Clean up crew

[Shipley18]

Right now my tankl has been cyxxling for five weeks everything looked good but then i decided to changed my crushed coral fo rsand...not live jsut regular sand.... i have two blue legged hermit crabs in there right now... what mro ewould i need to add for a clean up crew..what more coul di add for that matter?

 

[1979camaro]

how big is the tank again?

 

[seastaar88]

you'll want snails and cleaner shrimp, as well as sand-sifting starfish.

 

[Shipley18]

its a 5.5 galloon...sorry i forgot to say that. It has a hob whisper filter that is big enough for the a ten gallon aquirium and has a 50/50 15 watt bulb. um it has 5-6 lbs of live rock and the sand.

 

[1979camaro]

you dont need a cleaner shrimp

maybe 2 hermit crabs, 5 snails (margaritas, ceriths, etc)

 

[Shipley18]

thank you very much.... i currently have to hermit crabs but i recently had an algae outbreak that i took care of when i changed my substrate

 

[S.Reef]

You could always get a cleaner if you wanted it...but you have to feed it.

 

[Shipley18]

i got a peppermint shrimp and teh lfs guy said that is could just graze on my algea on my live rock , but i though ti shoudl doubl echeck with you guys, also he convinced me to but a green star polyp rock that is pretty cool as well as a zoo polyp rock that i both i have near the very top of my tank...with a 15 watt 50/50 wat bulb, and when i say near i mean 2 cm from being out of water close too...is this okay i currently have them in low to medium current?

 

[1979camaro]

the zoanthids and GSP should probably do ok up there...the peppermint shrimp will scavenge, though more on little critters in your LR and uneaten fish food than algae

 

[fishcraziee]

peppermints are known to eat polyp corals..... With a 15 watt 50/50 I think putting them near the top would be perfect. Rememeber to change the lights every 6 months or less. *SUPERSMIL*SUPERSMIL*SUPERSMIL

 

[1979camaro]

most peppermints don't go after zoas unless they are hungry, so keep him well fed and things should move along swimmingly...hahahahaha

 

[Shipley18]

well what should i feed them? my lfs guy said to just drop a few piece sof flake food in for him every other day or so, also he said i should put food on the top of my corals because they will draw nutrients from them....is that true?"

 

[1979camaro]

the thing about the corals is a bunch of BS...zoanthids and GSP are photosynthetic organisms relying on zoanthilae within their bodies as a source of energy...some people feed their corals with special foods (either because they are not photosynthetic or because they feel the need), but for these it is certainly not necessary

the shrimp will scavenge some flake, you just have to make sure some gets down to him...you will be able to see him eat it

 

[S.Reef]

With such a small tank...supplemental feeding will pollute the tank too fast.

 

[seastaar88]

if you have hair algae, emerald crabs are great.

 

[S.Reef]

Emeralds are usually better with bubble(valonia algae).

 

[Shipley18]

so do i even need to feed my shrimp or will he scavenge on his own?

 

[1979camaro]

he will probably be ok, but you do not watch when you feed to make sure he is getting some food...if he isn't hand feeding will be required

 

[Shipley18]

how do i watch him he hides in m ylive rock...? also I know I'm sad and pathetic but my anno tank stayed well in paprameters fo ra month without me even havin gto add water...so how much should i add in a day roughly and how much salt would i mixe together fo rsuck a limited amout of water also how often to you guys recomend water changes i know my lfs said once every week 25%

 

[1979camaro]

he will start coming out

umm, your top off water should be fresh water if that is what you are asking about...did you make a mark on the tank somewhere as suggested?

you are going to have to read the salt package for approximate mixing concentrations and then use your hydrometer to check accuracy (like you did when you started the tank i hope) before doing a water change....i would do 50% a week in such a small tank