Outcompetition amoung critter question

[YankeeTankee]

I honestly think introducing predators to deal with pests in a tank is an extreme solution which should not be done in most cases.

Most such predators basically come in two groups.

On one hand, there's the dedicated predators of a single thing, like harlequin shrimps and the nudibranchs that eat aiptasia or red planaria. They can put a dent in the pest population, but eventually need to be rehomed lest they starve to death, and sometimes don't get every one. Harlequin shrimp have a good reputation for being able to "get every one" but this is less true with the nudis.

On the other hand, things like sixlines, arrow crabs, bumblebee snails, and the like are really generalist predators of things that crawl on your rocks and sand. They will generally not bother your coral, but they will decimate lots of other small lifeforms besides your intended target. The result is your tank ecosystem will be kinda denuded of life in certain ecological niches, which opens your tank up to being colonized by the pest organisms they don't munch on.

Thanks for your answer , can I ask what you have for pest deterrent/workers/CUC in your tank?

 

[YankeeTankee]

Most wrasses are pretty active predators when it comes to some of the problematic inverts. I've heard of people keeping network pipefish (Corythoichthys sp.) to help mitigate the spread of acro-eating red bugs and other pod-like crustaceans (although I cannot confirm the effectiveness of this). Cleaner gobies of the Elacatinus genus are supposedly said to help with ectoparasites on fish. Berghia nudibranchs and some species of peppermint shrimps (Lysmata wurdermanni species complex) prey on Aiptasia and several other similar pest anemones. However take it all with a grain of salt, each individual animal is different, and unless they are an obligate feeder, are subject to their own preferences for prey items.

Same question for you as eschaton, what you have for pest deterrent/workers/CUC in your tank?

 

[eschaton]

Thanks for your answer , can I ask what you have for pest deterrent/workers/CUC in your tank?

I'm between tanks right now...was out of the hobby for a few years when my kids were young, and setting up again within the next few months, which is why I became active on this forum.

My own experience is most pests are not a big deal. They basically fall into four different groups.

1. Solitary predators like mantis shrimps and crabs. Dealing with these is pretty easy, since they don't breed in your tanks - you just bait traps and wait for them to get captured, then exile them into the sump.
2. Things like hydroids which tend to have outbreaks in new tanks, but generally speaking go away on their own as a tank matures.
3. Dedicated coral predators - red bugs, sundial snails, etc. When you're setting up tanks these aren't an issue, so long as you are patient and wait to introduce coral. You basically starve them out. Close examination/dipping once you begin adding coral is a must though.
4. Things like aiptasia, vermetid snails, and nuisance algae which tend to be more symptoms of high nutrients than anything. None of them - even aiptasia - are a problem in small amounts. In a mature tank a lot of the nutrients they thrive on will be sucked out of the water by filter feeders like sponges - and thriving corals - which means they'll be confined to recesses in the tank.

In my own personal experience only red planaria were true pests. Salifert's Flatworm eXit took care of that, though it decimated my mini-brittlestar population when I dosed it.

In my mind, the best cleanup crew possible is one which relies upon small fauna which you can pick up as incidental hitchhikers or from Indo-Pacific Sea Farms - basically anything which will breed in your tank. I'd include:

• Snails: trochus, cerith (particularly dwarf cerith), stomatella, collonista, mini-strombus
• Worms: Bristleworms, spionids, peanut worms, spaghetti worms
• Pods: Amphipods, isopods, mysis, copepods,
• Mini-brittlestars, reef-safe asterina if you can find them (IPSF has them)
• Sponges, tunicates, forams, spirorbid featherdusters, and other filter feeders

Most of these are available as freebies on live rock or in trades from other reefers, and the ones that aren't are still very cheap. All of them breed well in a stable tank where you don't introduce predators like wrasses. Your needs for processing detritus and microalgae will thus eventually be met. You might need to introduce something to deal with GHA and macros, eventually, but that's about it.

 

[cristata.reef]

Same question for you as eschaton, what you have for pest deterrent/workers/CUC in your tank?

To be quite honest, I don't really facilitate a lot of biological pest control in my tank. Had some berghia nudibranchs to deal with an aiptasia outbreak and currently getting some emeralds to deal with some bubble algae. Otherwise I kinda just let things thrive. I personally don't mind microfauna in my tank as long as they aren't adversely affecting my corals

 

[YankeeTankee]

To be quite honest, I don't really facilitate a lot of biological pest control in my tank. Had some berghia nudibranchs to deal with an aiptasia outbreak and currently getting some emeralds to deal with some bubble algae. Otherwise I kinda just let things thrive. I personally don't mind microfauna in my tank as long as they aren't adversely affecting my corals

So what if any cuc have you added to your tank since inception?

 

[LadyTang2]

@mcarroll You've got some good reads on your site, anything to add here?

 

[cristata.reef]

So what if any cuc have you added to your tank since inception?

Erm like 3(?) small nassarius snails and a tongan fighting conch. That's about it.