What is an invert you would never get again?
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sky414
Community Member
and they kill snails for their shells.
mwil79
Well-Known Member
Hands down Coral Banded Shrimp. They get pretty large and will try and take ANY fish down that swims near them. They are slow as can be so they never seem to catch them but they are night hunters and I have seen a few fish magically disappear.
Mine tries to go after a 6" FoxFace constantly. FoxFace could care less.
Also watched it grab my Valentini Puffer by the tail. Shocked the puffer hasn't eaten him yet.
Mine tries to go after a 6" FoxFace constantly. FoxFace could care less.
Also watched it grab my Valentini Puffer by the tail. Shocked the puffer hasn't eaten him yet.
BubblesandSqueak
2500 Club Member
Probably the salt creep on the rim of the glass!
Fritz05
Active Member
1. Cleaner shrimp. While they are entertaining they make coral or spot feeding difficult.
2. Tuxedo urchins. I like them, but mine only eat coralline algae, not any other algae. And by eating the coralline off the rocks they gave other unwanted algae to grow there.
2. Tuxedo urchins. I like them, but mine only eat coralline algae, not any other algae. And by eating the coralline off the rocks they gave other unwanted algae to grow there.
BristleWormHater
2500 Club Member
I love mine too. The blue legs are so silly one of mine tried to switch into the others shell not realizing he was still in there.
I got an honest to God LOL out of that one!!!
Nordy
Active Member
Purple lobster. True menace. Got my Springer Dottyback and pink spotted goby. Will mention I love many hermit crabs, my tank has 15 or so Scarlets that are busy scavenging and don’t notice much in regards to there bad reputation.
WalkerLovesTheOcean
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Could you tell me your experience with your serpent star? I have a brown one, and am not quite sure how I should feel about it being in my reef.
Some types grow very large and may steal food from corals such as LPS and Anemones. There has been documentation of large Orange, Green and Banded eating sleeping fish.
WalkerLovesTheOcean
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Yeah, I've read that the green ones can be very predatory. I'm hoping my brown one stays a scavenger, but one strike and he's going back to the lfs.
skey44
Well-Known Member
While I agree shrimp and urchins have some annoying behaviors… my clownfish is also always splashing water at me on the top of the tank when I’m working on it and it doesn’t make me loathe him!
To me the diversity of inverts can really make a reef tank special and push it over the top with cool factor. I tolerate my cleaner shrimps stealing from my corals (though I do bat them away and squirt them their own food), my urchin likes to carry baby snails on it (I glue my frags down… you should too). And I really want a tiger pistol shrimp for my watchman goby and firefish (symbiotic relationships are so cool, and refer back to I glue my frags down). Motile inverts often get a bad rap that’s usually unwarranted, and man they are just one of the coolest parts of a reef tank to me
no hate here!
Also examine yourself if you’re losing fish and coral to a “reef safe” invert. I used to work in a fish store and I can’t tell you the amount of times customers blamed an invert on a problem such as a fish death or eating corals… meanwhile the shop displays or my personal tanks rarely if ever have the same issues with fill in the blank invert eating fill in the blank coral or fish. Just an observation I made that was very readily apparent, someone was blaming fish or coral loss on a peaceful invert almost every day, it became very difficult for me to hide my eyes rolling. I’m not saying it doesn’t happen but most of the time inverts are blamed for the losses, when they were just being an efficient clean up crew.
Interesting thread! Can’t wait to get my tiger pistol shrimp and hope he doesn’t cause me problems
To me the diversity of inverts can really make a reef tank special and push it over the top with cool factor. I tolerate my cleaner shrimps stealing from my corals (though I do bat them away and squirt them their own food), my urchin likes to carry baby snails on it (I glue my frags down… you should too). And I really want a tiger pistol shrimp for my watchman goby and firefish (symbiotic relationships are so cool, and refer back to I glue my frags down). Motile inverts often get a bad rap that’s usually unwarranted, and man they are just one of the coolest parts of a reef tank to me
no hate here! Also examine yourself if you’re losing fish and coral to a “reef safe” invert. I used to work in a fish store and I can’t tell you the amount of times customers blamed an invert on a problem such as a fish death or eating corals… meanwhile the shop displays or my personal tanks rarely if ever have the same issues with fill in the blank invert eating fill in the blank coral or fish. Just an observation I made that was very readily apparent, someone was blaming fish or coral loss on a peaceful invert almost every day, it became very difficult for me to hide my eyes rolling. I’m not saying it doesn’t happen but most of the time inverts are blamed for the losses, when they were just being an efficient clean up crew.
Interesting thread! Can’t wait to get my tiger pistol shrimp and hope he doesn’t cause me problems
Nordy
Active Member
Curious what your against with a peppermint shrimp? I recently added one. I read there more a cool water species, so my reef around 78 F might not encourage longevity. But I chose to add one because I added sponges as I understand peppermint shrimp like sponges and I’m seeing that.
skey44
Well-Known Member
People blame them for eating corals. Most say the wurdemani species is more reef safe reliable. Camel shrimp are often sold as peps and definitely not reef safe. Wurdemanni is kinda hard to id by the untrained eye. Quality marine sells them by species, if your LFS will order from there I’d say pretty reliable I’d from what I’ve seen. They are also aggressive feeders like most Lysmata genus and will steal from corals if attempting to spot feed. I have Aiptasia and planning to risk it, but only with Lysmata wurdemanni.
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muzikalmatt
Valuable Member
Cool topic! I've had lots of different inverts over the years and there are several I probably would never get again, or would only keep under specific circumstances.
Peppermint shrimp and cleaner shrimp are at the top of the list. I know they're supposed to be reef safe, but I've caught both eating coral before, particularly LPS. I'm still considering keeping a cleaner in my 10 gallon softie tank again, but that's just because I love their look and I'm comfortable with one eating anything in that tank.
Emerald crabs and sally lightfoot crabs as I have caught both eating corals as well, so probably won't be getting either again. The SLF crab was a bit aggressive towards tankmates as well.
I love pistol shrimp, but I'd be hesitant to put one in my main display tank again as they move coral/frags into their dens. Their popping from the "pistol" is actually surprisingly loud too.
Urchins are great algae eaters but are total reef tank bulldozers. They will pick up any and everything they can and are surprisingly strong.
I don't think fromia starfish belong in captivity. I bought one from my LFS without doing much research. (I know, I know. My mistake.) After learning more about it, I did my very best to cater to its needs, but it didn't make it past 2 years. Apparently that's better longevity than most in captivity. They just seem to eventually wither away due to lack of nutrition, which is a bit heartbreaking to be honest.
Peppermint shrimp and cleaner shrimp are at the top of the list. I know they're supposed to be reef safe, but I've caught both eating coral before, particularly LPS. I'm still considering keeping a cleaner in my 10 gallon softie tank again, but that's just because I love their look and I'm comfortable with one eating anything in that tank.
Emerald crabs and sally lightfoot crabs as I have caught both eating corals as well, so probably won't be getting either again. The SLF crab was a bit aggressive towards tankmates as well.
I love pistol shrimp, but I'd be hesitant to put one in my main display tank again as they move coral/frags into their dens. Their popping from the "pistol" is actually surprisingly loud too.
Urchins are great algae eaters but are total reef tank bulldozers. They will pick up any and everything they can and are surprisingly strong.
I don't think fromia starfish belong in captivity. I bought one from my LFS without doing much research. (I know, I know. My mistake.) After learning more about it, I did my very best to cater to its needs, but it didn't make it past 2 years. Apparently that's better longevity than most in captivity. They just seem to eventually wither away due to lack of nutrition, which is a bit heartbreaking to be honest.
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