Help me with my Fish List and Clean-up Crew...

[gofor100]

Alright...

So I've finally filled my tank with LR, sand and water... and now just waiting for the cycle to begin and end. So I figure since I can't really do anything interesting with the tank, I might as well talk about what I'll be doing once the cycle is done.

To give you some background, my plan is to set this 60 gallon up as a SPS dominated (with a few clams) tank. I've currently got about 100+ lbs LR and a DSB that ranges from 4 to 6 inches (depending on where the powerheads' current is blowing).

So here's where I need some help/suggestions...

#1) Clean-up crew:

I usually try to stay away from hermit crabs and pretty much all other crabs since they may pose a problem to a few of the fish/inverts I'll list below, but I was definitely thinking of various snails (maybe a few turbos and astreas- since those are what I've used before). But if anyone has any additional snails they would recommend, certainly feel free to provide your recommendations and why you recommend them.

I was also interested in adding a fighting conch (or two) to clean and turnover the sand bed, and have only heard good things about them, but have never had one. Anyone have any good/bad experiences?

Thanks for your help on this!

 

[gofor100]

#2) And now for the Fish list (I've been mulling over a few ideas) and the order I list them is the order I was thinking of adding them to the tank:

Option A:
> Randall's Shrimp Goby (with Tiger Pistol Shrimp paired)- love the symbiotic relationship of these two
> Neon Goby: like their ability to clean tank-mates of parasites, but also their splash of blue color to the tank (not sure of their life-span though... if they are normally short-lived, then I'll look at something else)
> Orchid Dottyback: love their splash of color, but not sure if it would be too aggressive with the other fish (although I have read that they are one of the calmer of the dottyback family)
> Starry Blenny: love their personalities and understated beauty
> Sunburst Anthias: another splash of color that I've kept before and thought added a lot to my tank

Option B:
> Randall's Shrimp Goby (with Tiger Pistol Shrimp paired)- see above
> Neon Goby: ditto
> Purple Firefish: splash of color that I could put instead of the dottyback of people think the dottyback might be too aggressive
> Starry Blenny: see above
> Dwarf Angelfish: not sure which one and whether or not I'll go with one since, although I've kept a Flame Angel with LPS/Softies before, this is the first time I would be keeping it with SPS and clams. Any suggestions would be great... if not Angelfish, I'll probably just revert back to the Anthias or anything else that you guys might suggest that would add some color to the tank.

Thanks again for your help!!!

 

[gofor100]

Don't all answer at once...

 

[gofor100]

What if I said that I want to put 2 hippo tangs, a Picasso Trigger, and a Bamboo shark... would that get some feedback???

 

[HomeSlizzice]

I don't have first hand experience with everything you've asked, but here is my opinion.

Fish wise, I'd go with option B, I'd keep the angel ( depends on what you want, so give me some angels you like, I personally like all angels, but I'd only do one ) and put the SunBurst Anthias in the mix also. You IMO would be fine on the bioload.

As far as clean up crew, I think a good amount of astrias, and a few turbos (or substitute the turbos for a Blue Tuxedo Urchin for something a little different than just snails), and probably about two fighting conches.

Hope that helps

P.S. I noticed we're both from SoCal!

 

[TP123]

How about a few smaller nassarius instead of the conches? They should be less likely to deplete the DSB.

 

[Beaun]

Here is what I have in my 65g mixed reef, maybe it will give you an idea.

Blk Oc. Clown pair
Chalk Bass
Pygmy Cherub Angel (C. argi)
Sunburst/Fathead Anthias
Possum Wrasse
Yellow and Purple Wrasse (H. leucoxanthus)

 

[anbosu]

I wouldn't put an urchin in a reef tank again, I had one in mine and it liked to pick up the frags and carry them all over the tank.

 

[Beaun]

Blue hermits shouldnt be an issue, they are really good for a CUC.

 

[gofor100]

Thanks everyone for your responses... it was like Christmas morning when I logged on to find actual feedback

Home Slizzice: nice to find a local SoCal reefer... I'm just down in South Orange County (Mission Viejo). I was definitely thinking of one of the dwarf angels... probably the standard Flame Angel, Coral Beauty, or maybe one of the Pygymy Angels (i.e., Flameback or Cherub). I was just concerned about the potential for picking at clam mantles... If I could do that along with a Sunburst Anthias, that would definitely add a lot color and activity to the tank. In regards to the clean-up crew, I actually was thinking of lowering the number of snails I get and adding the Blue Tuxedo as well (I've had one before, and they seem to do okay with frags as long as you secure them pretty well). Thanks again for the feedback!

TP123: I thought the opposite (and I might be wrong)... that the nassarius snails deplete the DSB more than the fighting conch... anyone know which assumption is correct???

Beaun: I like your list... I was thinking of some wrasses, but since I wasn't sure which option I was going with, I wasn't sure if they would get along with the firefish... plus, although I have a canopy, it has an open back, and I know all wrasses seem to like carpet surfing. I might be able to remedy that though by putting some type of mesh covering on the back of the canopy to still allow for airflow, but keep all of the fish in the tank.

And about the Blue Hermits... nobody has had bad experiences with them? I'm always weary about adding hermits of any kind because I fear that they might turn on some of the bottom dwelling fish (specifically the Randall's Shrimp Goby and maybe his pistol shrimp partner).

Thanks again everyone for your feedback... keep it coming!!!

 

[zsqure]

had a turbo, got stuck in a rock crevice and i couldn't get to it and it never moved from there again. It did a nice job of cleaning the sand.

 

[TP123]

TP123: I thought the opposite (and I might be wrong)... that the nassarius snails deplete the DSB more than the fighting conch... anyone know which assumption is correct???

You may be correct, Conches are MUCH larger though. That was my main concern.

If you do get nassarius, go with just a few of the smaller varieties.

 

[Beaun]

Beaun: I like your list... I was thinking of some wrasses, but since I wasn't sure which option I was going with, I wasn't sure if they would get along with the firefish... plus, although I have a canopy, it has an open back, and I know all wrasses seem to like carpet surfing. I might be able to remedy that though by putting some type of mesh covering on the back of the canopy to still allow for airflow, but keep all of the fish in the tank.

The Possum Wrasse that I have (Wetmorella nigropinnata) has never even shown interest in the top of the tank. It is very, very, very mellow and usually hangs out near the rocks. It is one of my favorite, even though it isnt out in the open all the time. No other fish even look twice at it as far as aggressive issues go.

 

[gofor100]

So it looks like the clean up crew might look something like the following:

> 2-3 Turbo Snails
> 4-6 Astreas
> 1 Blue Tuxedo Sea Urchin (probably won't get one of these until I have more coralline algae, since they seem to eat some of that as well)
> 1 Fighting Conch or 2 Nasserius Snails (whichever one has less of an impact on the microfauna in the sandbed)
> Possibly some Blue Hermits, but I've heard that hermits (not sure if blue hermits are one of them) will sometimes go after snails and pretty much any other slow moving animal in the tank if they are not getting enough food. Any good/bad experiences with these types of Hermits???

I'm thinking that the above list should take care of keeping the rock/sandbed clean since I'm of the opinion that it is better to start out small and add more to the crew if needed later... any other suggestions?

And does anyone else know who depletes the DSB more/faster/at all... Fighting Conch vs. Nassarius Snails???

 

[gofor100]

As far as the fish list goes... here's a revised list in the order I would place them:

> Randall's Shrimp Goby (along with paired tiger pistol shrimp)
> Neon Goby (or maybe a pair of these)- still not sure if they have long/short/medium life spans. If they are not that long-lived, they might just be removed from the list.
> Orchid Dottyback: can anyone confirm that the "tamest dottyback" will be tame enough for the fish included in this list?
> Starry Blenny
> Sunburst Anthias
> Maybe one of the Dwarf or Pygmy Angels, but still a little hesitant since I'm keeping clams. I might just do without this last fish altogether since I'm trying to keep somewhat of a medium-light load, but I can be swayed...

I know I'll get about 50% of the people say that Dwarf/Pygmy Angels should be fine, and 50% say that they aren't... decisions, decisions...

 

[gofor100]

My personal thought on the Dwarf and Pygmy Angels (or at least when I had my Flame Angel), is that as long as you feed them sufficiently (which is more than just once per day, which is what most seem to feed to keep their water quality good), they seem to leave everything alone.

But like I said, I've never kept one with clams, so I'm not sure if those are more tempting than the LPS that I was keeping with my Flame. Are there any particular type of clams they seem to go for more than others (I've heard they may go for the greener colored clams than other, but not sure how true that is)?

 

[palmer373]

And about the Blue Hermits... nobody has had bad experiences with them? I'm always weary about adding hermits of any kind because I fear that they might turn on some of the bottom dwelling fish (specifically the Randall's Shrimp Goby and maybe his pistol shrimp partner).

yesterday i watched my hermits (blueleg and all types) kill and eat a snail and then have 1 of the hermits (the biggest) move into the newly made home.

 

[gofor100]

Thanks Palmer... I'm thinking that I'll stay away from hermits for that very reason

Any other thoughts on the Fish list or Clean-up Crew???

I'll probably put the dottyback in after the Anthias because of my uncertainty of how aggressive the dottyback will be...

 

[Beaun]

Blue legs dont eat fish though. Any hermit will attack and take shells if there is no other available, but leaving them out of a CUC because they might kill a snail is not the best reasoning. They are safe with fish and everything else. They someimes kill snails or other hermits in order to get a larger shell if no large shells are available.

 

[gofor100]

Circle of life I guess... but if I can find a clean up crew that doesn't kill each other, I would prefer that.

Are there any benefits that you find with hermits that you can't find with the inverts I've already listed?