Centerpiece invert for 5.5 gallon "pest" pico

[Chris's Fishes]

Hey guys,

 

Now that my pest tank has matured a bit (it's been up for 2-3 months), I'd like to add something other than CUC members. The tank was setup with a Wennerae or Smithii Mantis in mind, but honestly, I think maybe I'd like something (or some things) that are a bit more active and less shy that mantis shrimp. My peacock mantis was awesome, but I think I want something different after thinking about it for a while.

 

The tank has a very healthy population of bristle worms, pods, and other assorted fauna, but nothing that's out and about during the daytime other than a handful of hermit crabs and aiptasia.

 

Does anyone have any suggestions? I do have some macros that I'd rather not see eaten, but they can be moved if someone suggests a crab or something that just blows my mind.

[M. Tournesol]

A peacock mantis is too big for a 5.5 gallon.
Neogonodactylus wennerae or a Gonodactylus smithii is a good option for the size of your tank. My Gonodactylus smithii is very cryptic but since she came as a free "gift" from some liverock, I cannot complain. 

 

If you want an invert more active, you could go for a  small Banded Coral Shrimp ,ie Gold BCS or purple BCS (not sure if the tank is big enough).
A group of 3 sexy shrimp could also be a fun live stock.

 

For crab, In a 5.5 gallon, I can only think of pom pom crab.

[M. Tournesol]

You could also go for a Saron marmoratus. It's a cool shrimp that change colour at night. unfortunately, it's a cryptic shrimp.

@Snow_Phoenix have one in her tank:

 

[Chris's Fishes]

6 hours ago, M. Tournesol said:

A peacock mantis is too big for a 5.5 gallon.
Neogonodactylus wennerae or a Gonodactylus smithii is a good option for the size of your tank. My Gonodactylus smithii is very cryptic but since she came as a free "gift" from some liverock, I cannot complain. 

 

If you want an invert more active, you could go for a  small Banded Coral Shrimp ,ie Gold BCS or purple BCS (not sure if the tank is big enough).
A group of 3 sexy shrimp could also be a fun live stock.

 

For crab, In a 5.5 gallon, I can only think of pom pom crab.

The Peacock Mantis was never in the 5.5 - she had a 55. As I mentioned, I'm not really looking for a mantis for this tank after more consideration.

 

I was really hoping to stick to the pest theme more than a Coral Banded Shrimp or Pom-Pom Crab.

[Snow_Phoenix]

35 minutes ago, Chris's Fishes said:

The Peacock Mantis was never in the 5.5 - she had a 55. As I mentioned, I'm not really looking for a mantis for this tank after more consideration.

 

I was really hoping to stick to the pest theme more than a Coral Banded Shrimp or Pom-Pom Crab.

How about a eunicid worm with some majano nems...? 🤔

[Merthynia]

What about a gaudy clown crab from reef cleaners? You’d have to supply some palys/zoas to munch on.

[Chris's Fishes]

3 hours ago, Snow_Phoenix said:

How about a eunicid worm with some majano nems...? 🤔

As cool as that would be, I've yet to be able to actually find any majanos (even after looking and offering to pay shipping costs for people who find them...). Eunicids are cool, but probably wouldn't be very active, I'd imagine. Great suggestion, though! I'd totally buy some Majanos, for the record.

 

2 hours ago, Merthynia said:

What about a gaudy clown crab from reef cleaners? You’d have to supply some palys/zoas to munch on.

That's actually a great suggestion - I thought that they were more like Calico crabs in size, but apparently they only get around an inch. Very cool! Reefcleaner's says that they'll eat other proteins as well - would they need a constant supply of polyps, or could I feed a more traditional meaty food and just supplement with paly frags from sales and other tanks every so often? Any personal experience?

[Merthynia]

7 hours ago, Chris's Fishes said:

As cool as that would be, I've yet to be able to actually find any majanos (even after looking and offering to pay shipping costs for people who find them...). Eunicids are cool, but probably wouldn't be very active, I'd imagine. Great suggestion, though! I'd totally buy some Majanos, for the record.

 

That's actually a great suggestion - I thought that they were more like Calico crabs in size, but apparently they only get around an inch. Very cool! Reefcleaner's says that they'll eat other proteins as well - would they need a constant supply of polyps, or could I feed a more traditional meaty food and just supplement with paly frags from sales and other tanks every so often? Any personal experience?

I do not have any personal experience sadly. I imagine that would work out fine. Get some of the pink and gold palys, they replicate like pests anyway! Haha

[Snow_Phoenix]

If I'm not mistaken, @Tamberav had a gaudy clown crab that munched on palys. 🤔

 

It was a very cool critter. Very colorful too. 😊

[Chris's Fishes]

It seems that Reefcleaner's only has the Clown Crab in seasonally, so I'll have to wait around and hope one comes in stock. I think we have a winner, though!

[M. Tournesol]

14 hours ago, Chris's Fishes said:

It seems that Reefcleaner's only has the Clown Crab in seasonally, so I'll have to wait around and hope one comes in stock. I think we have a winner, though!

👍, this could give you time to build up the zoanthids and palythoas colonies.

[Merthynia]

On 12/25/2021 at 7:34 PM, Chris's Fishes said:

It seems that Reefcleaner's only has the Clown Crab in seasonally, so I'll have to wait around and hope one comes in stock. I think we have a winner, though!

I’m excited to see another one will be appearing here on nano-reef!