First inverts, woohoo!

[grimlock3000]

My tank is going on three weeks old. It was setup with cured live rock and Arag Alive "live sand". The tank has been coming along OK and the cycle seems to have already happened. I am in the algae phase now. A few water test in a row turned out OK, but I was planning to wait another couple weeks before picking up my clean up crew. The only sizable invert in the tank is a hitchhiker crab that eats stuff off the rocks.

I had two problems with this plan. The clean up crew is going to be pricey at the LFS I want to buy it, so if they all died for some reason, I would be screwed. Also, I was not sure if the crab would be OK with the clean up crew. My wife LOVES the crab, but it is not safe with fish. She wants to keep the crab right up until the day we get fish. I decided the best plan would be to get a few test inverts and see how it went.

Last night I picked up two Astrea Conehead Snails, and two Blue Leg Hermits on the cheap at another LFS. I dripped acclimated them and put them in the tank. The crabs when right to work eatting stuff off the live rock. The snails... Well they just kind of sat there. Mine are moving about .25 inches an hour and eating as they go. This morning they were still alive. The crabs had been all around the tank, and the snails made it to the other side of the rock.

Having 4 out of 4 inverts still alive is a good indication that I did something right. And it is cool to have something to watch in the tank

 

[revhtree]

Ya, I think your worrying a bit to much. Inverst such as crabs, and snails, are so super easy to keep alive. You can add all you want to they will be fine!

 

[grimlock3000]

Inverst such as crabs, and snails, are so super easy to keep alive. You can add all you want to they will be fine!

Quit raining on my parade when I think I accomplished something

 

[revhtree]

Sorry Grimlock, i didnt catch what you were meaning in the first post. I thought you were asking did we think it was ok to add inverts. My bad.

You are def. doing something right, thats not what I meant. If you have had one crab living in there just fine, you are well on your way.

 

[grimlock3000]

Sorry Grimlock, i didnt catch what you were meaning in the first post. I thought you were asking did we think it was ok to add inverts. My bad. Embarassed

No need to be sorry, I know what you meant, I was just trying to be funny

You are def. doing something right, thats not what I meant. If you have had one crab living in there just fine, you are well on your way.

The crab running around at night was a good barometer that my tank could sustain life. My wife got attached to it since it was the only thing in the tank. It is unfortunate that my crab is exactly the same as what TB Saltware uses as its example of a "Bad Crab!!"

http://www.tbsaltwater.com/diy.html

 

[grimlock3000]

That is right after I put them in the tank. They never hang out together anymore

 

[crage34]

get a cleaner shrimp! i love mine

 

[phases99]

get a cleaner shrimp! i love mine

I'm starting to hate mine, he's gotten huge and steals food right out of my corals mouth.

 

[revhtree]

I love my cleaners. They were cleaning my arm about 10min ago!

 

[diverdown69]

I just took a fairly large striped leg hermit out of my tank. He was harassing my warty anemone and I won't have that. All of my hermits are striped leg hermits (local native species) and they do quite well in my tank at 25ppt salinity. My tank is pretty clean. I do need to get a cleaner shrimp or something like it. I also have a small population of barnacles and bivalves (probably small Ostreola oysters) that contribute to the cleanliness of the tank. If you have never watched barnacles feed, it is pretty neat to watch.

 

[Mr Crabs]

I just got a pistol shrimp (To pal with my future Pink Spotted Goby), an emerald crab and a fire shrimp to go with whatever came with my live rock. The pistol shrimp so far is my favorite. He is funny to watch. He is like a bulldozer and moves tons of sand out from underneath the LR. If you get one of these make sure your rock is very stable. I had to make an adjustment where he was making his home. He pretty much digs a lot of the sand out from underneath the rock and piles it around the rock to make his home. He even put an empty snail shell in front of the hole as a front door and made a little back door too. My fire shrimp was pretty cool but I have not seen him in 2 days so now I am a little worried.

 

[grimlock3000]

I plan to get a Cleaner Shrimp once the tank is more established. Aside from a cleanup crew, my tank is going to have two Clowns and a Cleaner Shrimp as inhabitants. The Pistol Shrimps sounds good too, but I have no plans to get a Goby

This morning I was excited to see one snail made it on to a different rock. Probably took the thing all night to go that far. Unfortunately, the snail went up on the cleanest rock in the tank when there is a filthy rock right next to it

One Hermit Crab appears to have died, or at least stop moving for a while. My wife says she saw it moving but it could have been the current. The other Hermit has a hole in its shell, but runs all over the tank eating stuff. I have bad luck with these Hermits

 

[diverdown69]

What kind of hermits do you have that are so troublesome?

 

[grimlock3000]

Blue Leg Hermits. I bought them at Pet Quarters Can my bad hitchhiker crab be doing this? Any chance the Hermit with the broken shell tried taking the shell from the one currently not moving?

 

[revhtree]

Get some more shells. Also if there are broken shells you could have a mantis in there. And your dead hermit may be just a molt. The one running around without a shell could possibly be it.

 

[grimlock3000]

Mantis Shrimp 8O

I was not clear about the Hermits. One Hermit shell stopped moving for the last day. I presume there is a dead Hermit in the shell.

The other Hermit crab is running around with a hole in its shell. The hole is round, about 1/4 inch across, maybe a bit smaller.

If the non-moving shell has not moved by tonight, I will try taking a look inside to see if a Hermit is in there...

 

[diverdown69]

Blue Leg Hermits. I bought them at Pet Quarters Can my bad hitchhiker crab be doing this? Any chance the Hermit with the broken shell tried taking the shell from the one currently not moving?

It's possible IMO. My hermits are striped leg hermits and the only problem I have with them is keeping them from climbing out of the tank by using the airline attached to my skimmer. (I know...cheesy design, but it's a work in progress...) The way I usually know I have a dead one is by finding the legs and claws floating at the top of the tank.

 

[revhtree]

Just because the shell quit moving doesnt mean it is a dead hermit. The hermit that is running around with out a shell, could have left the shell because it was to small. Also you need to get some more shells. Hermits will kill each other, and snails for bigger shells as they out grow them. Reach down and pick the shell up andlook, it wont hurt anything. Alot of times I pick up hermits, and let them crawl on my hands, an arms.

Also have you heard in clicking in the tank. You might have a mantis in thre that came on the LR. Broken shells and holes are classics signs of the evil mantis!

 

[grimlock3000]

No clicking sounds from the tank that I am aware of. Any other signs of a Mantis?

I have seen a few things in my tank I have no explanation for, usually at night