Should I quarantine my cleaning crew?

[DeepBlue]

This may be a stupid question, but I have just ordered a cleaning crew through saltwaterfish.com that consists of 10 Nassarius Snails, 10 Turbos, an Orange Linckia Starfish, a Flame Scallop (not a cleaner, I know) and a Cleaner Shrimp. This has been long overdue as my system is over one year old and I am getting tired of scrubbing rocks off to remove the carpet algae and vacuuming the cyano off the sand so often. My question is, should any of these specimen be quarantined before I add them to my system? I know that fish can harbor disease, but can snails, starfish, shrimp and scallops?

 

[boozeman]

do you think adding a flame scallop is a good idea?
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/july2002/toonen.htm

 

[prow]

your cleanning crew can harbor parasite like ick. but the likely hood they have any is real slim. IMO just acclimate and add.

 

[DeepBlue]

Thank you for the article Boozeman! That was a lot of reading, but very informative. I realized the need for specialized feeding and I have purchased a bottle of Reef Snow to try to satisfy the feeding requirements of this scallop. BTW, the only reason I am getting this is that it was free due to the size of the order I placed with saltwaterfish.com. Otherwise, I would probably not consider getting one. Thank you for the info!

 

[Dentoid]

The Linckia specia of star fishes is not considered to be hardy. Usually they die within the first month. Like all most invertebrates they are very sensitive to fluctuations in pH and SG. If yours arrives in good shape having survived the rigors of collection and transport make sure your water quality is high and consistent. Keep a close eye on this species for ulcerated areas or whitish patches and keep it well, target fed. If it survives the first month then you got a hardy one. Some may consider your system too small for this species. You may want to consider the hardier Fromia species. There are some beautiful specimen and they are smaller. At any rate I would drip acclimate slowly, possibly three hours before introducing these specimen to your tank. If you quarantine it would be for the purpose of observing for waning in their health. Good luck!-Scott:shades:

 

[DeepBlue]

Thank you for the info Dentoid. Obviously you have some experience with this species? After reading some more on this species on other sites and from your comments, I have changed my order to a Serpant Star. Shippments I have received from saltwaterfish.com have been excellent. Good, strong, quality stock. My parameters are very stable with the PH at a constant 8.3 and SG at 1.0245. In the next few months, I will have a new home for the reef. I am working on a 125 Gal. upgrade that will be tied into the 38 gal. tank which will then house seahorses. I can hardly wait! Then, at that point perhaps I could get the Linckia Star.

 

[Dentoid]

Glad to help. I think you will like the serpent star. They hide alot but are very active when food is dropped in the tank. I target fed my 2 serpents using a wooden shish kabob stick with raw shrimp on the end. They are one of my favorite inverts. The serpents are like science fiction creatures when they move-it's fascinating!=Scott:shades:

 

[DeepBlue]

Scott, have you ever had problems with Serpant Stars going "bad"? I have heard that they can turn preditory and eat your fish and even corals? The one I will be getting is only 3", so it is small for now. But I have also heard that that is common mostly with the Green Serpant variety. Mine is the White with Black.

 

[Dentoid]

I have not had any problems. Mine are at least 10 inches from tip to tip. They are carnivorous and detritivorus. From what I have read they are scavengers that feed on fish feces, dead organisms and uneaten food. I'll let you know if my hawk fish turns up missing.

 

[fishhead]

Mine is at least the size of a large whammo frisbee now. I have seen him eat the arm of another star to get the food it clutched i think, but I have not lost any fish or coral to it yet...it's a huge, grey-green serpent star.

 

[Dentoid]

Sounds like the one I have.-Scott:shades:

 

[lcstorc]

Did you say seahorses? Yippie! Another pony lover in the house. What kind are you going to get?
Warning they are kind of difficult to keep. They like cooler water and need to be fed at least twice a day. Be sure to get captive bred whichever type you go with and make sure they are eating frozen mysis before you buy. They also require very stable water parameters so I have my pony tank share water with my 125g reef w/fuge and sump to help keep things stable. BTW I have Kudas.
Also about the serpent star. I have an orange one that was one of the original inhabitants of my reef. He only comes out for feeding and at night but I love the bright color. Mine is about the size of a dinner plate but the only problem I have had with him is when he tries to climb out of the tank.

 

[DeepBlue]

It was actually you, Lynn, that inspired me to begin plans for the Pony tank. I too, based on your system, will plan on tying the sump to both the Main Display and the Pony tank. The set up will be a 90 gal. with my current 38 gal bowfront corner tank directly next to it so it has the appearance of one tank. I haven't decided on which species I will want yet as I have more research to do. What other inhabitants do well with Seahorses in your opinion? I am very excited to begin this, but will take my time and do it right. $$$$ also a consideration, but who's counting? As long as I am happy....right?

 

[DeepBlue]

An update....

I received my shippment yesterday from Saltwaterfish.com and did the acclimation procedure taking my time (4 hours) to ensure no problems. All livestock is happy and healthy as of this morning. The Citron Goby is so cute and has made his little home in a cluster of grape calurpa for now. I fed everyone this morning and the Serpant Star came out along with the Cleaner Shrimp and the 3 Green Chromis ate like there is no tomorrow. All very good signs. The Flame Scallop has positioned himself in a perfect spot that has high flow and shaded. So we will see how he does with regular feedings of Reef Snow. Also, my Occelaris Clowns started showing an interest in the Sebae Anemone after 4 months of not even looking at it and were running through the tentacles and nudging around the edges. This is very exciting! On the down side, after I added my Turbos and Nassarius snails, I happened to catch a glimpse of something very small and upon closer inspection found that it was a CRAB! :bmcflme: Great! So, when I reached in to try and get it out, it disappeard into the rockwork. So now I am on a mission to hunt it down, but it will be difficult. Wish me luck!

 

[boozeman]

you can also use a tall glass/jar/soda bottle and place a piece of shrimp inside as bait...the crab will swim in but won't be able to get out the slippery sides and then you will have caught him

 

[lcstorc]

Glad I could inspire another pony lover. I adore mine and can watch for hours.
You have to be very careful about what you add with seahorses. There are actually very few things that are recommended. I had just the ponies, peppermint, and skunk cleaner shrimp with snails for the longest time. I recently read that yellow clown gobies are safe to keep with them so I have one of those now. A word of caution if you go with them. They must be added at the same time. I tried to add two more and the original killed them both. He has not been any problem with the ponys though. I may move the skunk cleaner to the reef since he grabs the food rather quickly. Really the rule is only very passive fish that are slow feeder and do not compete too much for the food. I feed mine very slowly twice a day and make sure the pony is getting his fill not just the shrimp any goby.
You may want to check out seahorse.org unless you already have. They have quite a bit of information but I find their response to questions to be rather slow so I rarely go there now.

 

[32Bit_Fish]

Hi guys,

So the only way to have long lived snails in your tank is to spend a couple of hours to acclimate them before introduce them into the tank?

 

[DeepBlue]

Hi 32Bit! Yes, like all life you add into your tank, they should be acclimated slowly. Snails can be as sensitive to sudden changes in SG and temperatures. So it is a good idea to do a drip acclimation over a period of 2 hours for snails. Some more sensitive specimans I drip for 3 hours. But before you do that, you want to float them in their bags for about 1/2 hour to acclimate the temperature before you drip acclimate them. This all will ensure a more successful transfer to your tank. I was just unsure if they can harbor diseases like ich. I now know that that is not the case.