red/orange "stuff"

[pinkorchid]

Okay...I'm going to call around for snails. Wish I would have been able to get them in the first place instead of the hermits! Oh well.
Would the hermits bother the star (if I can find one)? I know they do sometimes go after snails....
Don't know much about them...I'll research.

I did find a shop about an hour away that seems okay...maybe I'll give them a call and make the trip.
It is frustrating not being able to get much....

I'm not sure about the tap water...as far as what's in it. I'll have to figure that out....
Look for a ro/di is on my list of things to do :D

Thanks again!

[pinkorchid]

I could order from this place and pick up. Would any of these work? I'm guessing the Sand Star (Archaster Typicus) would be the one....

http://www.atlanticreefstore.com/store1/index.php?_a=viewCat&catId=84

along with some Nassarius snails?? WDYT?
Thx.

[Learner]

Hi Amy,
Lots to choose from there.....
I know nothing about Starfish, or snails really, :'(
but I have Nassarius snails -4 of them- and they seem to spend most of their time at the top of the tank, practically above the water level!!!
They are no use whatsoever to the bottom of the tank, probably just mine though  ???

The turbos I have left - started with six, now only see three -  :-\, are all over the glass; they like the rocks too, and do a pretty good job clearing algae etc. 8)

[Just_Greg]

i have to disagree with you in part Bill.  yes, if you're water is bad, or you have too little flow, you'll have trouble, but the presence of "sand sifters" does nothing to alleviate the diatom bloom.  infact, it may lengthen the time of the bloom due to disturbing it.

the only "sand sifters" i run are a few Nassarius snails and some Ceriths, but i don't stock them because they sleep in the substrate.  I stock them for their niches in my CUC.  in fact, unless you have a whole booty-load of them, the amount of substrate they sift is minimal IME.

as for sand sifter stars, they require a lot of open substrate to thrive/survive, and even then will deplete the substrate of beneficial microfauna, which isn't such a great thing, IMHO.

if one really wants a critter to turn the substrate over, a sleeper/watchman goby is about as good as you can get, but even then, they're filtering out the microfauna from the substrate.

nothing is free...one has to decide what's important to them and their setup.

Amy,

i'd order some XL Nassarius, Trochus and/or zebra turbo/Trochus.  if they can get Nerites and Ceriths, i'd go for those as well.  that would give you a good mix.  for now, i'd go with 1 snail/2-3 gals stocking density, except the Nassarius (go 1/10gals max).  grab a few peppermint shrimp as well (for now, go 1/25 gals, but isuspect you'll want to bump that up as you get a feel for the tank, but only go 1/10 gals max).  i'd leave the stars, personally...

[Bergy]

i guess i will defer to your experience over my memory and minimal common sense..

The common sense argument is that if the sand is stirred, (not into a frenzy or cloud), that diatoms and algaes and anything else wont have a chance to stick... a rolling stone kinda thing...

maybe if it really doesnt do anything to help, at least it is keeping it out of site???

out of site out of mind???

hehehe

as for nass hanging out on the glass?  i have seen them climb but usually by the time they get to the top they fall back down.. they are more heavy then sticky... hehehehe


mine and most nass snails usually sleep in the sand all day, and are practically invisible/mia... but, they have a keen sense of smell.. if they smell food, they crawl out of the sand like zombies crawling out of a tomb...

they will fight each other over the food too.. wrestling each other, tumbling, etc...

as for hermits and crabs, they are good, MOSTLY... but, if the crab needs a bigger shell, he will take it by force...

IF they are hungry, they will also go after the snails.. .

so, the key here is to have the right about of crabs so they can eat about the right about of stuff that grows/developles in your system... if you have too many, they will die off and achieve the right balance IN SPITE of you..

if you dont have enought, they will send out signals and more and more will be borne and grow to eat the cornicopia of food, until they become overpopulated...


personally, i am not a crab lover anymore.. so the least amount of crabs the better... ...this way, they wont starve on my account...

[pinkorchid]

Makes sense! I think I'll order a mix of snails.
I'll be spending more in gas money than what they cost me...hehe. But I think it'll be well worth it.

Thanks a bunch.

oooh...as far as pepermint shrimp goes - would they have enough food? I've heard/read from other topics here that they mainly eat aiptaisia. I don't have that...that I know of anyways.

[Just_Greg]

peps will pretty much eat anything...appies, algae, meaty food, flakes, detritus.  they won't starve.

IF they are hungry, they will also go after the snails.. .

have you had this happen with TRUE Nassarius?  could the snails in question have been Ilyanessa obsoleta (often sold a Nassarius, but are snail predators)?  obsoletas DO resemble Nassarius, and i've even seen them sold as N. vibex or even N. obsoleta.  they're easily found in the tidal mudflats of the Atlantic seaboard, and are commonly called "mud snails" or "olive snails".

just had someone on the SH forum add some more "Nassarius" and they were obsoletas, and they did indeed eat all of her true Nassarius.

[pinkorchid]

peps will pretty much eat anything...appies, algae, meaty food, flakes, detritus.  they won't starve.

Thank you! I wasn't sure.

[Bergy]

my comment about going after snails was related to CRABS going after snails...

[Just_Greg]

my comment about going after snails was related to CRABS going after snails...

so it was...my apologies, sir.  that's what i get for trying to multi-task at work.  i agree 100% about hernits eating snails, and it's not always just a starving thing...hermits can, and do develop a taste for snail meat.

[RandyFolds]

I have this voracious sponge growing in one of my tanks and I left a diatom bloom alone for a long time and noticed it didn't seem to be residing. I went to stir it up and siphon a bit out and it was about 1/4" thick continuous sheet of sponge that had grown over the sand between it and the bloom. Sort of neat.

I left some of it to grow on some super branchy live rock and it has smoothed everything over and has coralline growing on it and is basically indiscernible from the rock. To hell with aragocrete, I am growing live rock in my tank.

[RandyFolds]

Can anyone say diatom bloom? Three days ago, I added these rocks to my zoanthid experiment tank (the natural light 20g with only an airstone and powerhead for circulation). Sorry if the image is too large...I can't figure out how to scale it without uploading it to facebook.

[cruzincaril]

as for plants there are some for salt tanks..and i sure remember those diatom blooms and some of u guys mite remember that weird algae i had on the sand? well alls cleared up now except the green stuff on the glass to scrape off

[Bergy]

amazing how that stuff just kind of disappears and you go, wow, i dont recall exactly when it went, all you know is that it is gone now... hehehehe

and if you get a mag float or something, you can clean the glass a little more often so the algae doesnt get so hard you need to scrape...



I try to go as long as possible between mag float cleaning as i like the soft algae on the glass, and the food it supplies for snails and whatever else...

[pinkorchid]

Mine is still in "bloom"  :-\
I checked with the LFS today they have no snails....not a single one. All they ever seem to have is hermits.

I'm hoping to make a road trip and get them over the holidays.