Snowflake

[troubledfemale]

I have had my tank for about 6-8 months now and one of the first addition was a snowflake eel.When I started off with my tank I encountered a couple of casualty's because I was told that I was overfeeding them , so they suggested I fed them 1 day yes and 1 day no. And I have been doing that and everthing was fine until now I had 4 horse shoe crabs and now I have none the eel is eating all of them and I'am afraid to get any more, but my sand is getting nasty looking becasue it's needs cleaners. Maybe someone has a suggestion for me fix my little dilema and keep my tank nice and clean. Without any more murders.:notsure:

 

[kreach]

Basically, you need something that has a shell, not just an exoskeleton. Try scarlet hermit crabs and a variety of snails to help keep your tank clean.

 

[jacksonpt]

try fighting conches... they are great for cleaning diatoms off of sand.

 

[janelle]

I dont know from experience, but ive heard the horseshoe crabs are pretty worthless for cleaning sand. go with hermits and snails for your cleanup crew. the hermits are fun to watch, too. just be sure you put lots of extra shells in for them so they are less likely to kill your snails for their shells.

 

[troubledfemale]

I bought a hermit once and was forced to return because it was eating my starfish :notsure:

 

[jacksonpt]

what kind of hermit was it? There are several hermits out there that aren't safe for inverts/corals... but there are some that are. Scarlet reef hermits are the most popular, but blue-legs are a good choice as well, though they can be a bit aggressive when they need to find a larger shell.
I stand by my previous suggestion though... for cleaning sand, it's hard to beat a fighting conch.

 

[armageddon]

Snowflakes are more likely to eat shrimp than anything with a shell. Try some hermits and see how it goes. What kind of growth are you getting in your sand bed?
Andrew

 

[troubledfemale]

Originally posted by kreach
Basically, you need something that has a shell, not just an exoskeleton. Try scarlet hermit crabs and a variety of snails to help keep your tank clean.
But do scarlet hermit crabs eat starfish??
:notsure:

 

[kreach]

Originally posted by troubledfemale
But do scarlet hermit crabs eat starfish??
:notsure:
Dead ones, yes... scarlet hermits are scavengers. They feed on detritus and algae.

 

[janelle]

i second what kreach said. was your starfish sick or dying? is he still alive? maybe your hermit was just picking stuff off of your starfish? I have a sand sifting starfish in my tank with assorted hermits (blue-legs, red-legs, stripedy-legs, etc) with no problems. maybe you just got a bad hermit! give 'em another shot.