Inverts for Beginners

SeaCucumberFan

SeaCucumberFan

New member
I wanted to create a list of inverts for beginners/new reefers on this thread, tell me if I should add some or if I should remove some. NOTE: Because of editing time limit, additions will be posted on this thread.
Here it goes.
Hermits
Description: They are great tank cleaners and will happily eat almost anything (including snails)
Coral banded shrimp
Description: A nice shrimp to add to your tank, easy to care for and will also happily eat almost anything (including small fish)
Snails
Description: They are an essential part of your clean up crew, eating algae off glass
Holothuria edulis
Description:
They will stir up sand and detritus, they can also be part of your clean up crew
Note: They can release toxins if super stressed or goes in powerhead
Emerald crab
Description: They are small crabs that sometimes come "wild" on live rock, they will eat algae
Skunk cleaner shrimp
Description: A nice cleaner shrimp that will clean up your fish
 
Last edited:
SeaCucumberFan said:
I wanted to create a list of inverts for beginners/new reefers on this thread, tell me if I should add some or if I should remove some.
Here it goes.
Hermits
Description: They are great tank cleaners and will happily eat almost anything

Including your snails.

Coral banded shrimp
Description: A nice shrimp to add to your tank, easy to care for and will also happily eat almost anything

Including small fish.

Snails
Description: They are an essential part of your clean up crew, eating algae of glass

Yep.

Holothuria edulis
Description:
They will stir up sand and detritus, they can also be part of your clean up crew
Note: They can release toxins if super stressed or goes in powerhead

Love mine.

Emerald crab

Never trusted them.

Description: They are small crabs that sometimes come "wild" on live rock, they will eat algae
Click to expand...



My 2 cents.
 
^Skunk Cleaner? I feel like they're fairly hardy and easy to care for. Mine eats just about anything too.
 
My 2 cents.

The only hermits I will buy are scarlets. The regular blue/red legs have caused too much trouble eating snails and stealing food from coral, no more.

Emeralds are little devils.

Skunk cleaners are great, fun to watch and interact with and do a good job scavaging. They will even clean your fingers. They are not useful as a mitigation to any fish disease.
 
jayball said:
My 2 cents.

The only hermits I will buy are scarlets. The regular blue/red legs have caused too much trouble eating snails and stealing food from coral, no more.

Emeralds are little devils.

Skunk cleaners are great, fun to watch and interact with and do a good job scavaging. They will even clean your fingers. They are not useful as a mitigation to any fish disease.
Click to expand...

:thumbsup:
 
You could probably add fire shrimp to the list too. Very similar to the skunk cleaners as far as behavior and hardiness. Mine's turned into such a snob after 3 years, he won't even give fish the time of day anymore if they go up to him to be cleaned.
 
Coral banded shrimp get pretty aggressive as they get larger and will catch and eat sleeping fish. I wouldn't suggest adding one of them as part of the clean up crew.
 
I love my banded trochus snails. Apparently Bumble Bee snails are carnivorous and if starving will eat other snails as a fair warning. Skunk Cleaners get a +1 from me!

Sent from my SM-G900W8 using Tapatalk
 
I hate hermits. I only keep snails anymore with a couple hermits here and there, but know they will eventually take out snails to find a shell. Coral Banded shrimp are risky at best with small fish. Emeralds are hit or miss. Skunk Cleaners and Fire Shrimp are both awesome, however my fire shrimp hides much more than my skunk cleaner ever did (may he rest in peace). I also had horrible luck with my sea cucumber as it died within a couple weeks. I've not tried another yet.
 
Here are my two choices for more unique CUC members:

Tuxedo Urchins: Awesome algae eaters, unique to look at, and IMO aren't near the hassle there made out to be with carrying off corals (Spiney Cousins are the devil). They also seem just as hardy as any other invert in the trade. IMO most underrated member or a good CUC.

Tiger Striped Serpent Star: Mine survived a tank crash that even my poor clowns didn't survive = (. He's also great at telling me when he hasn't gotten enough out the sand as he will come out during feeding time and then I know to get him a part of a minnow to munch on. Probably one of the hardiest sea stars.
 
spartacus1337 said:
Here are my two choices for more unique CUC members:

Tuxedo Urchins: Awesome algae eaters, unique to look at, and IMO aren't near the hassle there made out to be with carrying off corals (Spiney Cousins are the devil). They also seem just as hardy as any other invert in the trade. IMO most underrated member or a good CUC.

Tiger Striped Serpent Star: Mine survived a tank crash that even my poor clowns didn't survive = (. He's also great at telling me when he hasn't gotten enough out the sand as he will come out during feeding time and then I know to get him a part of a minnow to munch on. Probably one of the hardiest sea stars.
Click to expand...

One note about Tuxedo Urchins is that they will strip rock completely bare. Coralline algae, hair algae, doesn't matter. They will go to the bone.
 
I have some ceriths, a banded trochus, scarlet legged hermit, and a skunk cleaner shrimp. Ceriths are great, I probably will get a few more. Banded trochus does a good job of cleaning the rocks but he knocks over every frag that isn't glued down. Probably gonna get a few more scarlet hermits the one is often not visible. My skunk cleaner is cool, hand feeding is fun.

Also thinking about picking up a few Nassarius snails to clean up uneaten food, I'd also like to get a feather duster or Christmas tree worm. Also on my list are porcelain crab, pom pom crab, and yellow sea cucumber.
 
I like hermits. I always have them and have never caught them eating a snail that wasn't defunct. I tend to buy scarlets and micro bluelegs, but I have one now that is clunking about in a pretty large (half dollar sized) shell, and I suspect his diet included another crab. Still, he's colorful, so he stays, never bothers the fish.
 
If you're willing to keep a species only tank, add small mantis shrimp to this list. They are an interesting and easy-to-care-for beginner invert. They're also easy to find online. Anything from the genus Gonodactylus or Neogonodactylus is usually very hardy and will do fine in a relatively small tank. For example, I had a Neogonodacylus Oerstedii in a 2.5G tank. He came in the mail from a Florida dealer. The only genus for beginner's to avoid is Odontodactylus. Those are much more sensitive.
 
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