Inverts only nano-tank idea

[nmotz]

Well, inverts only plus one small fish. I'm planning on upgrading my 2.5G nano to a 5G to provide a little more room for the following stocklist:

-Boxer crab
-Porcelain crab
-Fine striped pistol shrimp (Alpheus ochrostriatus)
-Yellow Watchman Goby
-Peppermint shrimp x2
-Scarlet skunk cleaner shrimp
-Common shrimp (Penaeus sp.)
-Bumblebee shrimp
-Blue leg hermit
-Dwarf cerith snail

Now, before anyone freaks out, I do have a refugium if any of these are completely incompatible. The pistol shrimp, common shrimp and YWG are the largest inhabitants at about 1.5" each. The others are 1" or under.

Equipment, etc
Marina S10 HOB filter
Koralia Nano 240gph
10lbs dry sand
Cured LR from my 2.5G (~1lb)
5x cured Marinepure biospheres from refugium & current 2.5G
Red gracilaria macroalgae
Lighting - TBD

Feedback? Concerns?

 

[Betta132]

Porcelain crab is a filter-feeder and should probably be kept in a larger tank.
The scarlet skunk cleaner will kill any small shrimp it gets its claws on. They're actually very territorial. I'd suggest leaving it off your list.
The yellow watchman goby will get to about 3" and needs a bit more space than that. I'd suggest getting a tiny shrimpgoby of some sort instead, maybe a Wheeler's.
Penaeus shrimp get a tad big for a tiny tank like that.

Can you get a slightly larger tank? A tiny one like that will be very difficult to keep stable, especially with that many critters in it.

 

[nmotz]

- Do Porcelain crabs not eat random scraps of food or do they purely use their filtering fans? I'm only asking because I've seen some conflicting information on this.

- The scarlet skunk I have is very small, maybe .75?" He's actually going to be the smallest shrimp in the tank so for now I'm ok with him and will move him if he gets aggressive.

- I might look into a larger tank, but the idea was to keep the tank small enough so that small invertebrates don't just get lost in the LR. I want to actually be able to observe them up close. I've successfully kept a 2.5G going with no problems. I'm a meticulous person by nature and keep my tanks very clean. But you're right, I may need to think about a 10G.

 

[Calappidae]

Porcelains only filter feed.

It'd be alright in there if you target feed him with some filter feeding foods like marine snow. Never had an issue with them personallity, very nice crabs.

The only concern is the common shrimp. Prawns tend to get big and destructive. The ywg may get a bit too big for a 5 gallon, honestly I'm not sure what shrimp goby would fit in a 5.

I have a skunk cleaner in a 125 gallon, and trust my word when I say he can take up the whole space. Skunks are all over the place, and even though they seem small on paper, their antenna radius does take up some room.. infact it'd probably touch front and back of the 5 gallon spread out. Also it seemed like my shrimp grew to adult in a month.

Everybody else looks good.

 

[skp]

Tozeuma Ghost Pipe Shrimp (Leander plumosus)

Tozeuma Ghost Pipe Shrimp (Leander plumosus)

I love this shrimp. You should check it out for your nano.

 

[nmotz]

Would Selcon work for the Porcelain crab? What about KZ coral vitalizer?

If the prawn gets too big and destructive he'll be making a one way trip to my mantis shrimp tank.

I'd like to try to keep the small cleaner shrimp around because I do like the fact that they move around so much. Their activity level and coloration are really desirable. I'll see how that goes.

I am a little concerned about the goby though. I'll look at some other options before purchasing my tank.

 

[nmotz]

I love this shrimp. You should check it out for your nano.

That is really cool, but I don't see too many of those available. I do like unusual sea creatures though so I'll keep a lookout.

 

[Calappidae]

Would Selcon work for the Porcelain crab? What about KZ coral vitalizer?

Yep, those are good. Nice thing about porcelains is they aren't picky, as long as their food lands in their "nets" they'll eat it.

 

[skp]

That is really cool, but I don't see too many of those available. I do like unusual sea creatures though so I'll keep a lookout.

My LFS sells them under the name 'Long nose shrimp' and the come in on Philippine and indo-pacific shipments.

 

[nmotz]

Decided to go with a 5G tank due to space limitations. The stand I'm using can support 50lbs or so with no problem but I didn't feel so confident about trying a 10G and doubling that weight.

It's cycling with 5 marinepure spheres from my refugium, LR from my 2.5G tank, and one new piece of LR from my LFS (about 3lbs total). I also sprinkled down a layer of gravel from my 40B to seed the sand bed, which is a fine grain sand, maybe 1" deep. I've never used fine grand sand before and I have to say it's a little tricky with all the flow I have. A total of 340 gph is running through this system, so almost 70x volume turnover per hour.

I also added a little "biobacteria in a bottle" stuff that I got from Dr. Fosters & Smith. Not sure if it'll speed up the cycle or not. This morning there was no ammonia or nitrite present after I ghost fed the tank last night. Will test again when I get home today.

 

[donut0079]

From what I've seen with my porcelain crab he readily feeds on frozen shrimp by catching pieces in his nets. From what I can tell filter feeding is simply describing the method. They do not need plankton like many other animals described as filter feeders.

 

[nmotz]

From what I've seen with my porcelain crab he readily feeds on frozen shrimp by catching pieces in his nets. From what I can tell filter feeding is simply describing the method. They do not need plankton like many other animals described as filter feeders.

Oh I see now, thanks for clearing that up. I'll probably still spot feed him every now and then just to be sure he's collecting enough.

 

[Shawn O]

Instead of the Skunk shrimp maybe you'd like some Sexy shrimp?

 

[nmotz]

Yeah I like the idea of having a small colony of sexy shrimp. I think I might see if I can trade in my scarlet skunk cleaner at my local LFS when he gets larger.

So, lesson learned, coral banded shrimp aren't too bright. I had bought a purple coral banded shrimp this weekend and this morning found some of his remains stuck to the outside of my nano powerhead. It appears he thought that'd be a good place to hide and, well, you know.

In other news, the Common Shrimp (Penaeus sp) I ordered didn't come in the mail with my other items because it died prior to shipping.

So I've got the tank cycled and currently have:

-Boxer crab (1")
-Scarlet skunk (1")
-Peppermint shrimp x2 (both around 1.5")
-Fine striped snapping shrimp (1.5")
-Yellow watchman goby (2")
-Bumblebee shrimp (~.75")
-Porcelain crab x2
-Blue leg hermit
-Asterina starfish x6

I think I'm going to remove the powerhead and just run the HOB filter even though I like tanks with higher flow.

 

[Calappidae]

I don't mean to sound rude, but it might've been a blessing in disguise that the CBS perished as they are very territorial towards other shrimp.

CBS are one of the few shrimp I can consider threats to other livestock (the other being stomatopods)

 

[nmotz]

Yeah you might be right. Right after I put him in the tank he was quarreling with the Peppermints over food, but they were larger than him and were able to hold their own. Oh well, it didn't work out and I'll move on to a different path.

 

[Shawn O]

Might just want to make a cover for the powerheads instead of pilling them.

Something like this might work for you:
http://factorydirectcraft.com/catalog/products/1302_2533_1577-8633-clear_plastic_mesh_canvas_sheets.html?ccset=US&zmam=62863317&zmas=1&zmac=1&zmap=8633&gclid=CMa2r8jIrsgCFYUUHwodXh4NNg

 

[nmotz]

Yeah that's a good idea. I unplugged the powerhead yesterday and the tank was just too "still". I like the look of things moving around and it seems more natural since the ocean is rarely what most people might consider calm. Also the nasty film on the water surface was getting to me.