Crabs and shrimp?

[rich_one]

Will arrow crabs eat peppermint shrimp? If so, are there crabs that will not mess with mushrooms or beginner soft corals, that will also not mess with peppermint shrimp?

-Rich

[thebkramer]

crabs are a hit & miss..
IMO.. the only reef safe crabs are the porcelains and pom poms!!!!!
but these are delicate crabs.. so it depends on what you have in your tank already too ;)

[sporto0]

Arrow Crabs are a pain in the neck & they will eat shrimp if they can catch them, the only crabs that I prefer are the smaller species of Hermit Crabs, they won't mess with corals or shrimp, they might poach a shell or two from smaller snails though.

[g35mike]

Arrow craps are more trouble then they are worth IMO

[rich_one]

Duly noted.

By the time I have this tank setup on Saturday, the only fish I expect to have are 4 chromis. I am in the process now of trying to rehome the white spotted puffer, the rusty angel, and the lawnmower blenny.

I want a nearly empty tank when I set it back up after the move, so I can start from scratch, go in the direction I want from the top, and try to do things are correctly as possible.

Are there other animals that would eat bristleworms, should some come in on live rock or something, other than arrow crabs, that won't bother the peppermint shrimp?

-Rich

[thebkramer]

why do you want bristleworm eaters?? they are a very important part of your CUC!! as long as you are not overfeeding your tank.. you won't have to worry too much about population or how big they grow !!!
I've had my tank for 5 yrs.. 3 yrs since a crash.. and in those 5 yrs I have never had an overpopulation of bristles.. I do have 2 very large bristles.. but they are no threat to anything in my tank :lol2: besides the occasional scuff over food :lmao:

[thebkramer]

matter of fact.. one of large bristles (about 1ft long and 1 1/2 in wide) lives in the same burrow as my Diamond Goby.. I have never seen anything bad.. nor does my goby ever have bristles on him...

[rich_one]

Honestly, I just read a thread in this forum about a nasty bristleworm reproduction thing, and was like, oh heck naw! LOL... I won't even have the tank until I pick it up from the guy on Saturday, so I have no clue if the tanks has any bristleworms in or not. I do know it has glass anenomes, so I am just trying to plan ahead on my stock, as it pertains to what pests do I want to be able to control from the start. Bristleworms sounded like one of those pests! LOL...

-Rich

[snorvich]

Arrow craps are more trouble then they are worth IMO

That is sure true. Not recommended. :fun2:

[sporto0]

Honestly, I just read a thread in this forum about a nasty bristleworm reproduction thing, and was like, oh heck naw! LOL... I won't even have the tank until I pick it up from the guy on Saturday, so I have no clue if the tanks has any bristleworms in or not. I do know it has glass anenomes, so I am just trying to plan ahead on my stock, as it pertains to what pests do I want to be able to control from the start. Bristleworms sounded like one of those pests! LOL...

-Rich


Rich, it is very hard to micro-manage so called pests in a saltwater tank, everyone here has had them & probably still do to a point. It is easier to find a natural balance then it is to eradicate, & most times even "pests" have their beneficial qualities to them. This is just part of the fun of watching & growing a tank, relax & enjoy it, there will always be something cool or not so cool to worry about in due time. Welcome to the addiction.

[rich_one]

Rich, it is very hard to micro-manage so called pests in a saltwater tank, everyone here has had them & probably still do to a point. It is easier to find a natural balance then it is to eradicate, & most times even "pests" have their beneficial qualities to them. This is just part of the fun of watching & growing a tank, relax & enjoy it, there will always be something cool or not so cool to worry about in due time. Welcome to the addiction.

Yeah, I know. What can I say... the urge to control pests, and do so naturally with another cool, less of a pest critter, tends to creep in my mind. Like the glass anenomes. I already know I don't want 'em, and know whatever livestock I get, has to live with peppermint shrimp, since I don't want to use chemicals or some other hassle of a way to kill the glass anenomes. LOL... and I do know the rock I'm getting has those on it.

But I hear ya. I guess between the excitement and nervousness of this new "adventure"... I can't help myself! LOL...

-Rich

[thebkramer]

Peppermints can be a hit or miss too!!!
no guarantee they will eat the aip and no guarantee they won't eat your corals!!!
your best bet is to use a hypo needle with lemon juice or even boiling water and inject the aip in their mouths.. you may have to treat a few times.. but it will kill them!!!!

[rich_one]

I know. But I'm willing to take the chance on the corals, since honestly, I don't plan on going big in that direction anyway. And I do want inverts other than snails, and I think peppermint shrimp are kinda cool. So, I'd rather take my chances with the shrimp, and some inexpensive, and non-demanding mushrooms or other softie, and see how the relationship goes, and adjust from there. I think I'm more interested in the shrimp, than I am the corals... right now, anyway. Of course, that could change, since I have no idea what I'm doing yet! LOL...

-Rich

[thebkramer]

I hear that! lol
I have peppermints.. and they devoured my aips.. and if I ever get a new coral or LR with aip on it.. they have no problems devouring that either!! :lmao: I've gotten lucky with mine.. they are excellent citizens ;) but.. I never really see them! I've had them for 3yrs and I only see them sometimes at night.. but if they see me.. they disappear GRRrrrrrr so I am currently getting ready to buy some Cleaner Shrimp so I can enjoy my need of having shrimp that I can see!!! and cleaners are more interactive with us (they like to clean our hands) my peppermints use to clean my cuticles.. but that was a loong time ago :(

[rich_one]

I hear that! lol
I have peppermints.. and they devoured my aips.. and if I ever get a new coral or LR with aip on it.. they have no problems devouring that either!! :lmao: I've gotten lucky with mine.. they are excellent citizens ;) but.. I never really see them! I've had them for 3yrs and I only see them sometimes at night.. but if they see me.. they disappear GRRrrrrrr so I am currently getting ready to buy some Cleaner Shrimp so I can enjoy my need of having shrimp that I can see!!! and cleaners are more interactive with us (they like to clean our hands) my peppermints use to clean my cuticles.. but that was a loong time ago :(

This is good to know! I'll have to keep the cleaner shrimp in mind then, once all of my aips are gone.

Man... you have an impressive stock! I am scared to mess with cucumbers now. Given how new I am, I don't want any organism that can get ****ed off, and spew toxins in my tank and wipe it out! LOL... it'll be way down the road before I get the kahunas to go THAT route! I recently turned down a "sea apple" for this very reason!

Yep... staying as safe as possible, until I feel like I know what I'm doing!

-Rich

[jbowen]

I have an arrow crab in my 29 gal cube along with a cleaner shrimp and 6 peppermints. They all coexisted until I added a 6-line wrasse, slowly the peppermints dissapperared. I really like the crab and he has been a model citizen for 8 months.

[thebkramer]

actually.. the yellow sea cucumber is one of the "safe" ones ;) and mine actually just split into 2!! :bounce3: very happy!!! they are filter feeders.. I've had him now about 4 months and he's been in the same spot all this time! lol must love the flow there!!! if he does get p'd enough to excrete anything.. its not enough that it would cause harm to my tank.. if he dies.. thats another story lol but still won't be nothing bad unless I left him there for days..
you could def add one to your tank as long as you don't have any "predator" fish (although most will leave it alone because they know not to touch lol) but even still.. I would wait atleast 6 months so your tank is more established and the cucumber has plenty to eat in the water column ;)
can't wait to find out what you decide on!! keep us updated!!!! :bounce3:

[howze01]

My next tank (coming very soon) is going to be totally crab free. I'm tired of my hermits pulling food out of my corals! Don't even get me started on my Cleaner Shrimp. That thing is the bane of my (and my corals) existence. All snail CUC for me! My Sexys and Harlequins are allowed to make the move though since they never bother the corals. Was considering a cucumber too. They are awesome for keeping the sand clean!

[rich_one]

Cleaner shrimp attack corals? softies and mushrooms and such?

Thanks, thebkramer... I am definitely taking it slow, so my tank can get nice and established, before I add anything too exotic... trust me! I am going to stick with fish, shrimp, and if possible, some kinda crab... but not pressed for the crab if there is none I can trust. I do like those sexy shrimp a lot though! Odd looking fellows! LOL...

-Rich

[SushiGirl]

They don't necessarily attack the corals, but they will steal food from them if they can. I usually stand around for a while after feeding with the baster in hand, ready to squirt at the peppermints, cleaner shrimp, and pick off strombus snails until my corals can get their food down LOL. Typically the shrimp won't attempt it if they can see me standing there since they don't like to be squirted! This issue in my tank only affects the corals I feed, like my palys, my 2 candy cane LPS, and my poor tiny war coral frag. They don't mess with the mushrooms or zoas.

[rich_one]

Good to know. It will likely be a while before I even try anything, and when I do, it'll almost certainly be mushrooms or the like. I am learning an extaordinary amount of info on this site... wow!

-Rich