Someonefishy's Reef Tank Build

Sends the crabs ! It ,matters to me not at all where . If the LFS will take them back win if not unfortunately some lessons have expenses ..I banished mine to the sump till I could trade them in . I try to steer people away from them especially if they have or want snails .The hermits will kill the snail just so the shell is empty ! Even if the can't fit in it ...
The Kenya tree will be fine if it was not eaten. It is a self fragging softie and for no reason will shed a branch tip or whole section . It is how they reproduce and grow ..

coralbandit thanks so much!! Should I feed the sump then?

EDIT: Should I keep some crabs?

 

Do you have a sump?? I didn't think you did. If the hermits prove to be bad guys, and you don't have a sump to banish them to... bag 'em up (ziplocs work fine) and bring them back to the LFS.

I do not think you need to keep the crabs at this time. Snails are perfect citizens and will eat any type of film algae... like diatoms, which is the first type to come and what I think I'm seeing in your pics. Crabs are more helpful when dealing with '3D' algae... the kinds that stand up off of the surface they grow on. Like, hair or bubble algae. Emerald crabs reportedly eat bubble algae while hermits do not, yet, any crab is a potential danger, particularly if you don't have a lot of food options for a scavenger... and young tanks often do not. I went 1.5 years without a single crab entering the tank and never wanted them. Yes, they are cute and fun to watch, but there are simply too many reports of crabs of every species tearing into something we'd rather they didn't. Some are safer than others... but there are no guarantees. However, a good cuc is part of keeping a clean display, and after exhausting every other option for dealing with hair algae, and knowing the few snails that were my entire cuc wouldn't/couldn't help... I finally, reluctantly invited them in. The algae issue is getting better with time, but I do still have some... including growth among a zoa colony. Saw my female (reportedly safer than males) eating there today. Also, I feed a reef, not just the fish, so there are inevitable leftovers. At this time the risk crabs bring is worth it and I have mitigated the risk as much as possible by getting species that others report to be mostly safe. Also, I haven't added any new, delicate frags in quite a while so all of the corals are well established and have grown, so they can take a tiny hit and I can banish crabs to my qt tank if the need arises.

With all that said, know that plenty of reefers wouldn't reef without crabs. There's just (not great) advice out there to start with a diverse and/or large clean up crew and I just think that's totally unnecessary. I love all the critters under my care, so much so that I've spent half an hour with my arm wet poking around for nassarius snails that wouldn't come out of the sand to eat. I enjoyed watching my emerald tonight... but the corals... they are my priority and anything that puts them at risk is generally unwelcome in my tank. If I didn't feel 100% that crabs were needed to assist me in my battle with hair algae... well, even if they're cute, I would have happily reefed forever without them.

Also, keep in mind that your brittle star is part of your cuc as well. He won't eat algae, but he will help take care of leftover foods and dead organics, and these are exactly the things that break down into algae's favorite foods. Hmmm, maybe I should get a seastar.

 

Thanks for all of your help guys!

Tank Update - Crabs are in sump, doing well. The kenya tree and zoas are thriving. They have opened up completely,and just love the tank. The nem, is showing signs of splitting. It is hiding occasionally (in its body, not behind/under something,) and has made a figure 8 shape a few times. It also loves to move around though, and is near the output of the tank's filter. I tried to feed it a little something, since it was basically at the top, but it refused and hid (talk about being moody, lol.) Also, are there any methods of getting clowns to host?

 

Hello all!

Update: Nothing has died! That is a win! The nem has settled, it has found a happy spot on the wall. The Kenya Tree and Zoas are amazing, they are loving the light and flow. They react to lightning, and sounds. The mushroom is growing, slowly but steadily. The clowns are doing well, parameters are stable. I'm worried that one has spasms though... that is another topic for another day though, it isn't serious.

The tree looks to of fragged itself, would I be going overboard if I took a look, and maybe fragged a limb or two?

 

Awesome! What a win

 

Hello all!

Update: Nothing has died! That is a win! The nem has settled, it has found a happy spot on the wall. The Kenya Tree and Zoas are amazing, they are loving the light and flow. They react to lightning, and sounds. The mushroom is growing, slowly but steadily. The clowns are doing well, parameters are stable. I'm worried that one has spasms though... that is another topic for another day though, it isn't serious.

The tree looks to of fragged itself, would I be going overboard if I took a look, and maybe fragged a limb or two?

Great update!

I don't actually have experience with Kenya Trees but from what I have heard, they do frag pretty easy. It's their hardiness in newish tanks that you'll want to look into before taking any risks.