Eisernes Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 I'm looking for recommendations for a good scavenger shrimp or crab (besides a hermit). It has to be reef safe and not bother fish or other inverts. I would like it to eat excess food and add a little diversity to the tank. Link to comment
Eisernes Posted August 24, 2011 Author Share Posted August 24, 2011 how big is your tank Oh I'm sorry. It's a 20 high. Link to comment
drunkenmonk21 Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 What fish and other inverts do you have in there atm? Link to comment
Eisernes Posted August 24, 2011 Author Share Posted August 24, 2011 What fish and other inverts do you have in there atm? I have a pair of clowns and a goby/pistol. I would like to have a trio of sexy shrimp one day as well. And there will be corals. Link to comment
krackerjacksna Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 My vote is a conch, but I think your tank is to small Link to comment
drunkenmonk21 Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 Tank is too small for a conch, a cleaner shrimp would work, mine works my live rock and sandbed looking for a meal all the time, he doesnt bother any coral and would clean any fish that wanted it You can also add a couple Porcelain crabs, they are Filter feeders but would pick up any small meaty item they can find too, so I hear. Link to comment
mndfreeze Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 I don't think a 20H is too small for a fighting conch. As long as its established and has a good large sand bed. Link to comment
spacemonk Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 A small fighting conch if your tank has been established (> 6 months). I don't think you don't need any sand inverts anymore I have 20H with 1" sand housing 8 ceriths, 5 nassarius, 2 tronchus, and 1 small fighting conch since last year. Fighting conch is much better in turning sand and entertaining to watch compared to ceriths. Link to comment
Linilou Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 A fighting conch would be perfect imho. I had one in a 20H for about a year, and a 7.5 for around 6 months before it died in a tank move. Best cleaner Ive ever had hands down, kept my sand pristine. Link to comment
altolamprologus Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 I have a pair of clowns and a goby/pistol. I would like to have a trio of sexy shrimp one day as well. And there will be corals. A cleaner shrimp would be a good choice, as would porcelain crabs. FWIW I used to have 4 sexy shrimp that hosted my hammer coral. I thought it was really neat until I found 1 munching on my monti digi. That was several months ago and there is still a huge spot on my monti that has no tissue from where the shrimp was eating it. Link to comment
Zer0 Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 Ya.. I have a conch in my tank and it keeps my sand sparkling white. Doesn't climb on the rocks either, or glass for that matter. Sticks to the sand, forever. I don't think you really need an established sandbed for a conch though.. just enough algae/detritus, whatever. Also, fighting conches eat other meaty foods as well, such as mysis, bring shrimp, the usual meaty foods you feed your tank/fish, so as long as you keep the tank fed, it should live a long time. They will get rather large though, so you best be having a decent sized sandbed. Link to comment
DaJMasta Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 A point of clarification, a cleaner shrimp is not really a scavenger invert. It will scavenge for food, but it will not clean a tank like dedicated detrivores and normal CUC members will. The 'cleaner' part of its name pertains to parasite removal on fish. I would say look into a smaller sea cucumber or smaller species of serpent starfish. It's not an invert, but a goby or blenny that sifts or moves around sand would help the sandbed stay white, though it wouldn't really be cleaning the tank at all. Link to comment
wartskin Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 I'm looking for recommendations for a good scavenger shrimp or crab (besides a hermit). It has to be reef safe and not bother fish or other inverts. I would like it to eat excess food and add a little diversity to the tank. I have a pair of clowns and a goby/pistol. I would like to have a trio of sexy shrimp one day as well. And there will be corals. +1 on the cleaner shrimp all around good to have Link to comment
caudill187 Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 1-2 large tongan nassarius snails would take care of extra food. Skunk Cleaners will outgrow the tank, but should be fine for a while. Peppermint shrimp would also do the job but if you plan on feeding your corals, the shrimps may make it difficult. Link to comment
Arkayology Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 Nass snails, pep or cleaner shrimp, or a conch would be a good fit to eat any excess food in your tank. I would look into the nass snails for an easy fix, though they are not really active until you feed the tank. Link to comment
TimeKeeper22 Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 Be careful with sexies. I have three in my pico and they bother my mushrooms and they basically killed my little bubbletip nem. Link to comment
Euphyllia Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 Bristle worms, spaghetti worms, stomatellas, etc. All of the most hated inverts. Link to comment
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