Can it handle the load?

Ezreal · Apr 13, 2019

I'm debating on getting an Emerald crab and 10 Baby Filtering Clams and 2 Cross Bared Venus Clams. https://www.reefcleaners.org/aquarium-store/other-inverts This is where I get my cleaners as they are based in FL so shipping is cheap and fast and their cleaners are HARDY as hell I been ordering from them for years. I still dose Reef Chilli and my rock clams are clearly doing well if they are reproducing... What do you guys think can my tank handle the bio load? I still do 5g water changes every other week with a full cleaning.

The tank is 14g cube retrofitted its been going strong for a good while now I have chaeto in a reverse cycle in the back along with ceramic bio filtration and carbon. I have a lot of snails though 1 nerite 2 nassarius 1 margarita 1 Florida Cerith 10 Dwarf Ceriths and some unknown number of tiny Zigzag Periwinkles probably about 8. Also a Hermit and a small Blue Devil Damsel.

Ezreal · Apr 13, 2019

I also wanted to get a Pepper Shrimp but I do not trust them anymore. I have had them shred apart some very expensive SPS and soft corals in the past.

I just love inverts. They are fascinating I do not ever plan on having more fish just oddball inverts and SPS NPS and Soft Corals. I really want to get my grubbies on a small decorator crab or an Arrow Crab but I don't totally trust Arrows either

Ezreal · Apr 13, 2019

OK add a decorator to that shopping list. I'm gonna cave. They are too fascinating not to get, keep in mind it will not be an arrow decorator so it wont feast on the filtering clams.

I genuinely could care less if it absconds with my zoas, just makes the little guy more interesting. I would care however if it snips apart a gorgonian in the future as they are kind of sensitive to snipping

Act1n1c_L1fe · Apr 13, 2019

Ezreal said:
OK add a decorator to that shopping list. I'm gonna cave. They are too fascinating not to get, keep in mind it will not be an arrow decorator so it wont feast on the filtering clams.

I genuinely could care less if it absconds with my zoas, just makes the little guy more interesting. I would care however if it snips apart a gorgonian in the future as they are kind of sensitive to snipping

a $5 crab over your corals. heck no, not in my tank anyways LOL

Ezreal · Apr 13, 2019

Act1n1c_L1fe said:
a $5 crab over your corals. heck no, not in my tank anyways LOL

Hehe. It's not like they kill the Zoas, they snip them off the rock and stick them to their shell and then when they molt they either get new ones and the zoas colonize what's left of the molt or they generally take the stuff they adorned themselves with and stick them on their new shell. They also grow on the crab. In the case of gorgonians if the gorg frag survives (assuming they take it which I haven't seen yet) it would do nicely on their back as they are scavengers and inadvertently feed the frag by getting food remnants on it and moving it all around the water column.

If I had some very pricey zoas that I wanted in one spot I would say probably don't get one but for me I have some nice but cheap zoas and I'm not bothered if they adorn a fascinating crab

Act1n1c_L1fe · Apr 13, 2019

Ezreal said:
Hehe. It's not like they kill the Zoas, they snip them off the rock and stick them to their shell and then when they molt they either get new ones and the zoas colonize what's left of the molt or they generally take the stuff they adorned themselves with and stick them on their new shell. They also grow on the crab. In the case of gorgonians if the gorg frag survives (assuming they take it which I haven't seen yet) it would do nicely on their back as they are scavengers and inadvertently feed the frag by getting food remnants on it and moving it all around the water column.

If I had some very pricey zoas that I wanted in one spot I would say probably don't get one but for me I have some nice but cheap zoas and I'm not bothered if they adorn a fascinating crab

I have a 20+ polyp colony of utter chaos zoas I don't need chopped up yet LOL... a crab walking around covered in those zoas would look pretty dang cool though

Ezreal · Apr 13, 2019

Act1n1c_L1fe said:
I have a 20+ polyp colony of utter chaos zoas I don't need chopped up yet LOL... a crab walking around covered in those zoas would look pretty dang cool though

As far as I'm aware they don't do a butcher job, they snip the polyp and not the base so the flesh will regrow a new polyp but I can understand. I would pay goooood money to have a crab with those chaos zoas. They almost look like palythoas they are so big.