What if any clean up crew?

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Puffernut
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What if any clean up crew?

Post by Puffernut »

I have 2 GSP's that are going to be full marine, with LR and a protien skimmer. Should i have any kind of clean up crew? If so what. Also i would like to get some live plants, would this help reduce water changes?
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GSPdragon
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Post by GSPdragon »

Pending your tank size the skimmer should help reduce water changes. I can't say about live plants as I don't have enough lighting in my FOWLR to try it.

As for a clean up crew, there is a sticky in the general forum you might want to check out ;) but basically... your tank needs a cleanup crew of one... YOU LOL you can try some snails and hermits but pending your GSP's personality they are not going to last long. My GSP is still fairly small (about 3") and the LR had some hitchhiker crabs & snails (and bristle worms) so I left all the above in... I think he's picked off the smaller snails already, so far the crabs are ok but that'll change I'm sure by the time he's bigger.
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Puffernut
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Post by Puffernut »

I was thinking about a couple hermit crabs. Basically i want to know if they would be benifical. I don't think my GSP's could get threw the hermit crabs shell.
2 X Figure 8's- Garfield and Oddy
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1 X Spiney Box- Webster
Amoore311
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Post by Amoore311 »

Nope they won't be able to get through the shell. But, if they want to they can/will flip it over and finish it off that way.

Clean up crew might work if you have ALOT of rock work. But if the tank is easy to vacuum I really don't see a point in it.

If you looking for some "plants" for your marine tank, take a look at "Chaeto" (I think thats spelled right). It's a macro algea that basically just floats around on the surface. Many people use a standard HOB filter with some egg crate, and turn that into a mini-refugium. Just need a little clip on light to keep photosynthesis running and your all set.
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Pufferpunk
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Post by Pufferpunk »

I have cheato in Aquaclears on all my SW tanks.
You are getting sleepy... you only hear the sound of my voice... you must do water changes... water changes... water changes... water changes...

"The solution to pollution is dilution!"
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puffergeek
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Post by puffergeek »

I'm also a big fan of macro-algae in marine tanks... for my ceylon and GSP (both in marine conditions now) I have some chaetomorpha (this stuff rocks!) and some very pretty red gracilaria in the display tanks with the puffers. They sometimes nibble the gracilaria, but otherwise I've never had a problem with just plopping stuff in the tank with them.

I do have good lighting on both tanks and between those tanks and my reef fuge, I've been giving away huge bags of the stuff at our local reef club. Since I've started using this stuff, I've noticed an improvement in water quality... less nitrates and nuisance algae especially.

I've never seen any tropical sea-grasses for sale or I'd try them as well...

I've also put some mushrooms and other "nasty-tasting" coral frags in with them and both are doing really well about leaving them alone (so far).

I have had a few hermits "disappear", but so far, most of them are fine. I'm going to try a few snails that don't come out of their shells very far (my LFS just got a bunch of new snails!)... I'll have to let you know how it goes.
GSPdragon
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Post by GSPdragon »

Pufferpunk wrote:I have cheato in Aquaclears on all my SW tanks.
PP what type of light to you use? I have a aquaclear 70 running right now (as a filter, needed a place to stash the biomax from my other filter) but once I know the LR is doing a good job I was thinking of doing the same and putting cheato in it.

As for hermits... Wasabi has only been in full marine with hermits for less then a week, today I found a shell I know a hermit was living in way up on the top of the rocks upside down and empty... I know he didn't switch shells up there... so "something" happened to him (ie even if your puffer isn't big enough to crush the hermits shell yet, they can sneak attack them and pull them out).
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Pufferpunk
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2 T biocellatus
C valentini
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C papuan
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burrfish
T niphobles
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Post by Pufferpunk »

Right now, I just have a 65x4 w/ PC on there. Upgrading to 6 T5 bulbs in a week or so. I have no direct lighting on the algae in the AC.
You are getting sleepy... you only hear the sound of my voice... you must do water changes... water changes... water changes... water changes...

"The solution to pollution is dilution!"
puffanutter
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a suggestion to your clean-up crew question

Post by puffanutter »

If you plan on getting snails or hermit crabs with a puffer it helps if you also buy a bunch of empty shells. I have read that this helps the longevity of the live hermits and snails, and maybe the puffer may give up on trying to eat them because there are so many decoy shells. :lol:
Meander
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Post by Meander »

I use bristle worms, spaghetti worms, and micro brittle stars. All of these seem to be beneath my GSP's notice since he's gotten bigger. If your tank has a complex enough layout with live rock, plenty will escape your puffers and survive to reproduce. I keep a wide assortment of macro algaes as hiding space for my fish, filtration, and just for looks. Puffer poop must be the best food in the world for macro because macro grows like wildfire in puffer tanks.

A lot of reefers put their macro algae in a refugium or an Aquaclear because they have herbivorous fish that'll knock it out of existence. I keep refugia, but not for my carnivorous fish anymore, you can grow the macro right in with them unless they have herbivorous tank mates and it saves steps and pumps. I keep BIG refugia for my reefs, LOL.

I also have other fish in with my puffers. I've struck it good with all three of my puffers being model citizens with vertebrates. My porc in particular is very mild mannered and is very gentle with the engineer goby he lives with. Engineer gobies are great because they sure keep the sand stirred. Don't expect to keep fancy rockwork with them, though.

Damsels are good at catching the scraps your puffer leaves behind so they can serve as a bit of a clean up crew and not to be mean but it's no great loss if your GSP's turn on a damsel and chow down. Check your local reefer website and you can almost always find someone giving away "that d@mned damsel" that killed or harassed to death their delicate reef critters or most expensive fish.
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