Quarantine inverts and chaeto

[ibrat82]

Hi guys

My tank just finished its cycle. I'm about to do a 50% water change. In the mean time I've setup a 10 gallon quarantine tank. Used filter floss I have in my store to instantly cycle the qt.

I heard the clean up crew should be the first to go in the dt before fish.

So a couple questions.

I have chaeto in my 10 gallon qt (bare bottom ) and I'm wondering can I add inverts like astrea snails, ceriths, and hermit crabs with the chaeto? Or will they eat it?

If they won't what should I feed them?

For crabs and snails mentioned above so I need sand in the qt?

 

[juanmanuelsanch]

Well it depends pretty much on what you will do in the QT, sadly if you have to treat fish with copper or any other strong medicine you dont want invertebrates in the QT because they will die.

I do have 2 QT tanks, one for fish, other for invertebrates and corals.

 

[SAT]

Running inverts like these through an extended quarantine isn't a common practice, but it makes sense if you really want to control what goes in the display tank. Snail shells can theoretically harbor Ich cysts for up to 72 days. However, if you obtained them from a supplier who keeps the inverts separate from fish, it's unlikely the inverts will be carrying fish diseases.

These inverts won't eat chaeto, and probably not any other flavor of macroalgae either. The snails will prefer microalgae, such as the film that forms on the glass... if you have a strong light you will probably have a decent amount of it in a week or so. You could also try experimenting with algal pellets, nori or frozen spinach.

The hermit crabs, despite their herbivorous reputation, will be happy eating meaty fish food. Be sure to provide them some extra shells or they will attack the snails (they may to do that anyway).

The Cerith snails will prefer to burrow in sand during the day, but I think that's optional. Otherwise, there is no reason for sand.

 

[Randyz]

You should set up a seperate QT for inverts and corals

 

[Tripod1404]

You should set up a seperate QT for inverts and corals

"Should" is a bit strict word for qting inverts. As long as you know the practices of your lfs or online supplier, you may or may not need to qt inverts.

LFSs i shop from strictly separate fish and inverts (some keep them in different rooms). LA's diversden dont have fish in their coral tanks. As long as inverts and fish are separated for a reasonable time, you dont need to qt them yourself.