FOWLR Tank Cleaners?

[Stang408]

Hey all! I just got a picasso trigger and dog faced puffer. My predicament is that I want to add some tank cleaners to eat detritus and also stir up the sand bed but I'm afraid the trigger and puffer will demolish all inverts. Any suggestions? Thanks!

 

[Grouperhead]

I've successfully kept small 'cortez' hermits with my undy. They are too small for her to eat (most around .5"-.75") so she really just leaves them alone. I also have some turbo snails that she doesn't bother. Get a handful of small hermits and see how they do. If you have enough liverock for them to hide in during the day, they will probably be ok.

 

[predator 1]

I wouldn't bother with inverts, your Arothron will definitely eat them. If they try to hide in your rock, it will destroy the rock to get to them.

 

[LisaD]

I live within a few hours drive of the North Carolina Coast. Over a year ago, I found a good sized hermit crab in a tulip snail shell and added it to my tank. It has survived just fine with a trigger, puffers, harlequin tuskfish, grouper and two eels (including a zebra moray). My puffers are a dogface and porc.

Just got back from the beach on Saturday. On the way out, I stopped at the same marina in Swansboro, NC, and collected a half dozen more. So far, the greatest threat has been the hermit crabs fighting each other over shells. They seem to like REALLY oversize shells.

Since they cost me nothing, this was a low risk experiment. I'm not sure of the species of crab, but they are definitely not reef safe. But they make great cleaners and have shown no aggression toward sleeping fish.

 

[Stang408]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13185209#post13185209 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by predator 1
I wouldn't bother with inverts, your Arothron will definitely eat them. If they try to hide in your rock, it will destroy the rock to get to them.

What if the hermit crabs or snails are too big for the puffer to eat? Would they still be picked on? My dogface is only 2 inches in length. My picasso is about 5 inches.

 

[Grouperhead]

With my undy, the smaller the hermits the better. I tried several sizes, and all of them got picked off sooner or later except the smallest bluelegs and cortez. They do a great job on algae control, and come out at night like clockwork.

 

[Stang408]

k. I'll see about adding small hermit crabs. Are there any special needs these invertebrates need? I read somewhere that you need to add calcium and iodine for some/all inverts?

 

[Recty]

Nah, if you do regular water changes with a reputable salt mix, like Instant Ocean for example, you wont need to add anything extra to your water.

The biggest reason people dose calcium or iodine is when they have lots of inverts in a tank which can deplete the supplies. If you're running a FOWLR with just some hermit crabs and snails, you will be totally fine.

 

[reefer334]

The best FOWLR clean up crew is YOU!!!


LOL!!!!

SORRY I had to.


Chris

 

[Stang408]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13192209#post13192209 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Recty
Nah, if you do regular water changes with a reputable salt mix, like Instant Ocean for example, you wont need to add anything extra to your water.

The biggest reason people dose calcium or iodine is when they have lots of inverts in a tank which can deplete the supplies. If you're running a FOWLR with just some hermit crabs and snails, you will be totally fine.

Ok, cool. That's one less thing I need to worry about.

 

[Stang408]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13192475#post13192475 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by reefer334
The best FOWLR clean up crew is YOU!!!


LOL!!!!

SORRY I had to.


Chris

Are you saying I eat detritus??? LOL

J/K!

I know cleaning the sand and doing water changes is something I'll have to do from time to time but in between those times I'd like a little janitorial help from a clean up crew.

 

[bluedevils32701]

i would just clean the sand ....hermits and snails will be snacks