My CUC is the same as TheReefDiary's. I've got a 60 gallon display and only use snails. I've had incidents with emerald crabs attacking and eating fish. I watched on grab my son's purple firefish goby as it swam by (he ate the poor thing). Plus, running snail only means I don't have to purchase a new cleanup crew every few months because the hermits eat the snails and each other.
Some of these things will sound like I'm discouraging you. Please understand that I only want to convey information that I wish I had going in. I've made several decisions after getting/reading input that would suggest otherwise... often I've regretted this... other times I haven't.
Among the things that I wish people told me about certain corals when I started:
1) Green star polyps has some rather interesting nicknames based on how much of a problem it can become. Speaking from experience, it can be VERY difficult to remove this from a rock. Once its on, its typically there until the rock is removed. It grows very fast. Personally, I wasn't crazy about how it looked when the polps weren't extended.
2) Xenia is worse than green star polyp because it spreads so easily.
Polls taken regarding the corals that people regretted ever putting in their tank always have green star polyp and xenia near the top of the list. Pocillopora is normally on there too.
If you want to do these I recommend isolating them to their own rock that you can remove if wanted/needed.
Duncans are fantastic starter corals. I still have mine (it was the third coral to ever go in my first tank). I've fragged it a few times and have given several away. I have 2 10+ head colonies and another that is around 50!
Euphyllia are great choices too though you'll want to wait a bit for LPS.
The symbiotic relationship between the goby and the pistol shrimp is beautiful. I could watch them for hours and be mesmerized. The problem is that I never see them. We've had them in two tanks and they always choose some interesting spots to live, often in areas that are difficult to see. Even when they've chosen a spot in the front they often hide. I know that others have had this issue too. I remember watching InappropriateReefer on YouTube and seeing him become ecstatic in one of his videos a few years back because he saw his gobies for the first time in several weeks. All that said, I still plan on adding a pair in to my newest tank.
Cleaner shrimp for the win! I've never enjoyed watching any invertebrate more than this guy!
As for the clowns - have you seen some of the designer clowns? Not sure if you were aware of these. There are some really interesting morphs.
Cheers and happy reefing!
