Bioload from a starfish and sea cucumber?

[mardeebo]

I acquired a used 72 gallon tank that has a very large starfish in it. It's green and has little bristles under it..kind of like a brittle star. Anyway, its body is about as big around as a pop can and the legs are each about 4-5" long.

I am concerned that this guy is creating a heavy load on my tank. He's pretty cool, but I'd rather have a few more small critters than this big one.

I also have a large sea cucumber. It's about an inch in diameter and when stretched out, about 8 inches long.

I wanted to get a cleaner pack from saltwaterfishes.com to introduce more snails & crabs but am concerned that my tank can't support all of this stock.

Should I be concerned?

Other fish:
1- yellow tang
1- 1 1/2" O clown
2 - 3/4" blue damsels
1 - firefish
2 - bubble tip anemones

I am pretty clueless, can you tell?

 

[steve-s]

I also have a large sea cucumber. It's about an inch in diameter and when stretched out, about 8 inches long.

It won't add to the bioload but it can be a concern to your tanks longevity. What color is the cuke?

Should I be concerned?

Other fish:
1- yellow tang
1- 1 1/2" O clown
2 - 3/4" blue damsels
1 - firefish
2 - bubble tip anemones

Are these what you want to add or already have?

I acquired a used 72 gallon tank that has a very large starfish in it. It's green and has little bristles under it..kind of like a brittle star. Anyway, its body is about as big around as a pop can and the legs are each about 4-5" long.

Most if not all inverts are marginal on what they add to the bioload if at all. Not typically a large consideration in regards to starfish. Your main concern with green brittle stars is they can be rather predaceous and should not be trusted with small fish species. I've even had them eat unattached soft coral frags. If well fed they tend to be less of a concern but still not what I would consider "trustworthy".

Cheers
Steve

 

[mardeebo]

The cuke is tan with brown bristles..I uploaded a picture to my gallery, albeit a bad one but perhaps you'll get a good idea of what kind it is.

Yes, my star is green. I feed it krill and shrimp pellets.

I want to eventually have some corals in my tank, key word "eventually".

The "other fish" I listed are currently in my tank. I'm concerned about the damsels but they seem to be fine...so far, that is. They are considerably smaller than the clown and the tang.

I just don't want to buy that cleaner pack only to have them all eaten by something or starved because of these two larger inverts in the tank.

Thanks very much for you advice.

 

[steve-s]

The cuke is tan with brown bristles..I uploaded a picture to my gallery, albeit a bad one but perhaps you'll get a good idea of what kind it is.

Tiger tail cule, Holothuria thomasi. One of the easier to keep and least toxic. They do best with a sand substrate so I hope the tank does not have CC?

I just don't want to buy that cleaner pack only to have them all eaten by something or starved because of these two larger inverts in the tank.

Depends on the "cleaner pack" you end up getting. Crustaceans are the only ones that will end up competing with the cuke and starfish for food sources. Snails and other algae grazers will be just fine.

Cheers
Steve

 

[mardeebo]

So to summarize, you think my cuke is okay. The star is a possible threat to small fish, minimized threat if I feed it regularly.

I was looking at the 30-90 gal reef pack for 89.99. I'd like some peppermint shrimp in addition to the reef pack to help me with aiptasia.

That package is:

Scarlet Hermit Crab: 20
Blueleg Hermit Crab: 20
Turbo/Astrea Snail: 20
Nasssarius Snail: 10
Emerald Crab: 3
Coral Banded Shrimp: 1
Feather Duster: 2

Do you think this would be a good package to get, considering my existing stock?

Thanks again!!

 

[steve-s]

So to summarize, you think my cuke is okay. The star is a possible threat to small fish, minimized threat if I feed it regularly.

Yes and yes....

I'd like some peppermint shrimp in addition to the reef pack to help me with aiptasia.

Pepps can be a great addition but be warned they can be a nuisance to dusters and zoo's.

That package is:

Scarlet Hermit Crab: 20
Blueleg Hermit Crab: 20
Turbo/Astrea Snail: 20
Nasssarius Snail: 10
Emerald Crab: 3
Coral Banded Shrimp: 1
Feather Duster: 2

Do you think this would be a good package to get, considering my existing stock?

Personally I think it's a little heavy on the hermits and light on the snails. Unless you have some serious nuisance macro algae issues the hermits aren't really that useful. The emeralds also tend to be opportunistic towards corals and tank mates.

Do you have a link to where your getting these?

Cheers
Steve

 

[mardeebo]

Hi Steve,

Thanks for helping me out on this. The cleaner package I found was from www.saltwaterfish.com under reef packages. They have a few other packages too. It seems some other folks here have had good luck buying from them.

Would you go with a different package or scrap the package idea all together and get your own individualized selection?

 

[steve-s]

Personally I'm not a big fan of "packages", they rarely get you what you need but they do save you some money. You can't effectively customize from that site or they charge shipping and/or ding you $10.00 on orders below $80.00. Kinda hard to beat free shipping and $89.99 for that amount of animals. If you do get it, I would still try to find some additional snails. Trochus, cerith, nerite, margarita or true turbos. You will need more algae grazers.

Cheers
Steve

 

[mardeebo]

Steve - thank you so very much for all of your information. I'm going to hold out on the package and take your list of suggestions with me when I go to Dr. Foster Smith's retail store in Rhinelander this weekend. Perhaps I"ll find just what I'm after there, for a decent price.

Cheers to you!
Deb

 

[steve-s]

Oh, if you going there I'd suggest the following:

10x trochus
10x cerith
10x nassarius

If your heart is set on hermits, get lefthanded/zebra hermits. Much better algae grazers and little or no concern to snail predacean. Just be sure to ask for a few empty shells, never hurts.

You can still add what strikes your fancy but those will work very well for you.

Cheers
Steve