sloth, fungia plates are too slow & the shrimp is fast & precise.

 

[Graduate.Reefsearcher]

Hey & welcome. There’s not much info to go by but I would look into the shrimps behavior pattern. Is the shrimp picking at the plate at any given time or after feeding? Is the plate releasing any substance from its mouth? In my experience, shrimps are great at finding food through odor & if the plate caught food, the shrimp will pounce on it before the plate can swallow its dinner. Plates are very slow at gathering their food & inverts or fish will capitalize on that. It’s like snatching food from a sloth, fungia plates are too slow & the shrimp is fast & precise.

Thanks for the reply. You are correct, the shrimp does seem to bother the fungia more after feeding. I have also noticed it try to pick at it even when I have not fed the coral (like today). I have not noticed any odd behavior from the fungia other than being closed up today.

I saw a picture somewhere where somebody made a barrier for their plate to protect it during feeding by cutting up an old water bottle. Do you think a creative solution like that could work?

 

[resortez]

I’ve never tried using a barrier to feed my coral, so I wouldn’t know how to build one but I’m sure it works.