Going to LFS for CUC. Any tips?

[Dark_Knightt]

I am going to my LFS this weekend for the first time in a while, Ontario has been in lockdown for about a month now (just over), and my nearest LFS is 1h away, but I am finally going this weekend. * keep in mind i am 15 and cant drive yet * Ive been meaning to buy something to tackle the GHA outbreak I've been having, and maybe even buy another fish, since I only have my 2 clowns right now. May some zoas who knows.
Tell me what you think, Im not buying all of these they are just ideas for things I would like to get (tank is 20g):
- pincushion urchin, ive heard they are excellent algae eaters and I simply think they are very cool.
- Maybe a banded serpent starfish for my sandbed, or any other starfish.
- Maybe a blood shrimp, I previously had a skunk cleaner and I love the personalities shrimp bring to the tank. Do blood cleaners behave and have the same care requirements as the skunk cleaners?
- If not the starfish then maybe 2-3 nassarius snails.
- I would like maybe a pair of pyjama cardinals, would a pair of those work in a 20g with clowns?
- Maybe a yellowtail damsel, I would like a fish that swims out in the open. ( ^^^ are cardinals fish that swim out in the open?) My clownfish are always hiding in their little cave so I would like something that swims around the upper/mid areas of the tank.
Please leave any suggestions for fish or CUC.

Thanks #reefsquad

 

[Specific Ocean]

a few nassarius snails
some hermits
cerith snails
emerald crab (with caution)

 

[Mastiffsrule]

Hi,

Congrats on finally getting out for a trip. A trip to the LFS can be just what the DR. Ordered for a little fun. A good basis for CuC would be a snail or 2, or 3. I love blue legs, but they can attack snails for their shells so be careful when mixing. As mentioned emeralds are good, but my experience is they are not first choice for general CuC unless you have a large supply of bubble algae.

See what they have. I would say snails first. I like limpets and Cerriths.

Get the right crew and train them right ;Happy

 

[saltyhog]

I'm a big fan of trochus snails. Only one I know of that can right themselves without help. They also can reproduce pretty well in our tanks. Blood shrimp care is virtually identical to skunk cleaner shrimp. They are a little more shy than cleaner shrimp though.

Starfish are not a significant part of the clean up crew IMO and those that are more ornamental are very difficult to keep long term. Brittle stars are easy but mainly nocturnal so you don't see them much. Pajama cardinals kind of just "hang out" not active swimmers. Yellow tail and Azure damsels are among the least aggressive damsels but they are still damsels (as are clowns). In a small tank they may not allow other fish to be added after them.

 

[Dark_Knightt]

I'm a big fan of trochus snails. Only one I know of that can right themselves without help. They also can reproduce pretty well in our tanks. Blood shrimp care is virtually identical to skunk cleaner shrimp. They are a little more shy than cleaner shrimp though.

Starfish are not a significant part of the clean up crew IMO and those that are more ornamental are very difficult to keep long term. Brittle stars are easy but mainly nocturnal so you don't see them much. Pajama cardinals kind of just "hang out" not active swimmers. Yellow tail and Azure damsels are among the least aggressive damsels but they are still damsels (as are clowns). In a small tank they may not allow other fish to be added after them.

Understood, I do like the yellowtails, plus they cost like $10 so thats nice

 

[Dark_Knightt]

Oops sorry clicked reply about 3 times.

 

[Dark_Knightt]

I'm a big fan of trochus snails. Only one I know of that can right themselves without help. They also can reproduce pretty well in our tanks. Blood shrimp care is virtually identical to skunk cleaner shrimp. They are a little more shy than cleaner shrimp though.

Starfish are not a significant part of the clean up crew IMO and those that are more ornamental are very difficult to keep long term. Brittle stars are easy but mainly nocturnal so you don't see them much. Pajama cardinals kind of just "hang out" not active swimmers. Yellow tail and Azure damsels are among the least aggressive damsels but they are still damsels (as are clowns). In a small tank they may not allow other fish to be added after them.

I think I'll go with a few more hermits, an urchin, the blood shrimp, and some nassarius snails. I just remembered my margaritas bred about a month ago so now I have about 40 baby margaritas that I am going to probably have to sell soon. On the bright side my blue legs will have plenty of shells if they need them. Therefore also food... Also, can I keep blue leg hermits with red leg? I think it would be cool to add some red legged ones, have a bit of contrast.

 

[AnotherReefHobbyist]

I would stay well away from pajama cardinals, I had a pair in a 20, they were always hiding in the rockwork, and when you did seen them they were so dull it took some looking to find them even out in the open.

they also struggled with even medium flow......

 

[JumboShrimp]

If you see a Florida Fighting Conch, buy it.

 

[Dark_Knightt]

I would stay well away from pajama cardinals, I had a pair in a 20, they were always hiding in the rockwork, and when you did seen them they were so dull it took some looking to find them even out in the open.

they also struggled with even medium flow......

Ok I think I'll go with the damsel. I truly would like a longnose hawkfish or more clownfish, but the hawkfish arent always reef safe and there will obviously be lots of aggression from my current clowns right? Would it work if I added like, 3 new clowns?

 

[HockeyRooster]

Keep it at two clownfish. As mentioned above add nassarius snails and a conch!

 

[Rjmul]

Don't overlook mollies. I would get a tuxedo urchin some snails and some mollies

 

[Kongar]

a few nassarius snails
some hermits
cerith snails
emerald crab (with caution)

This is almost what I have in my 20G and it's perfect. I have three nassarius snails, they turn the sand good. 2 hermits and the emerald crab destroy any algae that get too long for the snails. I have the tiny cerith snails, and they are the workhorses of the tank IMO. They breed like crazy too. In addition I have one trochus and one nerite snail. They tend to roam the glass and eat film algae. I think I've hit a good balance with this crew. They might be a just a bit too much, but no big deal - I just throw a little extra pellet food in and the crabs go nuts for it. Once and a while I go out of my way to feed my 3 nassarius snails as well. Usually throw in a bit extra mysis, turn the pumps off, and let it settle to the bottom. They roam around and gobble it all up.

 

[Specific Ocean]

This is almost what I have in my 20G and it's perfect. I have three nassarius snails, they turn the sand good. 2 hermits and the emerald crab destroy any algae that get too long for the snails. I have the tiny cerith snails, and they are the workhorses of the tank IMO. They breed like crazy too. In addition I have one trochus and one nerite snail. They tend to roam the glass and eat film algae. I think I've hit a good balance with this crew. They might be a just a bit too much, but no big deal - I just throw a little extra pellet food in and the crabs go nuts for it. Once and a while I go out of my way to feed my 3 nassarius snails as well. Usually throw in a bit extra mysis, turn the pumps off, and let it settle to the bottom. They roam around and gobble it all up.

Precisely. Turn off the pumps, let the food settle and give those critters a chance

 

[amazongb]

Not a snail expert by any means.. I have a variety and the Trochus do hang out on the glass, but if the glass is clean, they clean frag plugs and rock work. My nerites always escape (I have no lid) and I have to locate them and put them back in the tank - seems they can stay out of water a long time and survive, but are good cleaners as well.

 

[garbled]

I refuse to use any astrea or turbo snails anymore. Nothing but trochus and cerith for me. I do also use nassarius and conches, but I have a DSB. Astrea always end up falling off a rock and dying. The trochus will self-right, and even move across the sand from rock to rock. Turbos are just bulldozers, except they get massive, and then fall off a rock, and pollute the whole tank. Nassarius don't eat algae. They eat dead things. So if a snail dies in the night, or a fish, or some extra food lands on the bottom where the fish don't find it, the nassarius clean it up for you. If you see a true nassarius eating a clam, or another snail, it's because it was already dead.

When I had a glass tank, I was super happy with my tuxedo urchin. I know that people say they eat coralline, and yes, that's true. But I remember reading a study once eons ago that showed when they eat the coralline, it actually promotes growth of it, because they scrape the rock down so far when eating algae, it exposes fresh rock, which is ideal for coralline to populate. I certainly never had a lack of coralline in the tank that had one. They are really great grazers. If my tank wasn't acrylic I'd have 2-3 in there. (their jaws will destroy acrylic, so if you have an acrylic tank, just don't)

I think I remember reading once that a hermit crab's territory is about 1 sq meter, so, 1 per tank.

 

[xxkenny90xx]

if my tank wasn't acrylic I'd have 2-3 in there. (their jaws will destroy acrylic, so if you have an acrylic tank, just don't)

Have you experienced this yourself? I've heard the same rumors but I kept a tuxedo in my acrylic tank for a year and a half and it never damaged the acrylic

 

[garbled]

Have you experienced this yourself? I've heard the same rumors but I kept a tuxedo in my acrylic tank for a year and a half and it never damaged the acrylic

I haven't but I'm not willing to risk it. I've seen photos of them leaving trails across the front.

 

[X-37B]

Astrea snails have worked best for me at keeping algae at bay in my 120. 1 per 2 gallons. I have over 60 in my 1.5 year old 120 with no algae.
They do need to be righted when they turn over.
I add maybe 10 every 2 months to keep the population up.

 

[Dark_Knightt]

I refuse to use any astrea or turbo snails anymore. Nothing but trochus and cerith for me. I do also use nassarius and conches, but I have a DSB. Astrea always end up falling off a rock and dying. The trochus will self-right, and even move across the sand from rock to rock. Turbos are just bulldozers, except they get massive, and then fall off a rock, and pollute the whole tank. Nassarius don't eat algae. They eat dead things. So if a snail dies in the night, or a fish, or some extra food lands on the bottom where the fish don't find it, the nassarius clean it up for you. If you see a true nassarius eating a clam, or another snail, it's because it was already dead.

When I had a glass tank, I was super happy with my tuxedo urchin. I know that people say they eat coralline, and yes, that's true. But I remember reading a study once eons ago that showed when they eat the coralline, it actually promotes growth of it, because they scrape the rock down so far when eating algae, it exposes fresh rock, which is ideal for coralline to populate. I certainly never had a lack of coralline in the tank that had one. They are really great grazers. If my tank wasn't acrylic I'd have 2-3 in there. (their jaws will destroy acrylic, so if you have an acrylic tank, just don't)

I think I remember reading once that a hermit crab's territory is about 1 sq meter, so, 1 per tank.

Excellent. Im really likin the urchins, I have a huge GHA problem to the point where I will manually remove it but it regrows by the time the water change is over. Will they knock over corals? And do they go in the sandbed/on the glass?