madhatter9382
Member
Can they be mixed?
Corals and Hermits/snails
- Thread starter madhatter9382
- Start date
flower
Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by madhatter9382
http:///forum/post/3276254
Can they be mixed?
Yes, that's what reef safe means.
http:///forum/post/3276254
Can they be mixed?
Yes, that's what reef safe means.
madhatter9382
Member
Okay cool, thanks!
I've never done corals and im thinking about getting into it but i literally know nothing about them. I have a lot of reading to do lol.
I've never done corals and im thinking about getting into it but i literally know nothing about them. I have a lot of reading to do lol.
speg
Active Member
Reef safe doesn't always mean reef safe. Most cleaner shrimp are considered "reef safe" but they make having a reef tank REALLY annoying.
Having small coral in the tank will be a pain with larger snails or hermits and some hermits will climb over, take food out of, and seriously bother coral. Larger-sized hermits should never be in a reef tank where dwarf hermits should be limited.
I personally DON'T think that hermits do such an amazing job that they are absolutely needed in a reef tank and I think you'd get away with snails, brittle stars, and bristle worms/pods for an ideal clean up crew.
Having small coral in the tank will be a pain with larger snails or hermits and some hermits will climb over, take food out of, and seriously bother coral. Larger-sized hermits should never be in a reef tank where dwarf hermits should be limited.
I personally DON'T think that hermits do such an amazing job that they are absolutely needed in a reef tank and I think you'd get away with snails, brittle stars, and bristle worms/pods for an ideal clean up crew.
flower
Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by Speg
http:///forum/post/3276372
Reef safe doesn't always mean reef safe. Most cleaner shrimp are considered "reef safe" but they make having a reef tank REALLY annoying.
Having small coral in the tank will be a pain with larger snails or hermits and some hermits will climb over, take food out of, and seriously bother coral. Larger-sized hermits should never be in a reef tank where dwarf hermits should be limited.
I personally DON'T think that hermits do such an amazing job that they are absolutely needed in a reef tank and I think you'd get away with snails, brittle stars, and bristle worms/pods for an ideal clean up crew.
The question was: Can hermits, snails and coral be kept together? The answer is still, YES.
I have had hermit crabs (red legs, scarlet’s, blue legs and dwarfs) , snails and corals all at once for years. I make sure I have extra shells for the hermits to go too when they grow. I have never had a hermit bother a thing, and with extra shells they won’t bother the snails either.
I glue down my coral (frags as well) because the water current dislodges them as well as the critters, to clean the rocks the critters have to be able to work or you coral would be covered with algae and suffocate. I had a sea fan they cleaned up regularly, if it weren’t glued down it would have been dislodged, if they didn’t clean it, it would die.
I have 3Xs the hermits to the snails, I prefer serpent stars to brittle stars, I love cleaner shrimp, and wouldn’t keep a reef without them. I also have a fire shrimp that I seldom even see, but to each their own. SWF sells coral banded shrimp in their CUC packages… that kill other shrimp like peppermints that eat aiptasia. Give me a sweet, gets along with all the others, cleaner shrimp any day.
But to go through all that information is like a little five year old asking if a baby comes from your tummy and you tell the little person all about miscarriages too. Sometimes I think a simple straight to the question answer serves best. My .02
http:///forum/post/3276372
Reef safe doesn't always mean reef safe. Most cleaner shrimp are considered "reef safe" but they make having a reef tank REALLY annoying.
Having small coral in the tank will be a pain with larger snails or hermits and some hermits will climb over, take food out of, and seriously bother coral. Larger-sized hermits should never be in a reef tank where dwarf hermits should be limited.
I personally DON'T think that hermits do such an amazing job that they are absolutely needed in a reef tank and I think you'd get away with snails, brittle stars, and bristle worms/pods for an ideal clean up crew.
The question was: Can hermits, snails and coral be kept together? The answer is still, YES.
I have had hermit crabs (red legs, scarlet’s, blue legs and dwarfs) , snails and corals all at once for years. I make sure I have extra shells for the hermits to go too when they grow. I have never had a hermit bother a thing, and with extra shells they won’t bother the snails either.
I glue down my coral (frags as well) because the water current dislodges them as well as the critters, to clean the rocks the critters have to be able to work or you coral would be covered with algae and suffocate. I had a sea fan they cleaned up regularly, if it weren’t glued down it would have been dislodged, if they didn’t clean it, it would die.
I have 3Xs the hermits to the snails, I prefer serpent stars to brittle stars, I love cleaner shrimp, and wouldn’t keep a reef without them. I also have a fire shrimp that I seldom even see, but to each their own. SWF sells coral banded shrimp in their CUC packages… that kill other shrimp like peppermints that eat aiptasia. Give me a sweet, gets along with all the others, cleaner shrimp any day.
But to go through all that information is like a little five year old asking if a baby comes from your tummy and you tell the little person all about miscarriages too. Sometimes I think a simple straight to the question answer serves best. My .02
speg
Active Member
I don't think the baby has anything to do with hermits and snails since that wasn't the question 
Anyways, you can try your own thing. From Flower's experience they have never had problems.
From my experience I have had issues with hermits and corals. Corals should receive food and hermits like to obtain that food directly out of the coral's mouths; shrimp also seem to do this all too often.
Did you know that those who study these creatures like Ron Shimek suggest that dwarf hermits are only safe with applied 1 dwarf hermit crab or fewer per 10 gallons (Shimek, 2004)?
Here's some more information you may be unaware of:
"eating small snails, small polyps, or other minute animals."
"Will attack, kill, and eat snails and waer their shells."
"Removes food from sessile invertebrates, such as corals, sea anemones, and soft corals."
"In nature, it is relatively rare on reefs."
"In large numbers, this species can do a lot of damage in a reef tank."
References:
Shimek, R.L., Ph.D. (2004). Marine invertebrates: 500+ essential-to-know aquarium species. Neptune City, NJ: T.F.H. Publications.
Anyways, you can try your own thing. From Flower's experience they have never had problems.
From my experience I have had issues with hermits and corals. Corals should receive food and hermits like to obtain that food directly out of the coral's mouths; shrimp also seem to do this all too often.
Did you know that those who study these creatures like Ron Shimek suggest that dwarf hermits are only safe with applied 1 dwarf hermit crab or fewer per 10 gallons (Shimek, 2004)?
Here's some more information you may be unaware of:
"eating small snails, small polyps, or other minute animals."
"Will attack, kill, and eat snails and waer their shells."
"Removes food from sessile invertebrates, such as corals, sea anemones, and soft corals."
"In nature, it is relatively rare on reefs."
"In large numbers, this species can do a lot of damage in a reef tank."
References:
Shimek, R.L., Ph.D. (2004). Marine invertebrates: 500+ essential-to-know aquarium species. Neptune City, NJ: T.F.H. Publications.
flower
Well-Known Member
"eating small snails, small polyps, or other minute animals." If a hermit does not have enough algae to eat, it will eat other critters.
"Will attack, kill, and eat snails and waer their shells." If you put extra shells for the hermits to take over as they grow, they will not kill snails for their shells.
"Removes food from sessile invertebrates, such as corals, sea anemones, and soft corals." Again feed the critters first THEN the coral and they won’t take it from them because they are busy
"In nature, it is relatively rare on reefs." We put coral, fish and other critters in our fish tanks that come from different parts of the world and from different oceans, so you can’t say it is something rarely seen in nature, when none of those critters are ever seen in nature together
"In large numbers, this species can do a lot of damage in a reef tank." In any fish tank an overpopulation of anything will create havoc, just like in nature, balance is everything.
LOL ... References:
Common Sense
speg
Active Member
Flower...
Hermits perfer meat over algae.
Putting extra shells in a tank is fine since they'll use those to swap shells as they grow, but eating a snail because they're meat is something that they'll do even if there are a hundred extra shells in the tank.
Good luck feeding hermits before you feed everything else..............
Putting something into a reef setting that isn't normally in a reef is never a good idea.
I like your reference. I get a lot of my knowledge from there as well... but I also backup with those who have committed their lives to researching the fact.
Hermits perfer meat over algae.
Putting extra shells in a tank is fine since they'll use those to swap shells as they grow, but eating a snail because they're meat is something that they'll do even if there are a hundred extra shells in the tank.
Good luck feeding hermits before you feed everything else..............
Putting something into a reef setting that isn't normally in a reef is never a good idea.
I like your reference. I get a lot of my knowledge from there as well... but I also backup with those who have committed their lives to researching the fact.
flower
Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by Speg
http:///forum/post/3276457
Flower...
Hermits perfer meat over algae.
Putting extra shells in a tank is fine since they'll use those to swap shells as they grow, but eating a snail because they're meat is something that they'll do even if there are a hundred extra shells in the tank.
Good luck feeding hermits before you feed everything else..............
Putting something into a reef setting that isn't normally in a reef is never a good idea.
I like your reference. I get a lot of my knowledge from there as well... but I also backup with those who have committed their lives to researching the fact.
LOL...glad you got the joke, after I posted I was a little worried I offended, which is not my intent.
I feed my CUC a few chunks of shrimp, they cover it and that gave the corals and anemone time to feed. I also dump a cube of brine shrimp in there which keeps the fish and cleaners occupied. I say GAVE because I no longer have those critters, my heater broke and electrocuted my tank. I am just rebuilding my reef now.
I like the hermits because they keep my rocks clear, the snails are not so important in my system, they don't do much for my rocks. I have a mag float for the front, and the angelfish, lawnmower blenny and tangs nip the algae from the glass. Now I added a diadema urchin to clear away some of the coraline, it is so thick on the glass the other algae can't grow and that means I have to add algae sheets for my fish that need it.
Ideally I want a self sustaining system, where the tank critters really don’t depend on me for food. I would like them to feed on baby critters and eggs, the algae to supply the rest. It’s a pipe dream I guess, but it’s still a goal. I achieved it once in freshwater. I know a fellow who did it with saltwater so it can be done.
Like I said in the beginning, we all have our preferences. Hermits, snails and coral can dwell together, at what ratio, or even if you want them are up to each hobbyist. I love this hobby because every fish tank is its own self contained world. Even if you own three tanks, none are alike.
http:///forum/post/3276457
Flower...
Hermits perfer meat over algae.
Putting extra shells in a tank is fine since they'll use those to swap shells as they grow, but eating a snail because they're meat is something that they'll do even if there are a hundred extra shells in the tank.
Good luck feeding hermits before you feed everything else..............
Putting something into a reef setting that isn't normally in a reef is never a good idea.
I like your reference. I get a lot of my knowledge from there as well... but I also backup with those who have committed their lives to researching the fact.
LOL...glad you got the joke, after I posted I was a little worried I offended, which is not my intent.
I feed my CUC a few chunks of shrimp, they cover it and that gave the corals and anemone time to feed. I also dump a cube of brine shrimp in there which keeps the fish and cleaners occupied. I say GAVE because I no longer have those critters, my heater broke and electrocuted my tank. I am just rebuilding my reef now.
I like the hermits because they keep my rocks clear, the snails are not so important in my system, they don't do much for my rocks. I have a mag float for the front, and the angelfish, lawnmower blenny and tangs nip the algae from the glass. Now I added a diadema urchin to clear away some of the coraline, it is so thick on the glass the other algae can't grow and that means I have to add algae sheets for my fish that need it.
Ideally I want a self sustaining system, where the tank critters really don’t depend on me for food. I would like them to feed on baby critters and eggs, the algae to supply the rest. It’s a pipe dream I guess, but it’s still a goal. I achieved it once in freshwater. I know a fellow who did it with saltwater so it can be done.
Like I said in the beginning, we all have our preferences. Hermits, snails and coral can dwell together, at what ratio, or even if you want them are up to each hobbyist. I love this hobby because every fish tank is its own self contained world. Even if you own three tanks, none are alike.
debbie
Active Member
I think the main thing to keep in mind is to now put to many crabs or snails in the tank if there is not enough food for them to eat. I have 1 hermit crab in my 5.5 gal whom has been in there for years, I also have 2 snails in this tank too. So just make sure you have enough food for them all, put in a few at at time and add more if you need to. I have many soft corals in my tank and the crab does not bother any of them, just stock accordingly.