Which inverts are safe with pearlscale butterfly and flame hawk

[sylvius]

I am planning my new FOWLR and am thinking of including a pearlscale (or maybe a Red Sea chevron) butterfly and maybe a flame hawk. I know the butterflies will eat corals and the hawks will eat shrimps, but I am wondering if any inverts are safe with those? In particular, I am curious if I will be able to add any cowries, conchs, snails, crabs, or stars (not sure which species)?
Thanks!

 

[fedukeford]

Im pretty sure the only thing hawks bother are shrimp, and butterflys just bother coral, so you'll be safe with snails, crabs, and starfish

 

[sylvius]

Awesome, that's great news! Thanks for the info.

 

[ci11337]

fedukeford is right except that the flame hawk probably would eat snails, the one in the display tank at my LFS is housed with hermits, stars, and a sea cucumber, no snails, and he's been in there for years.

 

[unleashed]

i had kept a pearlescale for a few yrs along with inverts with no problems at all in a reef system.the main thing they love to eat is aiptasia..i would purposely buy rocks covered with aiptasia just to have them picked clean overnite by my pearlescale.. as for the flame hawk if not kept well fed it will eat crabs and snails but watching them eat large snails is def worth the cost of replacing them .as they will jump up and down repetedly to knock the snail off the walls or rocks then keep jumping until the snail is litterally knocked out of its shell then the flame hawk will suck it out of its shell

 

[wodave]

My copperband butterfly killed my 2 starfishes & 2 sea slugs.

 

[sylvius]

OK, so I will probably avoid the copperband...my LFS had a pearlscale the last time I was there. I may go back this week and get it. As for the flame hawk, I agree the replacement value on snails is so low that it seems like it would be worth the risk...just glad to hear these sound like they will likely be safe with the inverts I really want to keep.