Stocking for a 24g

Colin_1122 · Nov 12, 2019

Magellan said:
i only have experience with Tuxedos, but they seem to be very gentle creatures. He will pick up random loose objects in the tank and carry them around for a while as camouflage, but won’t mess with anything that’s attached IMO. if your tank has no nutrients whatsoever and no algae either, you could supplement feeding with seaweed, but otherwise they feed themselves by scouring your rock and glass for any possible algae. (i had a snail die and the urchin found it, cleaned that shell right out!).

As for BTAs...no coral is completely safe! They can/will move and float around, and will sting and kill anything they touch. Also, to have success with a nem you will want to wait quite a while until your tank is more established, they need a stable environment. I was really tempted by a nem as well (who doesn’t want to see a clownfish hosting one??) but am now very glad i don’t have one in my tank. Don’t worry about your clowns, they will be just fine and are capable of hosting a wide variety of things: returns, powerheads, heaters, all sorts of corals, and every other possible spot in your tank!

Alright that makes me feel a lot better about urchins. Have you had any trouble with them scratching the sides of your tank? I also like the look of macro algae in tanks, would an urchin eat that if I put some macro algae in?

Magellan · Nov 12, 2019

Not that I’ve noticed! But I got that tank secondhand, and whoever had it before me must have had an algae scraper meant for glass (mine is acrylic), and was also completely oblivious and possibly blind. I would also say that he is rarely ever on the walls, he will hit up the sandbed once in a while but mostly stays on the rock. Favorite member of my CUC by far. I have a cleaner shrimp as well that’s really useful, but the best words to describe him are too colorful for this forum lol

Colin_1122 · Nov 12, 2019

Magellan said:
Not that I’ve noticed! But I got that tank secondhand, and whoever had it before me must have had an algae scraper meant for glass (mine is acrylic), and was also completely oblivious and possibly blind. I would also say that he is rarely ever on the walls, he will hit up the sandbed once in a while but mostly stays on the rock. Favorite member of my CUC by far. I have a cleaner shrimp as well that’s really useful, but the best words to describe him are too colorful for this forum lol

Ok thanks. Would I be able to add any macro algae to my tank or would the cuc you guys suggested demolish it?

Magellan · Nov 12, 2019

In a sump/refugium, yes, but I wouldn’t in the main display.

Colin_1122 · Nov 12, 2019

Magellan said:
In a sump/refugium, yes, but I wouldn’t in the main display.

Because of the urchin or the snails? Or both?

Magellan · Nov 12, 2019

Colin_1122 said:
Because of the urchin or the snails? Or both?

well generally you want to keep algae out of the main display for visual purposes, but I’m sure any algae eater would go for it as well. Also, having macro algae as a source of nutrient export is something you want to have easy access to, so that you can remove some of it as it starts to grow.

Colin_1122 · Nov 13, 2019

Magellan said:
well generally you want to keep algae out of the main display for visual purposes, but I’m sure any algae eater would go for it as well. Also, having macro algae as a source of nutrient export is something you want to have easy access to, so that you can remove some of it as it starts to grow.

Ok thanks so much for all the help man!