Invert Compatibility

[Sregnar35]

I would like to have a diverse population of crabs, snails and shrimp in my 75g FOWLR setup. I currently have 3 damsels( soon to be store credit at my lfs), 3 blue legged hermits, 3 turbo's, and a peppermint shrimp. I'm going to stock non-aggresive fish, such as basslets, clowns, a dwarf angel, maybe a blennie or a gobie, etc... My question is this, I want to get (added with my current invert stocking), a coral banded shrimp, a skunk cleaner shrimp, an emerald crab, and possibly a sally lightfoot crab. Do these inverts have trouble co-existing? I've never found literature to say either way?

[OrionGirl]

The only one to worry about is the coral banded shrimp. They are not a good mix with most inverts. They have a reputation for snacking on tankmates.

[Sregnar35]

Ok, so the sally lightfoot will do ok?? They are amazing looking crabs! What about an arrow crab, even though my fiance thinks they are the most disgusting thing ever, I love em!

[OrionGirl]

I wold not have an arrow head crab in a reef tank. They will devour any bristleworms they can--not good. Sally light foots are okay with other inverts, but shouldn't be mixed with their own kind. We had to put our two together for a while, and the smaller one was constantly being beaten up and losing legs. But, the blood shrimp, stars, and hermits were never bothered.

[Sregnar35]

Alright, I'm def getting a sally lightfoot then. I was also thinking of sand sifting star and a porcupine urchin, any thoughts/problems with these 2?

[mogurnda]

Although I am never sure whether these kinds of accusations are true, some say that sand-sifting stars will prey on the fauna in your DSB. You might think about getting a serpent star. They are excellent detritivores and an become quite tame.

Urchins can be excellent for eating algae, but they can also scrape the coralline right off the rocks. Some swear by them, some hate them.

I would add at least one more peppermint and a pair of cleaners to your collection, since you're asking. They will mate and produce larvae every few weeks (don't worry about getting pairs, they're hermaphrodites), giving the filter feeders a little more plankton to chow on. Plus, the cleaners are fun to watch.

[Sregnar35]

I'm kinda 50-50 on urchins myself, neat looking, but at the same time they almost look out of place in a bright community tank. So a serpent star, 1 more peppermint and 2 cleaners, sweet! There's my new christmas list!

[OrionGirl]

Dave--have you ever actually seen or talked to someone who had a coral damaged by an urchin? I hear all the time how the spines will pierce corals, but have never seen it. I have 2 urchins--one in a 50 with a few corals, and one in the FO. Both were hitchhikers on LR, and am trying to decide what to do with them when the 120's are up and running.

[mogurnda]

I have never heard about any damage to corals, only to coralline algae. I have always assumed that the coralline would recover just fine if you have enough light and Ca2+.

If I need to procrastinate (more) today, I'll do a little hunting.

[OrionGirl]

Yeah--the coralline algae in the tanks with the urchins actually grows much faster than it does in the reef. Since the tanks are all plumbed together, it's my conclusion that the urchins promote growth by eating the older, thicker stuff that isn't growing as robustly, and by sending little flakes into the currents while they eat.

Good to know you haven't heard of damage. I haven't either, but I see that one thrown out anytime someone mentions they have an urchin in a reef setup.