Worms and snails in refugium

[jaking]

What's the best inverts etc to stock in a refugium, if any?

 

[Michael Hoaster]

That depends on what you are providing refuge to and what you want to accomplish with your refugium. Some guys use them to grow pods for their display. Some use them to grow macro algae to feed their fish. Why do you want a refugium and what do you want it to do?

 

[jaking]

A little of both. My goal is to have a Mandarin... But getting the benefits from macro algae would be a plus...

 

[Michael Hoaster]

You might like some snails in there to keep your macros free of micro algae. Worms are detrivores, so they will help keep detritus buildup down. Ideally, you'd get a huge population of pods growing in your display AND your fuge BEFORE you add a mandarin, so that their reproduction can keep up with predation.

I hope this helps. Good luck!

 

[jaking]

Thanks for the help. Yeah I plan to wait awhile before eventually introducing a Mandarin.

 

[drtrash]

What about shrimp? Wondering what they would eat? Pods? I have some apitasia want to get rid of

 

[Michael Hoaster]

Peppermint shrimp eat aiptasias, detritus, maybe a few pods.

 

[jaking]

Yeah I was looking to stock a peppermint shrimp unless there is something better recommended....