Workabees

[RothChyld]

Mogurnda gave me an idea to start a thread about workabee tankmates that are worthy of their stay. I am interested in buying fish or inverts that make the tank a better place to live. To name the ones that I feel aren't just visuals I currently have:

A sandsifting goby (Gill) - cleans out the sandbed
Lawnmower blenny (Blender) - boy does he love to kiss those rocks
Blue tang (Sky) - great for algae control
Clams - Great natural filters
Blue and red legged hermies
Cleaner shrimp (Peppy) for eating parasites
Astrea , turbos, and a few others than I can't identify. :confused:
Some non-bristle worms for moving the substrate. Not sure of identification but one of them has got to be over a foot long believe it or not.

What else would people put into their tanks to be there for more than just looks?

Thanks in advance!

RothChyld

PS. I got a new camera. :)

[BrianH]

Other clean up crew critters I have are;

Fighting Conch
Tiger tail cukes(2 because mine keeps splitting).
nassarius snails
tuxedo urchin

Brian

[OrionGirl]

Chestnut conch--pretty, and great grazer.
I like urchins, but only for big tanks. They encourage coralline algae growth and keep green algae down.
Bristleworms--love them!

[mogurnda]

Yes to many of the above.
Also:
*scarlet cleaners, for entertainment and zooplankton
*terebellid (spaghetti) worms, although only in the fuge, they get eaten in the main tank
*microstars in the sand
*cerith snails, eat algae and stir the sand
*strombus snails, the little guys that breed like rabbits
*pistol shrimp, the little ones seem to be good scavengers
*serpent stars

[RothChyld]

Mogurnda, what do you have that eats your spaghetti worms? I have them all over my tank and was wondering if I have something that would eat them.

I will look into those other ones. I am curious about the scarlet cleaner, strombus snails, and the chestnut conch.

Don't the conchs get pretty large? Especially the fighting conch?

[OrionGirl]

The chestnut we have is about...The size of a golf ball, squished to a more oval shape. I'm not sure how large it will get, but in 4-5 months, it's only grown a little bit. really cool to watch it--it will extend it's foot to cover the entire shell, but has a very pretty pearly brown and white shell. I should do more to get a species ID...

[BrianH]

Fighting conchs stay relatively small compared to queen conchs. They also stay on the sand bed while the queens tend to spend more time on the LR.

Brian

[mogurnda]

Mogurnda, what do you have that eats your spaghetti worms? I have them all over my tank and was wondering if I have something that would eat them. I blame either the hermits or the peppermint shrimp. I have never witnessed who ate them, only that there used to be a lot in the main tank, now there are only a few, while they thrive in the fuge.

Strombus snails are little conchs that come from Inland Pacific Sea Farms (http://www.ipsf.com). From the discussions I have read, they aren't actually in the genus strombus, but that's what people call them. Nice little herbivores, and the only snail I've had that undergoes direct development so that they multiply in the tank.

Scarlet cleaners (http://www.aquaticphotos.com/data/media/16/ShrimpFeedingTime.jpg) are another species in the same genus as peppermints (Lysmata), but are prettier and much more outgoing. Both species will mate regularly and produce planktonic larvae if you have two of them.

I forgot to mention amphipods in my previous post,

[slipknottin]

Ive seen peppermints make a snack of spaghetti worms. My hermits never seemed to pay much attention to them however.


Amphipods and coepods are true workhorses. Those things will strip down a large dead fish in a day or two. Now you know why some fish you buy disappear without a trace. :o