New to reefing.

ElGuappo · #1 04-26-2008, 05:19 PM

i do have to disagree with the choosing of snails of crabs. i have a 34 G and i have over 20 snails of 4 different types and 15 hermits of 3 different types. i have seen them hassel the snails a little but they are usually able to get away unless they fall and are overturned. i have only lost 2 margarita snails in the 9 monthes ive been set up. all were added at about the same time.

Just my opinion. i do however feed an exces of pellet food once in a while as the hermits and shrimp seem to really like it.

PS i think i have lost more hermits to hermits then snails to hermits. as the 2 billion shells in my tank arnt good enough so they fued all the time.

Doug · #2 04-26-2008, 07:28 PM

Interesting. I also never knew that about margaritas. To bad,as I find them to be a good cleaning snail, unlike so many others we buy.

Myka · #3 04-26-2008, 07:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doug

Interesting. I also never knew that about margaritas. To bad,as I find them to be a good cleaning snail, unlike so many others we buy.

Yes, it is too bad...I think they are the best algae eating snail I have! They are very active, and you don't see them in the same place for long. I keep my tank a bit cooler than the "average" reefer does, at 77 degrees, but "temperate" is much cooler than that!

Doug · #4 04-26-2008, 07:34 PM

Yes, mine is seldom over 78.5 also. I was just going to purchase some more but may look for another now.

Myka · #5 04-26-2008, 07:52 PM

Try to find some Astrea caelata:

BigA · #6 04-30-2008, 01:55 AM

Will try to get some of the snail. Still haven't decided on the hermits.

Another newbie question. Now that my live rock that I have in the tank has gone through the brown stage, it is starting to become green. a light bright green. Is this the early stages of coraline algae growth? Is it some sort of pest algae? Should I get rid of it (scrub it off) or keep it?

Whatigot · #7 04-30-2008, 10:11 PM

Patience, Patience, Patience.
The longer you let the new reef sort itself out the less manhandling it will need in the future.
I JUST finished cycling a month or so ago in one of my tanks and I was very tempted to try and speed things up by messing around with the different algae blooms and making it look nice and neat but I refrained and now the thing is crystal clear and all natural.

I DID siphon off any detritus and crap that was obviously crap during water changes and when I had a MONSTER cyano outbreak I siphoned off the stuff that was loose but other than that I completely left it to its own devices and monitered the changes in paramaters and what obvious (or not so obvious) effects those changes had in my tank.

Now I have an arsenal of knowledge specific to the microcosm I have created and one very clear, algae free reef. (anyone else find it ironic how close those two words are???free/reef).

naesco · #8 05-01-2008, 02:01 AM

Put one or two snails in your tank as that is the maximum the size of your tank will allow as there will be insufficient food for them and they will die and pollute your tank.
Many reefers think that the hermits are killing them but they starve to death and the hermits eat their remains.

Hermits are cool but will eat the tiny critters that your coral and some small fish also eat. One will do no harm though.