Brittle Star vs. Hermit Crabs

[ReeferNoob4ever]

I have more questions! :lolspin:

I want to put a brittle star in my tank. I know it will scavenge the live rock, but will it also get the substrate?

If so I won't put in hermit crabs. If not, can anyone suggest something that cleans the substrate surface really well that works with soft corals and is not a crab?

I'm inclined to pass putting crabs in my tank in exchange for a brittle star and sea urchin.

 

[Crooked Reef]

Yellow Sea cucumber. There are reports of them dieing and nuking a tank and stories of them dieing and everything being fine. My personal story is that my main pump went out, mine died, and I lost fish. A coral beauty, firefish, yellow and purple wrasse and tail spot goby? Can't remember the actual name on that one. I lost the fish over a period of two days. It took me that long to realize the cucumber was dead and find him. The only fish I had left were a pair of clowns, which had a rough couple of days and my inverts lived.

I can't say what killed the cucumber, if it was related to the main pump going out or not. I can't say if something else nuked the tank. All I can say is that the main pump went out, I didn't get a new one because we were moving in a few weeks and had more stuff going on and was just going to run sumpless until the move. I can say that I was lazy and didn't move the reactors up to the display. No biopellets moved, no skimmer running, no carbon, no gfo. Just circulation in the tank and a powerhead for surface agitation. Totally my fault the tank crashed, but I can't say if the cucumber nuked the tank or if it was all a coincidence because I did a horrible job watching my tank.

 

[Crooked Reef]

Brittle stars may clean some of the substrate, but not much. They would rather eat whatever you feed the tank.

 

[ReeferNoob4ever]

I actually don't plan on feeding the tank at all except phytoplankton.

 

[ReeferNoob4ever]

I don't want my inhabitants to starve, therefore I don't want any of them competing over food. I may put in a hermit crab to take care of the substrate before it falls into it and decays. I like inverts that eat the stuff produced by the tank itself.

 

[ReeferNoob4ever]

Just out of curiosity, if a hermit crab outgrows his shell and there is nothing to replace it will he just around bare?