Cleaner Crew just arrived

[blackdog]

My SWF cleaner crew just arrived about 20 minutes ago. Got the "Market Leader" package.
25 Turbo
30 Scarlet hermit
1 CBS
3 peppermint
1 Sally
4 Emerald
2 feather dusters
2 cucumbers
1 flame scallop
Everything is floating in the tank right now getting warmed up -- though the heat packs did a nice job against the New England chill.
First impressions (keep in mind these are just things that struck me as a newbie, not comments that actually make any sense)
The hermit crabs are pretty ugly But in a charming way. For some reason I expected them to be in pristine shells, because I got them from a store I guess. Well, they're no less attractive than the ones I already have that came in my rock, and I love them. So I'll learn to love my new hermits as well.
The peppermint shrimp are TINY. They can't be more than an inch long. There are four in the bag instead of three, so I think SWF was compensating for their small size. I just hope they survive OK. I doubt I'll ever see them again, though -- they could hide anywhere.
The coral banded shrimp is HUGE. He's got to be five inches end to end. He's beautiful and feisty already. As long as he doesn't terrorize everything else in the tank, I can tell he's going to be one of my favorite creatures.
The flame scallop is gorgeous, even with the lights out. This was the one item I wouldn't have ordered seperately, because I've heard they can be tricky. I'll do my best to make him happy. I checked my water last night and even my nitrates are at 0, so I'm in good shape starting out.
The bag that supposedly has the cucumbers has "sub for cukes" written on it, so I don't know what I actually have in there. It looks like a 3/4" diameter greyish cannoli with flourescent green filling. Can't tell if there are 1 or 2 of them in the bag.
I need to figure out how best to situate the feather dusters. Obviously, they are much larger than any of the dusters currently in my tank. I'll do a search through the archives.
Hope the emerald crabs are hungry. There's a lot of algae waiting for them...

 

[chevron tang]

congrats, they'll be fun to watch.

 

[mlm]

The peppermint shrimp will grow very fast if the CBS does not attack them first.

 

[blackdog]

Well, everything seems to be doing great so far.
The Mithrax settled onto a piece of rock and immediately began dining. They have entered the land of milk and algae.
I've changed my mind about the hermits. They are beautiful. The bright red legs are striking, and they have spread throughout the tank.
The snails show signs of suicidal behavior. There are several hanging out just above the water line, and one was on his way into the skimmer's overflow box within an hour of entering the tank.
The CBS has explored every square inch of the tank and seems satisfied, in a cranky sort of way. I think he gave me the finger.
The peppermints literally hit the ground running. I don't think they'll have any problems surviving.
I had placed the flame scallop up on a rock in the middle of the tank where I thought he'd be happy. A few minutes later I turned around and he was lying on the sand below the rock. A while later a heard a thwack, looked in the tank, and the scallop had propelled himself across the tank and was leaning against the glass. I guess he'll decide where he's happy.

 

[bt_1999_66]

Watch the Flame Scallop... I introduced one into my tank, a day later he ended up under the rock and never saw him again until 1 year later. The fish where munching on him.... <img src="graemlins//eek.gif" border="0" alt="[eek]" />