Kerry's Starter Reef

KERRY ONEILL

KERRY ONEILL

Member
Hi All,

I have had my marine tank setup now for 2 weeks, i have a cleaner shrimp, a fire shrimp, 5 turbo snails, and yesterday x2 hermit crabs.

The problem that i am having is that the cleaner shrimp is not doing much just staying in one position, do i get another to make it work??

The fire shrimp is hiding which i have been told that this is what they will do, the snails are only on the rock.

The problem i have got now is that i have not got anything to clean the sand or the glass, the hermit crabs, one is on the rock and the other has disappeared over night, because i have found that a crab is coming out of the live rock, and i am not really sure how to deal with him.

Do i need to get anything else in there as i now have algae growing both on the rock and the glass.
 
sirrealism

sirrealism

Well-Known Member
First off Welcome to RS. Lots of great people here to help you along the way.
The cleaner shrimp is not to clean the tank. Its for cleaning parasites off of your fish. The turbo snails should be cleaning the sand and glass. The hermits will do the same but maybe not as good as the turbos. You might want to get some other types of snails to clean the rocks and glass
 
KERRY ONEILL

KERRY ONEILL

Member
Thanks for your reply. ahh right so straight away i have been given false information by the people whom i bought the tank from, i was advised that the cleaner shrimp eat the algae, that would explain why he is not doing much because there is no fish to clean.

Would you say to get more turbo snails or is there another type that you would recommend??
 
ziggy

ziggy

Active Member
KERRY ONEILL said:
Thanks for your reply. ahh right so straight away i have been given false information by the people whom i bought the tank from, i was advised that the cleaner shrimp eat the algae, that would explain why he is not doing much because there is no fish to clean.

Would you say to get more turbo snails or is there another type that you would recommend??
Click to expand...
You should go onto www.reefcleaners.org and see what pkg of clean up crew they recommend for your size tank. believe you need sand sifting snails and you should have on average 1 clean up crew guy for each gallon of water.
 
KERRY ONEILL

KERRY ONEILL

Member
That's great information thanks, so now let me ask something else. I have been told that i cannot have fish or coral for long time, I have a Red Sea Max C130, all the levels are fine all looks good a bit of algae growth but nothing to much, is it really to early to be introducing fish and coral etc, i have been told to wait a month.
 
Snelly40

Snelly40

Well-Known Member
KERRY ONEILL said:
That's great information thanks, so now let me ask something else. I have been told that i cannot have fish or coral for long time, I have a Red Sea Max C130, all the levels are fine all looks good a bit of algae growth but nothing to much, is it really to early to be introducing fish and coral etc, i have been told to wait a month.
Click to expand...

the time really changes on every tank, some tanks cycle faster than others. Once FULLY cycled it is safe to start adding your clean up crew. then some beginer fish and corals, but go slowly, nothing good in a reef happens fast... it is definately a test of ones will power
 
KERRY ONEILL

KERRY ONEILL

Member
Ok thanks, your right about the will power mine is screaming to get the tank looking colourful.

I might have to get a clown fish and see what happens.

What should i do about the crab that is making his way out of the live rock, i spotted his legs yesterday.
 
Snelly40

Snelly40

Well-Known Member
crabs,.., hmmm best with melted butter bahaha... i do have one crab in my tank and he'll be my only one, he's an emerald crab... do you have a pic? is it a harmit crab? emerald? hopefully it wasnt a big bad hitchiker crab, usually brown and hairy...
hermits are fine, they just decimate themselves and the snails so i choose to just avoid them
 
nanoreefing4fun

nanoreefing4fun

Well-Known Member
RS STAFF
Great advise from all ^ !

welcomefish.gif

to ReefSanctuary, a real Sanctuary of reef forums, with lots of very nice members

Start a tank thread & share your tank with us so we can follow along, we love pics :dance:
 
KERRY ONEILL

KERRY ONEILL

Member
No I don't have a picture of the hidden crab as I only managed to catch a glimpse of him yesterday evening it was only the legs with punchers which had a white stripe around. Hermit crabs are doing nothing apart from enjoying the view from the live rock.
 
Dracko

Dracko

Well-Known Member
You may need to feed the tank a little. If the shrimp starts rocking back and forth a lot it is a sign that he is hungry. Frozen brine shrimp, perhaps, but not a lot.
 
ziggy

ziggy

Active Member
KERRY ONEILL said:
No I don't have a picture of the hidden crab as I only managed to catch a glimpse of him yesterday evening it was only the legs with punchers which had a white stripe around. Hermit crabs are doing nothing apart from enjoying the view from the live rock.
Click to expand...
You can catch him by putting a piece of a raw deli shrimp into a short glass, put it into the tank leaning a little against the rock. It will go down into it to eat but can't get out because of the slippery glass. you then can see what it looks like and we'll help you determine if you keep it or else.
 
DianaKay

DianaKay

Princess Diana
RS STAFF
Hello Kerry :wave:
:rbwwelc:WELCOME to Reef Sanctuary :crowd:
You are in a good place to get advice and hang out with friendly reefers so stick around & ask questions as you go.

Your tank being only 2 weeks running probably has NOT cycled completely yet. You might should NOT add any more live CUC or fish. Just be testing your water for Ammonia & Nitrite right now.
Each of those should rise & fall to indicate your progress.
Do you have test kits on hand?
Algae is normal right now so don't be worried about that...
Just work on catching the hitchhiker crab & take a picture for getting an ID on it. Most are not good reef safe crabs.

Start a tank thread & share your progress with us :thumbup:
Very BEST WISHES.....:cruiser:
 
KERRY ONEILL

KERRY ONEILL

Member
Ah ok thanks for the advice, yes we have the marine test kits to hand plus the mature kit, everything is stable at the moment kh has changed from 9 drops to 5 now nitrite has changed from 10 to 12 but apart from that all is good. We have had to reduce the water temperature because that is on the up, but otherwise all is good.
 
ziggy

ziggy

Active Member
KERRY ONEILL said:
Would it be a good idea to take the piece of rock out with the hitchhiker crab in??
Click to expand...
try the glass trick first if you can. it will do the least disruption on your sand bed. if not go ahead and take the rock out, put hitchhiker in a glass of water and take a pic. and put the rock back.

either way works
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top