invert stocking

[Stomatopods17]

As far as I know, bongos and harlequins will eat any type of echinoderm, though they prefer true Asteroidea. Anything with tube feet.
I have never kept them (starfish lover) so I cannot speak from experience.

Harlequin shrimp won’t touch serpents or brittles (I’ve kept them together.)

Bongo shrimp eat exclusively micro brittles (they won’t touch asterinas and other starfish)

I don’t think bongos will eat large brittles/serpents as they can’t pin them down easily.

Harlequins are also rumored to eat sea urchins but I’ve never experienced that either, can’t say I’ve seen evidence of it at all, in fact I’ve seen more evidence of harlequin shrimp eating hake than sea urchins.

Bumblebee shrimp I’ve recorded eating starfish before, cucumbers not so sure but I wouldn’t be surprised since starfish apparently is an option to them.

 

[krollins]

I have a few asterina stars. I'll wait till their more in my tank before I add a Harlequin shrimp

 

[Stomatopods17]

I have a few asterina stars. I'll wait till their more in my tank before I add a Harlequin shrimp

My 300 population lasted weeks rather than months let alone years.

If you want to do long term harlequin shrimp, you can keep a couple chocolate chip starfish in a separate system/sump, cut a leg off once a week, rotate which star you cut the leg from to span it out while, I found this the least expensive way to keep mine, it’s cheaper than feeding my dog.

Personally I wouldn’t load 1 tank with too many shrimp and inverts as typically they’re territorial, you’ll be rotating stock to try new things anyways. Harlequins/mantis/large crabs etc are super interesting they can carry interest for a long time in dedicated tanks but are harder to appreciate when hiding in very large ones.

 

[krollins]

Yeah, I do not want to keep a harlequin shrimp

 

[krollins]

Are there any unique crabs?

 

[CKW]

I personally like Arrow Crabs. Unique and fairly easy.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Are there any unique crabs?

Tons of unique crabs - it's just finding reef-safe ones that are beginner friendly that can be challenging.

As a general rule, the bigger the crab, the less safe it is.

For generally safe(ish) species that don't require acros:
-Pompom Crabs
-Emerald/Ruby Mithrax Crabs
-Arrow Crabs
-Frilly Arrow Crabs
-Porcelain Crabs
-Pitho Crabs
-Mime Crabs (Micro Decorator Crabs)
-Strawberry Crabs
-Sally Lightfoot Crabs
-Some Decorator Crabs

Safe ones that do require acros (or other SPS) or other specific hosts:
-Trapezia Crabs
-Tetralia Crabs
-Zebra Crabs

Safe with caution/not safe ones that are cool:
-Some Decorator Crabs
-Sponge Crabs
-Box Crabs
-Gaudy Clown Crabs
-Teddy Bear Crabs

 

[krollins]

Do you know which decorator crabs are reef safe?

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Do you know which decorator crabs are reef safe?

There are a ton of different species; most of them are reef-safe with caution or not reef-safe. The safe with caution ones are less likely to eat corals and other critters, but they still might, and they might also pick up and carry things you don't want them to (like corals or ornamental macoalgae).

That said, as a few general rules:
-The smaller the safer.
-The less hairy the safer.
-The less round and more angular the body the safer (sponge crabs - taxonomic family Dromiidae - for example, are quite round and not very safe; from what I've heard, decorator arrow crabs are relatively safe and are quite angular).

If you find a decorator you like the look of, I'd suggest looking it up by its scientific name and looking for what it prefers to use for decoration/camouflage to see if you're alright with it pulling those up if it finds it in your tank.

I wouldn't expect any decorator crab (or really any crab) species to be totally reef-safe.

 

[Cthulukelele]

Sea cucumbers, yes - the sand sifting ones are generally easy to keep; the filter feeding ones aren't particularly hard to keep either, but they may require phytoplankton to feed on.

Skip the nudibranchs - they have very specific diets, and pretty much all nudibranchs will starve in our tanks.

For unique inverts, do you care if they're reef-safe or not? I ask because some really cool inverts - like saron shrimp, murex snails, or crown conchs, for example - are not reef-safe.

My thoughts for reef-safe, unique inverts that are sold in the hobby and should be beginner friendly:
-Sand-sifting sea cucumbers
-Pompom crabs
-Giant knobby cerith
-Conch snails (for oddball, I'd particularly recommend a Spider Conch)
-Chitons
-Money Cowries
-Stomatella snails
-Serpent/Brittle stars (*Not the Green Serpent Star, Ophiarachna incrassata, as that one is predatory)
-Fleshy limpets
-Some hermit crabs (like the Hidden Hermit, for example)

Some I would avoid:
-True starfish (Asteroidea - brittle/serpent stars are Ophiuroids, not Asteroids; they're not true starfish)
-Nudibranchs
-Most cowries
-Symbiotic shrimp that you can't provide an appropriate symbiont for (for example, the Curly Que Pistol Shrimp, Alpheus armatus, which pairs with the Corkscrew Anemone, Bartholomea annulata)

I already have serpent stars and conchs. I have heard sea cucumbers will release a toxin when they die, killing everything in the tank. I have a reef tank.

Tiger tail cucumbers were some of the only things to survive my tank crash. They're virtually indestructible and could survive in a toilet for a few months at least. The only concern would be them getting sucked into a pump, and after a couple days they anchor to the bottom of a rock never to move again. They're also really cool to watch eat at dawn and dusk in the tank.

 

[krollins]

Tiger tail cucumbers were some of the only things to survive my tank crash. They're virtually indestructible and could survive in a toilet for a few months at least. The only concern would be them getting sucked into a pump, and after a couple days they anchor to the bottom of a rock never to move again. They're also really cool to watch eat at dawn and dusk in the tank.

I do not have a pump that is close enough to the bottom for them to get stuck on.

 

[Cthulukelele]

I do not have a pump that is close enough to the bottom for them to get stuck on.

For the first couple days when they're trying to find a place to live they'll climb around on the glass and such so just keep an eye out. I always recommended them as fun mostly safe oddballs. They also do a great job of keeping the sand In a 1-2 Sq foot radius clean

 

[krollins]

Last question: Are there any unique hermit crabs?

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Last question: Are there any unique hermit crabs?

Depends on your definition of unique, but there are a few that are unique beyond just coloration:
-Staghorn Hermit Crabs (carries a hydrocoral on their shells)
-Anemone Hermit Crabs (carry anemones on their shells - not reef-safe)
-Giant Marine Hermit Crab (definitely not reef-safe, and they get huge)
Not for sale but definitely unique:

there are a few species of sessile, shell-less hermit crabs (these typically use things like corals or tubeworm tubes as their shells), so it's possible. Some examples include: Discorsopagurus spp. and hermits from the genus Paguritta.

If you just want something with unique coloration, the sites below have a good variety of hermits available to choose from:

Crabs

Crabs

www.bluezooaquatics.com

Welcome to Reef Cleaners (hermit)

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www.reefcleaners.org

Unique Inverts (Seahorse Safe)

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Saltwater Crabs

 

[_cpate3_]

I love inverts. I want to stock my 75 gallon with rare, oddball, and strange inverts. Any ideas?

Christmas tree worm rocks!!!

 

[krollins]

Christmas tree worm rocks!!!

Aren't those hard to keep?

 

[krollins]

Started the mission for adding weird inverts to my tank with a frilly arrow crab.