Compatibility question

[Reefer-begginer]

As I'm still stocking my 125g with a cuc, I was curious if I could do a fire shrimp(s), with a cleaner and sally lightfoot crab? 

Also wondering if I could do hairy legged hermits with the "common" hermit crabs?

[Tired]

Fire shrimp and cleaner shrimp can fight, but in a tank that size, they should leave each other alone. I don't suggest a sally lightfoot crab- they're opportunists, and may cause some trouble when they get bigger. 

 

Hermit species are generally OK with each other, as long as you aren't mixing super placid ones with more aggressive ones. Scarlet reef hermits, for example, shouldn't really go with other hermits.

[Reefer-begginer]

Just now, Tired said:

Fire shrimp and cleaner shrimp can fight, but in a tank that size, they should leave each other alone. I don't suggest a sally lightfoot crab- they're opportunists, and may cause some trouble when they get bigger. 

 

Hermit species are generally OK with each other, as long as you aren't mixing super placid ones with more aggressive ones. Scarlet reef hermits, for example, shouldn't really go with other hermits.

I already have a cleaner and sally lightfoot in my 125, I also have a coral banded shrimp, so im thinking either doing 1 more cleaner or just add a fire red shrimp and be done shrimp wise.

Hermits I wasn't aware could be aggressive, good to know though.

For scarlet reefs are they bigger than the common/hairy legged hermits as photos don't really show much difference?

[Tired]

If you already have two shrimp, one additional shrimp is probably a good limit. You want them to all have large territories, especially with the coral banded shrimp. Those can be very aggressive towards other shrimp and small fish, to the point of killing and eating them. Those big claws are for more than just show. 

 

I should be clearer: scarlet reef hermits are the placid ones. They're the least aggressive hermits you can easily get, and are easily bullied by everything, including smaller hermit species. They grow to inhabit a shell about walnut-sized. They shouldn't be put with most other hermits, as a general rule. It's not guaranteed to be an issue, but can definitely be one. As a general rule, if you have plenty of empty shells, other species of hermits can be mixed. 

[Reefer-begginer]

44 minutes ago, Tired said:

If you already have two shrimp, one additional shrimp is probably a good limit. You want them to all have large territories, especially with the coral banded shrimp. Those can be very aggressive towards other shrimp and small fish, to the point of killing and eating them. Those big claws are for more than just show. 

 

I should be clearer: scarlet reef hermits are the placid ones. They're the least aggressive hermits you can easily get, and are easily bullied by everything, including smaller hermit species. They grow to inhabit a shell about walnut-sized. They shouldn't be put with most other hermits, as a general rule. It's not guaranteed to be an issue, but can definitely be one. As a general rule, if you have plenty of empty shells, other species of hermits can be mixed. 

Ah that makes sense I would maybe keep 3- 4 shrimp in my 125 and the rest of the cuc be crabs and hermits

[Tired]

Shrimp aren't cleanup crew, they're decorative. Your cleanup crew should probably be mostly snails. Crabs are mostly scavengers, and hermit crabs are decent for filamentous algae and picking up loose food but not great for general algae-cleaning. If you want things to clean algae, eat detritus, and so on, you want snails. You also need snails to stir up your sandbed. 

 

Do you have something that might eat snails? If so, crabs and hermits are probably under threat, too. 

[Reefer-begginer]

48 minutes ago, Tired said:

Shrimp aren't cleanup crew, they're decorative. Your cleanup crew should probably be mostly snails. Crabs are mostly scavengers, and hermit crabs are decent for filamentous algae and picking up loose food but not great for general algae-cleaning. If you want things to clean algae, eat detritus, and so on, you want snails. You also need snails to stir up your sandbed. 

 

Do you have something that might eat snails? If so, crabs and hermits are probably under threat, too. 

True, I just want to get some bigger "cuc" esk members 

[Tired]

Halloween hermit crabs are pretty cool. You have to give them cone shells to move into (try ReefCleaners) as replacement shells, but they're large, attractive hermits. I plan on getting some when I have a tank big enough. 

 

If you'd like larger cleanup crew, a couple of bigger hermits, maybe a fighting conch, and maybe a chiton could be neat. Or an urchin, if you can find one that doesn't scratch acrylic- I don't remember which species do. 

 

Another thought: a decorator crab. Generally considered safe with other members of the aquarium, as long as you don't have tiny fish like gobies that they could go after. Which you shouldn't have anyway, since you have that banded shrimp in there to eat them. You'd just want to be sure to provide some sort of macroalgae for the crab to decorate itself with. 

[Reefer-begginer]

Just now, Tired said:

Halloween hermit crabs are pretty cool. You have to give them cone shells to move into (try ReefCleaners) as replacement shells, but they're large, attractive hermits. I plan on getting some when I have a tank big enough. 

 

If you'd like larger cleanup crew, a couple of bigger hermits, maybe a fighting conch, and maybe a chiton could be neat. Or an urchin, if you can find one that doesn't scratch acrylic- I don't remember which species do. 

 

Another thought: a decorator crab. Generally considered safe with other members of the aquarium, as long as you don't have tiny fish like gobies that they could go after. Which you shouldn't have anyway, since you have that banded shrimp in there to eat them. You'd just want to be sure to provide some sort of macroalgae for the crab to decorate itself with. 

I have 4 of those in my 36g tank ( or had them atleast, can't tell if they are dead but I also have a fighting tiger conch still ), I do wonder if I could do more than 1 chocolate starfish or different types of starfish in my 125. Like could I do a chocolate and a tiger serpent or sand sifter stars as well?

[Tired]

I think a chocolate chip star might eat the other starfish. They'll eat clams and corals, so I suspect they might eat another species of starfish if they could get on it. I don't know for sure. Brittle/serpent stars won't eat anything in particular, usually, but may go after fish and inverts if starved. You have to feed them pretty regularly. 

 

Sand sifting stars will strip all the beneficial fauna out of your sandbed and probably starve. A small one might do okay for awhile since you have a big tank, but an adult would have problems. 

[Reefer-begginer]

2 hours ago, Tired said:

I think a chocolate chip star might eat the other starfish. They'll eat clams and corals, so I suspect they might eat another species of starfish if they could get on it. I don't know for sure. Brittle/serpent stars won't eat anything in particular, usually, but may go after fish and inverts if starved. You have to feed them pretty regularly. 

 

Sand sifting stars will strip all the beneficial fauna out of your sandbed and probably starve. A small one might do okay for awhile since you have a big tank, but an adult would have problems. 

I would think the same, would I just do 2-3 chocolate stars then?

[Tired]

I don't know much about them. They get to be a pretty big animal, so just one would probably be good, since you'll have to feed them some decent-sized chunks of food. 

 

For future reference, you don't need to quote the posts right above yours, since it's pretty clear who you're talking to. 

[Reefer-begginer]

Ah, alright, I think the one I have is 4 inches and he devours half shelled clams pretty quickly if the foxface and coral beauty don't get to it first

[Tired]

You should probably stick with just him. Chocolate chip stars get a good eight inches across, don't they? More might work, but if I were you, I'd save my bioload for fish. If your bioload is still reasonable once you have all the fish you want and he's near full size, you could try more.

[Reefer-begginer]

1 hour ago, Tired said:

 

( ignore that ping ).

I would think my current stocking would work for what I'd want for my 125.

1x foxface

1x coral beauty

1x emperor angel

1x queen angel

1x scopias tang

1x yellow tang

1x sailfin tang

And maybe if I still have room, 1x regal angel

[Tired]

I would be kinda worried about a dwarf angel getting mauled by bigger angels. Also, emperor angels reach a bit over a foot, and queen angels can hit 18 inches, so I don't think either of those is suitable for a 125. More like 200-300. I'm pretty skeptical of a sailfin tang in a tank that size, and I think you may have some aggression problems with three tangs anyway. You might want to look into how people do housing these sorts of fish in that size tank. Bear in mind, someone having juveniles together doesn't tell you much about potential aggression issues or lack of swimming space when they hit adulthood. 

[Reefer-begginer]

Most of those are gonna go into a 300g 

[Tired]

OK, good. So why are we talking about a 125? 

 

Also, it's just a personal opinion, but I think tanks look best with a mixture of fish sizes. You might want to think about some medium-small fish that would work with your big fish. Maybe some cardinalfish? An anthias of some brand? Heck, a little yellowtail blue damsel would be a nice touch. 

[Reefer-begginer]

The 125 is what i have setup atm, i still gotta buy and setup the 300

[Tired]

I would suggest not buying any fish that won't be permanently happy in the 125. Even if you have solid plans to get a bigger tank, something can always happen. It's bad practice to buy fish for a tank you don't currently have, when they won't be able to live in your current tank permanently. 

[Reefer-begginer]

Are there any larger reef snails besides turbos I could get for glass cleanup?

[Tired]

Chitons aren't snails, but they serve a similar purpose, and some species are decent-sized. 

[Reefer-begginer]

I believe those are hard to keep are they not?

[Tired]

Not that I'm aware of. I think they can be a little delicate in shipping, but once you have them, they act like snails. I have several that came in as hitchhikers, so they survived being on curing live rock.