Too many Inverts? Advice?

[48hughey]

I have a 29g DT with a 10g sump that I started about 7 months ago (first ever tank). I am finding myself wanting a lot of inverts, but I am concerned about having too much in such a small tank.

Currently:
* Lawnmower Blenny
* Firefish
plus
* Cleaner shrimp
* Tiger Conch
* 2 x scarlet reef hermits
* Handful of astrea snails

Wants:
* Tuxedo urchin
* Banded serpent star
* Porcelain crab
* at least one more fish

Is the list of wants too much? Any ideas for a reef safe fish to round out the list?

 

[48hughey]

Wants:
* Tuxedo urchin
* Banded serpent star
* Porcelain crab
* at least one more fish

For the fish, I want something that will swim higher in the water column. My Blenny stays on the rock/sand bed and the firefish tends to hang out near the lower third of the tank.

 

[AdamNC]

Gonna need something for your sand. Some Nassarius Snails are small and do a good job. The only time you will see them is when you feed and it looks like zombies rising from the grave as they all come out.

 

[Jmas4]

There isn't too much risk of keeping to many inverts. But in case you feel like they are not getting suffient food you can always give a piece of nori for the herbivore and 1 pellet for the carnivores.

 

[48hughey]

Gonna need something for your sand. Some Nassarius Snails are small and do a good job. The only time you will see them is when you feed and it looks like zombies rising from the grave as they all come out.

I had some Nassarius as part of my initial CUC, but they all died. All other fish/inverts have been happy and healthy. Never saw a spike in any parameters that would indicate why they died either. That’s why I got the tiger conch.

 

[Instigate]

I had some Nassarius as part of my initial CUC, but they all died. All other fish/inverts have been happy and healthy. Never saw a spike in any parameters that would indicate why they died either. That’s why I got the tiger conch.

Have you checked for stray voltage in the water?

 

[skysoblue987]

Urchins eat coralline algae. Porcelain crab are opportunistic and might eat coral.

You might want to read more about them.

 

[48hughey]

Urchins eat coralline algae. Porcelain crab are opportunistic and might eat coral.

You might want to read more about them.

Urchins also eat hair algae, no? I’ve been battling a hair algae outbreak for 3 months with little success (lawnmower blenny won’t touch the stuff, manual removal, GFO, added the sump/refugium, reduced already light feeding schedule, cut back on lights). I started the tank with dry Pukani, so I’m thinking this will continue for some time regardless of my efforts. I’d rather lose the little coraline I have if it means the hair algae goes away.

Everything I have read about the porcelain crabs is that they are as close to reef safe as you can get in a crab. Any crab will become opportunistic if not well fed.

 

[48hughey]

Have you checked for stray voltage in the water?

No. Hadn’t even considered that since all other creatures are well.

 

[SashimiTurtle]

Urchins will go for coraline before hair algae. My pin coushion does. Soft red macro is like candy tho... ate a display fuge full of the stuff in a few weeks. It's in the frag tank because it pulls everything it can loose from the rock and drops it in the sand, or behind a rock. Little bulldozer....

 

[Instigate]

No. Hadn’t even considered that since all other creatures are well.

I would at least check. I had a bad jbj ato that was leaking a full 120v into the tank. Of course I don't know for sure if that's what killed off most of my nassarius snails but as soon as I replaced it I noticed more of the remaining snails coming out durring feedings and were more active. So I don't know for sure but the evidence would suggest that it was the stray voltage killing my nassarius snails. And my cleaner shrimp were completely uneffected. I didn't loose any trochus but if they slowed down it would be hard to notice.