Reef Safe Invertebrate List

[arkanov85]

I decided to do some research for a list of invertebrates that are considered "reef safe" here is the list:

Starfish: Serpent sea star, orange sea star, tiger striped fancy sea star, blue linckia sea star, brittle star, double sea star, african red knob sea star, tamarisk sea star, sand sifting sea star, red sea star, marble sea star (with caution).

Snails: Tiger cowrie snail (with caution), turbo snail, murex snail, fighting conch, nassarius snail, nerite snail, cerith snail, astraea snail, trochus snail, bumble bee snail, porcelain snail, red foot moon snail.

Fan Worms: Hawaian feather duster, dwarf colored feather duster, giant feather duster, christmas tree worm, cluster duster.

Scallops: Flame scallop, thorny oyster.

Clams: Crocea clam, maxima clam, derasa clam, squamosa clam.

Shrimps: Banded coral shrimp, blood red fire shrimp, peppermint shrimp, harlequin shrimp, bumble bee shrimp, saron shrimp, camel shrimp (with caution), bullseye pistol shrimp, sexy anemone shrimp, skunk/scarlet cleaner shrimp, camel shrimp, pistol shrimp.

Urchins: Black longspine urchin, pencil urchin, banded longspine urchin (with caution), hairy pincushion urchin (with caution).

Cucumbers: Sea cucumber, sea apple, yellow sea cucumber, black sea cucumber.

Sponges: Breadcrumb sponge, tree sponge, yellow moon sponge, red ball sponge.

Anemones: "Easier to keep ones" : Trumpet anemone, rock flower anemone, long tentacle anemone, magnificent anemone, bulb anemone, bubble tip anemone.

Crabs: electric blue hermit crab, electric orange hermit crab, porcelain crab, dwarf leg hermit crab, dwarf blue leg hermit crab, scarlet reef hermit crab, pom pom crab.

Im sure there are more that are reef safe but those are the common ones I found, also if anyone have had bad experiences with any of the ones I posted feel free to let us know.

[BrothaWolf]

I see a lot of things I wont let in my reef!!!!

[arkanov85]

Like which ones and why?

[saltwaterfarm]

Let's see... porcelain crabs, urchins... will pick up polyps, snails, small frags, etc. and decorate themselves...
I have heard that any "knobby" star is most likely NOT reef safe.
Hermits... well that's a choice you'll have to make, they are very opportunistic feeders. And, I have also heard that only the red-legged ones are truly reef safe.

[BrothaWolf]

Originally Posted by arkanov85

Like which ones and why?

hmmm lets see... Some of that stuff Ive never heard of ...
but all those brittle stars to start with. They will hunt fish even the tiger serpent. I had one and caught him hunting one night Now he lives in the sump. Ive watched many of the others in LFS catch and kill fish.
The red knob stars will eat soft corals, star fish, tube worms, clams and other inverts.
Coral banded shrimp can become very territorial and aggressive killing other shrimp and fish.
Camel shrimp can be very naughty.
Sea cucumbers can let out toxin when they die...
There was something bad about bumble bee snails but for the life of me I cant remember
Only crabs I will let in my reef are scarlet hermits. The rest can be very opportunistic Especialy if they need a new shell. Although I must admit I want a pom pom crab they look really cool!
Urchin can bulldoze stuff and be a general PITA Some eat all that nice corraline we all strive for...
Thats off the top of my head

[arkanov85]

Poor sea stars seems they are the least popular of the inverts.

[saltwaterfarm]

Stars are great! It's just that some are not really reef or inhabitant friendly. Also, they are VERY delicate creatures that need an established system with a bunch of rock... or they will likely starve. Special care needs to be taken when acclimating them as well...

[fishheads]

no stars with knobs or with big legs they can knock over your whole aquascape,and also eat the coral,,and they can easily pry open clams ,oysters etc..thats one of there fav. foods..camel back shrimps are pests when it comes to your small polypd frags they devour them..pistol shrimps can wipe out your whole snail population,some will argue,and some will agree but i know first hand the damage they can do to my pricey snails and tearing down my reef getting him out..NOT FUN..so why risk it for something that you'll hardly see anyway..pencil or slate urchins they have a tendency to prey on your sessile animals & mobile ones as well..sea apples can wipe out your whole tank if a rock were to come dislodged from a big star or urchin,he will release his toxins if crushed or threatned..RISKY BUT BEAUTIFUL..you could definately add a few more anemones to reef safe, or go the oppisite direction & say no anemones are reef safe since they are mobile & have a powerful sting that can wipe out preciouse corals..if you keep your sea star well fed you shouldnt have a problem, but there are arguments with this as well..mine is about 17 inches across,very well capable of catching any animal i have,again why risk it

[arkanov85]

Yeah some inverts although might no harm directly your other animals they might indirectly by tossing a rock over something else and the death of it causing a contamination of your tank, and of course anemones are always a risk because they move and can sting whatever they touch. Ive even heard of clownfish killing corals when they are anemone-less and playing with coral s by carrying slime from one coral to another when they brush with them!

Many times I imagine causes like this seem to be the cause of death of corals over short time. And it isnt that easy to notice what caused your coral to die when its by causes like these.

As an example i got a chocolate chip star fish, today morning I found I was missing a polyp of clavularia that was lonely growing in one rock near the sand, only thing I can imagine is the star had some salad overnight the rest of my clavularia polyps at the top of the tank are perfectly fine seems it has no problems with LPS corals though.

Probably im gonna have to move patrick to some LFS or a friend tank.

[mps9506]

Scallops: Flame scallop

Not a good choice for captivity.

Cucumbers: Sea cucumber, sea apple, yellow sea cucumber, black sea cucumber.

Again I don't think sea apples are a great choice for home aquariums. I do however believe sea cucumbers make a great addition to larger aquariums (probably 55-75 gallons and larger). I would definitely add tiger tail cucumbers to that list.

[KodiakBear]

Where did you get that list from?

I had to take my Coral Banded Shrimp back to the LFS after he got too aggressive with my fish and goniopora. I had him for 10 months without any problems, then all of a sudden he went nutso!
I started with a bunch of hermit crabs (blue-legged and scarlet). After decimating my snail population (from 20 down to 5) I moved them all to the fuge.
A serpent starfish was one of my first additions with the cleaners. I haven't had any problems with him at all, except he disappears for weeks. Sometimes I completely forget he's in there.

[Cougra]

What is your definition of "reef safe"? This term is so variable that it's nearly useless. Most inverts that you could add to a tank have both good points and bad points.


As mentioned, you need to use caution with any sort of seastar as they are oppertunistic feeders and can also hunt food down.

Christmas Tree worms can be kept in a reef however you need to ensure tha they have host corals to live in, mainly porities I believe.

Any sort of scallops shouldn't be added to a tank as they are extremely difficult to keep alive for any length of time.

Many of the shrimp that you have on the list are or can be extremely aggressive such as the Banded Coral Shrimp, Harlequin Shrimp (Specialized feeders), and any of the pistol shrimp. They are all oppertinistic feeders and can pickon weak or dieing animals.

Urchins should be introduced with caution, especially in acrylic tanks. They are good for eating algae however they are powerful creatures that can knock over corals and rocks if they aren't securely fastened. They can also eat corals if they don't have enough algae in the tank to feed on. In acrylic tanks they can easily scrape through the soft acrylic material while attempting to scrape the algae off.

Sea Cucumbers are great filter feeders, however they can quickly pollute any tank if they are stressed. Many contain inks and natural poisons that can be released with stress or on death. They should be introduced to a tank with caution.

Anemones can also be considered non reef safe as they will eat any fish or invert that wanders too close to them. They have powerful stings that can kill corals as well and they are mobile so you can't predict where or when they will decide to wander in a tank.

Many people don't like having crabs in the tank because they can get very aggressive and even kill fish and other inverts, especially snails. I know there are a lot of people who claim that the redlegged or bluelegged ones are safe but they are still scavengers that will eat anything they can.

[cheeks69]

I have to disagree with alot of what's been said in this topic.

Starfish: Serpent sea star, orange sea star, tiger striped fancy sea star, blue linckia sea star, brittle star, double sea star, african red knob sea star, tamarisk sea star, sand sifting sea star, red sea star, marble sea star (with caution).

Generally speaking the Fromia and Linckia sp. are reefsafe meaning they will not harm sessile/motile inverts or fish but very difficult to keep and very sensitive to any change in parameters, really need a large well established system with plenty of LR to survive long term. Of the Brittle/ serpent stars of the Class Ophiuroidea only the green one's are known fish hunters. I have kept a serpent starfish for a while and it's never been a problem and I have fish sleeping in the same cave with it. I would avoid any of the Protoreaster nodosus AKA knobby starfish as these will eat corals, sponges even some motile inverts.

Snails: Tiger cowrie snail (with caution), turbo snail, murex snail, fighting conch, nassarius snail, nerite snail, cerith snail, astraea snail, trochus snail, bumble bee snail, porcelain snail, red foot moon snail.

Murex snails and Bumble Bee snails are carnivorous and should not be introduced to a reef tank and some of the Cowries can also be problematic and many people don't realize how large they can get but I keep a Tiger Cowrie and he's been a strict herbivore so far that may change as he grows larger. The porcelain snail I've never heard of, does someone have a link ?

Fan Worms: Hawaian feather duster, dwarf colored feather duster, giant feather duster, christmas tree worm, cluster duster.

These guys are harmless filter feeders and are beneficial IME.

Scallops: Flame scallop, thorny oyster.

Also harmless filter feeders but difficult to keep just not enough food for them in a captive environment.

Clams: Crocea clam, maxima clam, derasa clam, squamosa clam.

Harmless filter feeders with some having very high lighting needs. Some like the Gigas and Hippopus can/have been used as as the main biofiltration system in some systems.

Shrimps: Banded coral shrimp, blood red fire shrimp, peppermint shrimp, harlequin shrimp, bumble bee shrimp, saron shrimp, camel shrimp (with caution), bullseye pistol shrimp, sexy anemone shrimp, skunk/scarlet cleaner shrimp, camel shrimp, pistol shrimp.

I would avoid the saron, camel shrimp as they can eat soft corals. The BC shrimp can be aggressive with other shrimp and even chase fish away but is harmless with sessile inverts. The Pistol shrimp IME/O is harmless and beneficial particularly if you have a DSB. I have kept these shrimp on/off for years and have never seen them harm snails or hermits. If by any chance they enter his den he will pick them up with his claws and move them outside and it's actually comical to watch.

Urchins: Black longspine urchin, pencil urchin, banded longspine urchin (with caution), hairy pincushion urchin (with caution).

Some are reefsafe and some of the very best herbivores you can get but if not enough food could lead to problems. I had a Black longspine urchin that scraped and ate the flesh to the skeleton on one of my Trachyphyllias. I also have an acrylic tank and have kept urchins with no noticeable effects.

Cucumbers: Sea cucumber, sea apple, yellow sea cucumber, black sea cucumber.

Some like the Sea Apple can be dangerous in a reeftank and should be completely avoided not only because if stressed they can poison your tank but they're filter feeders and the amount and type of food they need is impossible to provide in a captive system. So before you add one do some research to make sure it's safe. Here's some good info:

Some release toxins called holothurin and holotoxin while alive, and after death. These toxins are particularly fatal to fish, but from observations by aquarists it appears invertebrates such as snails, hermit crabs, shrimps and lobsters don't seem to be affected.
Some eject strong, thick or thin, very sticky white or blue-white filamentous threads (Cuvierian tubules) on the slightest provocation, which other animals get trapped in, is quite difficult to remove, and may or may not contain toxins. Once we had a situation where a Stubborn Sea Cucumber (Holothuria pervicax) did this in our invertebrate holding tank, resulting in all the hermit crabs getting caught and tangled up in it.
To save them we had to pain stakingly, with tweezers, pull the stuff off each hermit crab. This did the trick, but it was an extremely difficult and time consuming task, and some just couldn't be saved.
Some will eject all of their internal organs through the anus, called auto-evisceration, presumably to distract a predator while it makes its get away. The ejected organs take up to several months to regrow, and while doing so the cucumber cannot feed, but it may absorb some nutrients through the skin.
They can goopify their bodies to crawl into even very small spaces for protection, then salitify their skin to prevent extraction. Because of this trait, cucumbers can potentially plug up drain or overflow pipes.
Sea cucumbers are filter feeders, and various types consume food in two different ways.
By sweeping the surrounding water, capturing bits of food (plankton) with mucus producing cells on their feeding tentacles, which are then transferred one by one to its mouth to wipe off the food.
By burrowing into and ingesting the sediment, digesting what is edible from it, then excreting the rest. Cucumbers with this type of feeding technique make good sand stirrers and substrate cleaners. Dirty sediment goes in, clean sediment comes out. Sea cucumbers in this feeding category can often be picky eaters, because some feed only on fine sand, while others prefer course sand. Therefore, if the proper type of sediment a particular sea cucumber needs is not provided, it may not feed.

Reef Tank Janitors - Part 3 - Page 2 - About Choosing Sea Cucumbers: How They Defend Themselves and Feed

Sponges: Breadcrumb sponge, tree sponge, yellow moon sponge, red ball sponge.

Beneficial and harmless filter feeders.

Anemones: "Easier to keep ones" : Trumpet anemone, rock flower anemone, long tentacle anemone, magnificent anemone, bulb anemone, bubble tip anemone.

I wouldn't consider the LTA nor the Magnificent Anemone easier to keep in fact the Magnifica is probably the most difficult to keep in captivity. Since Anemones are motile inverts they can be very problematic in a reef tank.

Crabs: electric blue hermit crab, electric orange hermit crab, porcelain crab, dwarf leg hermit crab, dwarf blue leg hermit crab, scarlet reef hermit crab, pom pom crab.

ah the controversial crabs ! The hermit crabs are omnivorous and oportunistic and some refuse to keep them in their reef tank which is understandable. The Porcelain crab is a completely harmless filter feeder and will sometimes be hosted by the Pacific Anemones. The pom pom crab can be a problem since the anemones it carries around could harm your corals.

Just my 2 pennies.

[burning2nd]

i dont know.... some of the stuff i dont know about.. other i dont even know what they are....

i have brittle star.. very cool very happy... likes to hold on to my figer when and if i get around him....
blue leg hermit crab's cooler then*&#^ to watch play, peppermint shrimp (butthead)

just watch what you add, and do it slow... that way you can tell whats going on and what there doing

[arkanov85]

Nice review cheeks karma for you!