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Dave's 29 Gallon Oceanic Biocube


dbartkow

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I have a bunch of blue legged hermit crabs (10), some nassarius snails (3) I need a few more of them to stir up the substrate abit more.., and Banded Trochus snails (5) that do a decent job on the glass.

 

I will be getting the following though :

 

Mexican turbo snail - 1 MAYBE 2

Banded trochus - 5

Nassarius Snail - 4

Cleaner Shrimp - 1

 

I also may get a few more hermits of different colors just to add some variety to the tank.

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I picked up 10 snails from the lfs over the weekend. They have been doing a great job cleaning up my rock! I am amazed how much they have accomplished in 2 days.

 

I wanted to see how they did for a couple of days to make sure they survive. So far so good. I plan to get some Nassarius snails to stir up the sand next.

 

I am also interested in getting some shrimp and/or crabs. Anyone have any recommendations on what types? I heard some will eat my snails...

 

I checked the water parameters again and I Nitrates were up to 10ppm. So I a did about a 5 gallon water change over the weekend. I will test again today and see where I am at.

 

Dave

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If you are looking to add crabs/ shrimp, i suggest you get an emerald crab, i know loads of people are gonna flame me for this, but i love mine, he is so cool, people say they are vicious, but my one is scared of everything in my tank. But the only problem is they don't come out of the lair too often. For shrimp, i suggest you get a skunk cleaner shrimp, they are awesome looking, they have some really nice colours, and they are bold too. I have heard stories of them cleaning peoples hands when they are doing maintenance on the tank. I am going to get one soon.

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grink dude,

Why would people flame you for suggesting an Emerald Crab? What is the concern with them?

 

 

TEALCOBRA,

Have you had any problems with your hermit crabs going after your snails for their shells? I have been reading mixed things about this...

 

Thanks,

Dave

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people would flame me because a lot of people dont like emerald crabs, because they think they attack fish, but mine is really timid and i know it couldnt

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Yeah, unfortunately I have had some problems with that.... I will be going to a LFS this week to try to find some old shells that I can add to the tank to tide them over with fresh new "homes"........

 

UPDATE - I added five new shells to the tank that were slightly larger than the ones that the biggest hermit crabs had, and it was like a crab merry-go-round with the shell changing.... The larger ones moved into the new shells, then the next size ones went into the newly vacated shells, and then right on down the line.... now I have a bunch of small empty shells. HAHAHA

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dave, when are you thinking on adding a fish, and if so what are you adding. If you need suggestions, you should get a sixline wrasse, they are awesome, you can see mine with the clown in my signature below

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dave, when are you thinking on adding a fish, and if so what are you adding. If you need suggestions, you should get a sixline wrasse, they are awesome, you can see mine with the clown in my signature below

 

We are going to be traveling for Thanksgiving, so I am holding off until then. I didn't want to be away just after getting a new fish. Next week I am thinking of getting a false Percula clown.

 

I did pick up some other livestock. A couple of days ago I picked up 4 Nassarius snails and an Emerald Crab. I love the crab - he is enjoyable to watch...he just picks away at the rocks and cleans everything up. I am also amazed at what a great job all the snails have done cleaning up the tank. I will try and post some pictures in a little while.

 

Dave

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emeralds are so cool arent they. Does yours come out much?? i don't see mine much, i think he i s feeling vulnerable because he has lost one claw

 

He is usually in view but just a partial view. Yesterday he was out a lot in full view, but when I went to get the camera he got scared and went into hiding. So he is a little skiddish.

 

I am also thinking about getting a porcelin crab too. Do you know of any compatiblity concerns?

 

Dave

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You may want to look around on the forums before purchasing an emerald crab. Ive heard the females are less agressive than the males, so run a search on here and you will find out how to sex them. I use to have one, a male, he was great....

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  • 4 weeks later...

Wow, I have been busy and haven't been able to keep up with the forums. But, got some free time now while MNF is about to start.

 

Yes, I did get the Emerald Crab and he is great (yes it is a he - my kids named him Crabbie - real original, huh?). Many people have said they don't see theirs much, but this crab is out in the open 80% of the time. He doesn't like fast movements outside of the tank, but has no problem hanging out in full view. Here is a picture...sorry, need to get a better camera.

 

emerald_crab.jpg

 

Dave

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I have one in my 14g and he's an active little guy (or girl?). He's out in the open a lot and cruising around the rockwork. I like him (had one before) because they're fun to watch!

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I have one in my 14g and he's an active little guy (or girl?). He's out in the open a lot and cruising around the rockwork. I like him (had one before) because they're fun to watch!

 

Here is how you tell the gender of a crab:

http://www.lpsteamers.com/sex.html

 

I also added a couple of other things to the tank too. Here is a small frogspawn. Each branch is about the size of a nickel.

 

frogspawn.jpg

 

I also go a small ricordia mushroom.

 

ricordia.jpg

 

I am hoping they are going to do okay under the stock lighting. But I am prepared to upgrade, if needed.

 

Dave

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I did finally get a fish for my tank. But, I have decided to draw things out longer by putting him in a quarantine tank. I had a saltwater setup about 15 years ago and lost a lot of fish to Ich. So this time around I am going to take things slow and do the best I can to keep the bad things out of my display tank.

 

Here is my setup. It is a 15 gallon tank with small filter and a bunch fo pvc tubes for the fish to play/hide in.

 

QT_Tank.jpg

 

Here is a close-up of my new friend. The picture came out real poor.

 

clown.jpg

 

I have had him for about 2 weeks now at 1.010 SG. I plan to leave him in there for another 3 weeks. So far so good...he is been looking real healthy.

 

Dave

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