Adding inverts

[Demoe]

Tank is cycled. First fish are in, a pair of clowns. Should I add any hermit crabs to eat any food that hits the ground? Trying not to over feed but I see some hitting the bottom and the fish not eating it.

 

[Dan_P]

Tank is cycled. First fish are in, a pair of clowns. Should I add any hermit crabs to eat any food that hits the ground? Trying not to over feed but I see some hitting the bottom and the fish not eating it.

Probably unnecessary. This is contrary to hobby convention, but little bits of food can be consumed bacteria and other tiny aquarium creatures. Unless there are large chunks of leftover food, skip the CUC. I feel most are destined to starve to death anyway.

 

[Demoe]

Thanks for the response. I’ll hold off then. When should I add some inverts?

 

[LeannaBanana]

I'm not an expert, nor do I play one on TV, but I personally love a CUC. I typically add mine to a new tank after the first algae bloom (for me it's almost always diatoms). But I DO go against recommendations. If something says, "Oh for a 26 gal tank we recommend 456 critters," I go for at least half, sometimes 1/4 of the recommended stock. You can also dial into CUC that you find fun/interesting and/or that you don't need to babysit given your long-term tank goals. (e.g. - grab reef safe crew or prefer snails that don't need to be flipped over, etc) There's also no shame in tossing an algae wafer or nori into the tank as needed.

 

[Dan_P]

Thanks for the response. I’ll hold off then. When should I add some inverts?

When there is something to eat like algae fir herbivores or dirty sand fir omnivores, otherwise feed them. Feeding them does not stop them from doing their jobs.