I'm sorting through the hair algae problem that I've been having, using advice I've received here. The tank is cleaning up nicely... maybe too nicely. I have an emerald crab and it has been in its glory, with the algae abundance. It is molting every 3 weeks and has grown absolutely HUGE. So now, the protein skimmer is running smoothly, the clean up crew additions are plowing through the algae, I'm back down to bare rocks and some algae on the back glass. The sand still looks a little cruddy in spots but it is improving a bunch. It appears that the crab is hungry.
Because I only have a few snails, hermits, 1 tuxedo urchin and peppermint shrimp, I don't really feed anything. I might toss the shrimp a tiny pinch of food from time to time but that is it. Tonight I dropped 2 veggie round pellets into the tank to see what the crab would do. He gobbled them down.
To get to the point, when would you need to specifically feed an emerald crab? If I do feed him, how much? I don't have fish yet so he can't scavenge their food. The snails and hermits appear happy and well fed but this crab has grown accustomed to huge heaping meals of algae and he isn't getting the quantities he's used to. What to do? Will he adjust to the diminished food supply or is it time to suppliment?
One other question - I think I'm ready for the next step. I'm happy with the balance that I'm achieving with my setup. I'm feeling comfortable with the progress and I'm ready to add more to my system, apart from the clean up crew. I would like both fish and corals. Is there any advantage to adding one before the other? The tank has been running about 2.5 months. I'd like to begin planning for the next phase but I'm having information overload with the billions of sites out there.
Because I only have a few snails, hermits, 1 tuxedo urchin and peppermint shrimp, I don't really feed anything. I might toss the shrimp a tiny pinch of food from time to time but that is it. Tonight I dropped 2 veggie round pellets into the tank to see what the crab would do. He gobbled them down.
To get to the point, when would you need to specifically feed an emerald crab? If I do feed him, how much? I don't have fish yet so he can't scavenge their food. The snails and hermits appear happy and well fed but this crab has grown accustomed to huge heaping meals of algae and he isn't getting the quantities he's used to. What to do? Will he adjust to the diminished food supply or is it time to suppliment?
One other question - I think I'm ready for the next step. I'm happy with the balance that I'm achieving with my setup. I'm feeling comfortable with the progress and I'm ready to add more to my system, apart from the clean up crew. I would like both fish and corals. Is there any advantage to adding one before the other? The tank has been running about 2.5 months. I'd like to begin planning for the next phase but I'm having information overload with the billions of sites out there.
