ok invert compatability specific animals

[syddakyd]

ok i have a 55g aquarium and more interested in inverts then fish although i plan on having maybe 2-3 small ones.


my questions is this

i plan to keep soft corals but also want "regular" inverts.

i want the following...

those blue legged hermit crabs ( i hear those are the best janitors)

all the janitor snails including turbos

feather duster

cleaner shrimp like pepperment/skunk

coral banded shrimp

emerald crab

brittle star

arrow crab

long spine urchin




can these invertabrates successfully live together? will they bother my corals? will they eat all my macro algae (which i do not want to happen)?

i know the arrow crab and coral banded shrimp could be problems, can they live together though.? never heard of anyone keeping both.


as for fish i plan on just having a coral beauty angel, pair of clowns (true percs.), and maybe a yellow watchman goby



out of all those inverts which are the least hardy ( so i can know when i should add them making sure the tank is mature enough to suit them)



also, please name any reef-safe inverts i may not know about?

also can native hermit crabs and mussles and barnacles found in rock pools in new york be used in a semi-reef ?

i know they can handle warm temps. because obviously rock pools temperatures vary throughout the day and my girl has a fowrl with about 10 hermits we caught and 2 mussles w/ barnacles.

the barnacles were doing great until the valentini puffer messed with them.


thankyou.

 

[syddakyd]

also if i get a maroon clown and put it with a percula what will happen?> can they form a pair ? if not, will they get along?

 

[jetaero]

The coral banded shrimp will likely try to eat your fish.

As for a maroon/percula, the maroon will kill the percula clown.


As for introducing temperate species, I would not do that... It just shortens their lifespan, and they will eventually die and pollute the tank.

-Josh-

 

[syddakyd]

i hear arrow crabs bother feather dusters and may nip soft corals?

can anyone vouch this animal is reef safe

 

[syddakyd]

im really interested in the longspine urchin. i found out sally light foot crabs hide under them for protection. maybe i will get both.

 

[syddakyd]

guys? anyone?

 

[Brenden]

I have also heard the same about arrow crabs. No personal experience though. I had about 7 longspine urchins in my tank before. They will eat your coralline which is not a issue but they will knock over your rock work. I got tired of it and traded them at the LFS.

 

[burning2nd]

OK, since you sound like i did about 5 months ago, ill tell ya what i learned from my own experinence.

everything you said there i have except for the unchin, (ive hurd that they cause more trouble then good) and the arrrow crab, ill sell ya mine if you really want it that bad, i would stay away from the arrow crab, there cool as hell looking but there super super agresive carnavores

the banded i dont know about i have 2 peppermints

i have 8 blue legs 30+ snails, bunch of brittle stars the arrow crab is sump pwnd. the shrimp i should have only gotin 1 but 2 does it for me i guess. (very agressive feeders)

 

[burning2nd]

the arrow crab is reef safe, but i think it belongs in a huge tank, cause it likes to dessamate the worm pop, and anything smaller then it that it can get its cool blue claws on

 

[NaH2O]

can these invertabrates successfully live together? will they bother my corals? will they eat all my macro algae (which i do not want to happen)?

i know the arrow crab and coral banded shrimp could be problems, can they live together though.? never heard of anyone keeping both.


as for fish i plan on just having a coral beauty angel, pair of clowns (true percs.), and maybe a yellow watchman goby



out of all those inverts which are the least hardy ( so i can know when i should add them making sure the tank is mature enough to suit them)



also, please name any reef-safe inverts i may not know about?

also can native hermit crabs and mussles and barnacles found in rock pools in new york be used in a semi-reef ?

i know they can handle warm temps. because obviously rock pools temperatures vary throughout the day and my girl has a fowrl with about 10 hermits we caught and 2 mussles w/ barnacles.

the barnacles were doing great until the valentini puffer messed with them.


thankyou.

As was pointed out, the arrow crab may be a problem, especially with the coral banded shrimp. According to Dr. Ron in the book "Marine Invertebrates", page 264:

The arrow crab is an unusual, interesting animal, but with a mixed, even nasty reputation in reef tanks. It will attack other crustaceans, such as banded coral shrimps.

It was also pointed out by Burning2nd that Arrow crabs should be in large systems. Dr. Ron mentions this in the book, too.

As for the Coral Banded Shrimp, you may want to choose between the Coral Banded Shrimp (only one unless a mated pair), and the Peppermint and Cleaners. I don't have experience keeping a coral banded with either the pepps or skunk cleaners, but have read of aggression issues between them. I have had success keeping both the skunk cleaners and peppermints together.

With regards to the long spined urchin (Diadema sp). If you decide to go this route, then please find an urchin that is really small. From my own experience, Long Spined urchins get large fast, so in a 55 gallon they will out grow it eventually. The LS urchin in my 120 had a body the size of a baseball, and spines about 10 inches in length. Have you considered a blue tuxedo urchin?

For the brittle star, I suggest staying away from the Green Brittle (sometimes sold as serpent) star. They have been known to eat snails and hunt fish.

For your clean up critters, IMO, get a nice variety of snails. If you want to do hermits, then I like the scarlet hermits for their low incidence of aggression. Be sure to have some empty shells for your hermits (whatever varitey you choose) to upgrade in as they grow.

also if i get a maroon clown and put it with a percula what will happen?> can they form a pair ? if not, will they get along?

They will fight, and will not form a pair.

Hope this helps!

 

[syddakyd]

nah20, i thankyou for your time.


i will look for a different urchin and maybe will just get one coral banded shrimp and take the risk if it kills a fish


pincushin urchins seem to be good creatures. my ex has one in a 20 high and its doing really well. we feed it that dried sea weed plus the coralline it munches...

 

[NaH2O]

They are really cool urchins. I lost my huge Diadema urchin when we had the tank incident back in december, but I'm loving my blue tuxedo urchin. I also have another really tiny collector urchin of another species. Other than the fact I'll find the blue tuxedo carrying a frag now and then , I've been happy with it. When they munch on the coralline, it spores out and spreads even more.