Cool Inverts for a mature Tank

[Kirschy17]

hey guys,

I love inverts and their alienlike looks/behaviour. Untill now i considered my reef kinda fresh and new and i stayid with the “basic” easy inverts. My reef is now over a year old and im looking for suggestions for interesting inverts. To get me right im not looking for any particularly hard to keep creatures and i woulnt consider myself an expirienced reefkeeper after a year, still id like to hear what you would recommend me to look into.

What i currently have:

Nassarius, trochus, turbo snails

Fighting conch

Tuxedo urchin, short spined Urchin

RBTA

Red/Black Brittle starfish

2 Lysmata Kykenthali Shrimp(peppermint shrimp alike)

All in a 60g mixed reef with a pair of perc. Clowns and a Golden Dwarf Moray, soon joined by a Mandarin Dragonet.

I tried Starfish twice(fromia and indian Starfish) the both died in accidents where my ato resorvoir ran empty and after refilling they died. (There was never more than a gallon of Ro-di water added at a time but the still couldnt handle it)

I didnt expect them to be that sensitive and i think i will stay away from starfish if theres no species that more hardy like the brittles.

 

[Gareth elliott]

Some inverts i like but i dont have a moray so, these may not be eel safe.

Cucumbers they dont have the same care requirements of other echinoderms.

Pom pom crabs, nocturnal but interesting to watch, never seen an effect on corals.

Bumble bee snails are very pretty not really as useful as other snails but they pop, dont do a lot so their diet doesn’t actually effect the tank. No more than 5 for your tank size.

 

[Jay Z]

I'm invert heavy in mine.

Emeralds are usually active most of the time and fun to watch. My long tentacle and porcelain crabs are cool to watch too, they are out all day. Sexy's stay out and dance all day on various items. Salty light foot is cool to watch when feeding time comes. Pom Pom hides most of the time until lights out. Harlequin is always somewhere in the tank following worms or star fish. 20-30 baby hermits make things interesting to, they are always doing something.

My water flows kind of heavy so my shrimp usually are on the backs of rocks hiding, the peppermint and cleaners are the most curious and active.

 

[Kirschy17]

Sexy and pompoms are so small. I dont think i would ever see them again. My eels never touched a living thing but i still dont wanna risk it. How do u keep harlequins for long. They feed only on starfish afaik.

I forgot to mention, i have ~6 scarlet and 2 blue legged hermits aswell as a emerald crab. Have you kept a sally lightfood with an emerald?

 

[Kirschy17]

Some inverts i like but i dont have a moray so, these may not be eel safe.

Cucumbers they dont have the same care requirements of other echinoderms.

Pom pom crabs, nocturnal but interesting to watch, never seen an effect on corals.

Bumble bee snails are very pretty not really as useful as other snails but they pop, dont do a lot so their diet doesn’t actually effect the tank. No more than 5 for your tank size.

Im really interested in a cucumber, but isnt there the risk of them nuking your tank if they die? Also i have very little sand space. How big do they get?

I have heard the bumblebee snails can sometimes attack other snails. Have you had that occur? Also i have a fleet of “mini conches”sp. strombus muculatus that look similar to he bumblebees besides the coloration.

Whats your oppinion on filterfeeders like a fanworm or a clam?

 

[Jay Z]

Sexy and pompoms are so small. I dont think i would ever see them again. My eels never touched a living thing but i still dont wanna risk it. How do u keep harlequins for long. They feed only on starfish afaik.

I forgot to mention, i have ~6 scarlet and 2 blue legged hermits aswell as a emerald crab. Have you kept a sally lightfood with an emerald?

I have 7 emeralds with my salty. He docent bother anyone, hides upside down with his head poking out under a cliff most of the time. But I do have over 100lbs of rock in a 45 so there are caves and tunnels everywhere to keep everyone happy.

I just have 1 harlequin. I know he chases the little white starfish around, which I only had a hand full of them. He does take great interest in brittle worms for some reason, always following them, never seen him touch one. Not sure what he eats at night, but its doubled in size over the last month.

The sexy's are small, but always dancing on a mushroom or coral. These are my only ones that are out 24/7.

My Emeralds seem to be triggered on light changes (leds), every time my main light curve drops, they all come out for 15-20 minutes. So they come out 6 times a day or so with stragglers in between.

Guess the most satisfying to watch would be the army of emeralds. I know they say they fight if to many together, but I've never seen any aggression out of mine.

 

[Kirschy17]

I have 7 emeralds with my salty. He docent bother anyone, hides upside down with his head poking out under a cliff most of the time. But I do have over 100lbs of rock in a 45 so there are caves and tunnels everywhere to keep everyone happy.

I just have 1 harlequin. I know he chases the little white starfish around, which I only had a hand full of them. He does take great interest in brittle worms for some reason, always following them, never seen him touch one. Not sure what he eats at night, but its doubled in size over the last month.

The sexy's are small, but always dancing on a mushroom or coral. These are my only ones that are out 24/7.

My Emeralds seem to be triggered on light changes (leds), every time my main light curve drops, they all come out for 15-20 minutes. So they come out 6 times a day or so with stragglers in between.

Guess the most satisfying to watch would be the army of emeralds. I know they say they fight if to many together, but I've never seen any aggression out of mine.

How long have you had the emeralds for?
I had 2 for a year or so and then iver a few months the both passed. Do you know the lifespan of such a crab?

 

[Jay Z]

They say 2-4 years for life span. I did accidentally kill 1 when I started my gfo reactor, think they may be sensitive to phosphate swing, which was my fault. I went to hard out the gate with it. Lost another to a fire worm which suffered a horrible death after that.

My tanks still young, they have all been in there for 3 months now.

 

[Gareth elliott]

I have never had the experience of nuking a tank with cucumbers.

I do run carbon because i have gorgorians, but its not a huge amount. If there is a condition that killed one, this is probably also killed corals in the tank. Imo anyway.

 

[Kirschy17]

I have never had the experience of nuking a tank with cucumbers.

I do run carbon because i have gorgorians, but its not a huge amount. If there is a condition that killed one, this is probably also killed corals in the tank. Imo anyway.

Right, is there a particular species you recommend? One that you kept allready maybe?

 

[67chevellemalibu2]

Fire, Coral Banded Shrimp, Porcelain Crab

 

[Gareth elliott]

Holothuria floridana simply because at least as of right now their populations in the wild are stable. They do not grow super quickly like some other creatures but eventually will split. These splits i would sell or gift as means the cucumber has determined the size it can obtain on available diet.