Feeding my cynarina a pricey breakfast

[tigeron]

Walked into the room this morning, gave the tank a glance as I always do, and was greeted with a bit of a surprise - my Cynarina sp had treated itself to a pricey breakfast, it seems.

Looks like it's developed a taste for peppermint shrimps. I've had a search around, but can't seem to find anyone else who's had this happen to them. I didn't think they were capable of taking down something that size, so I'm stumped - has anyone else had a similar experience?

P.S: The sand anemone had been on the move overnight, which is why it's in the picture along with the zoos - the hermits just love to toss them around. Still haven't found a spot for them that doesn't end with them becoming hermit sports equipment.

[felinxo]

looks like a molt from my house, possibly it just had a snack and is shedding, anyone else ever had this happen?

[florix9]

I've got a large Cynarina too, and I've lost three smallish peppermint shrimp, no idea where they went. This could be the reason - my Cynarina might have developed a taste for them as well.

[zenoxa]

I'm inclined to agree with the molt theory. It doesn't seem plausible to me that a healthy peppermint shrimp would be caught off guard by the coral's relatively slow feeding process, especially considering the shrimp's speed and agility.

[tigeron]

I was curious about the 'molt' you mentioned, I'm guessing you're referring to the shedding process. I've recently acquired four peppermint shrimps and rarely see them out in the open. Earlier today, I found three of them in my sump, seems a bit too coincidental that only three turned up.

[felinxo]

Honestly, I still think it's just a molt, those little guys can be pretty fragile.

[tigeron]

I'm not convinced, the color's all wrong if it was a molt - I've seen shedding from my peppermint shrimp around the tank before and it's always white and translucent, not pink.

[OceanBloom9]

I've had a similar experience with my peppermint shrimp before, had about 10 in a tank to tackle an aiptasia problem, and I recall the molts being slightly pinkish in hue.

[felinxo]

Nope, I'm pretty sure the color is a giveaway, it's definitely pink.

[flame9x]

I'm inclined to think it's just a molt. I've had four peppermint shrimp in my tank and I've never seen all of them at the same time, which isn't unusual. I've seen their molts around the tank every month or so, so I'm not entirely surprised by this.