Peacock Tails on Maxi-Mini Carpet Anemones

[George Monnat Jr]

I have a pair of Peacock-Tail/White Spot/White-patched/Glass/Pacific Clown Anemone Shrimp (Periclimenes brevicarpalis) that I think I got from AD last April. They usually hang out on my Maxi-Mini Carpet Anemones (Stichodactlya tapetum). One hangs out on the right on my "green" Maxi-Mini, and the other hangs out on the left on my "red" MMCA.

Here's the right one. The Maxi-Mini may be irritated by the Frogspawn and isn't fully open.

The red Maxi-Mini on the left decided to crawl up towards the overflow, so the other Peacock Tail decided to move down to the blue MMCA.

You can see a Sexy Shrimp that was kicked out of its nice Maxi-Mini home by the Peacock Tail and is probably waiting for a chance to get back in.

[Timfish]

2nd picture is really nice.

[Teresa]

Very cool. I'm thinking of getting a shrimp to host my minis. I'd love to hear your opinion. Which would you recommend more and why - Sexies or peacock tail or ...?

[George Monnat Jr]

Very cool. I'm thinking of getting a shrimp to host my minis. I'd love to hear your opinion. Which would you recommend more and why - Sexies or peacock tail or ...?

I love Sexy Shrimp, but they tend to roam a lot. Porcelain Crabs are great, too, but they roam a little. The other shrimp tend to roam less, usually only when the anemone they're on closes up or moves. The two I've liked the most are:

Peacock-Tail/White Spot/White-patched/Glass/Pacific Clown Anemone Shrimp (Periclimenes brevicarpalis) like in the picture, and

Spotted Cleaner/Commensal/Anemone Shrimp (Periclimenes yucatanicus)

The Peacock-Tail is Indo-Pacific and I think more likely to associate with a Maxi-Mini. The Spotted Cleaner is from the Caribbean and seems to prefer Condylactis gigantea, or Condy, anemones. The Peacock-Tail is bigger and doesn't seem to like roommates at all and sometimes waves it's tail as a warning, but I wouldn't call it aggressive (more like defensive or go somewhere else and avoid confrontation). The Spotted happily shares a Condy with a Porcelain Crab and sometimes swims around and waves its antennae when it's excited. I think the Spotted has more personality but less likely to associate with a Maxi-Mini.

I got all of my Peacock-Tail and Spotted Cleaner Anemone Shrimp at Aqua-Dome.

[Teresa]

Thanks for the pictures and info . I've got a rock with four maxi minis, one rock flower anemone in a different corner of the tank and I'm working on rebuilding my water quality to host bubble tips again. I'm mainly looking for something to host the maxi minis, as I've got a pair of clowns for the bubble.

Do you know if the peacocks are aggressive toward each other, prefer to live alone or in groups? Thanks for letting me know where you got them. I'll make sure to ask Hunter about them next time I'm in the dome.

[George Monnat Jr]

I've never seen the Peacock-Tails be aggressive towards anything, including each other. The Blue Maxi-Mini in the picture above is my biggest at about 3" in diameter, and you can see how big the shrimp is in comparison. I've never seen both Peacock-Tails in the same anemone. I don't know if that's because my Maxi-Minis are too small or if they like to be alone.