To add or not to add?

[hookedonsalt]

Hi everybody!


I have a 55 gallon saltwater tank....I started with a 30 gal tank, but now I'm officially an addict. Here's my stock:, I have a tomatoe clown, a false clown, two small anenomes, a lawnmower blenny, a yellow tang, and two tank killers----> a snow flake eel and a green bird wrasse. I also of course have my share of hermits and turbos as well as one serpent star. I use a CPR bak-pak 2 skimmer, and a cannister filter rated for 100 gals, as well as 60lbs of live rock/tonga. I also make sure I have plenty of surface agitation. I currently have a problem with glass anenomes......I hate to use chemicals, and was thinking about getting a copper banded butterfly. I'm afraid even with regular water changes, that I am doing more harm than good. Should I add the copper-banded..or is there some other way to destroy those pesky anenomes (preferably naturally)?

 

[aresgod]

There are certain fish and crabs that will eat apstasia anemones if thats what you have?
Brahm

 

[hookedonsalt]

Had some perppermint shrimp....but they got munched by the eel. Red legged hermits are not touching them

 

[dbacksrat]

peppermints will eat the aiptasia pretty good---copperbanded butterflies also like to eat precious corals and other sessile inverts in addition to aiptasias--be cautious

 

[wayne]

Well for a start address the problem of why you have rampant aiptsia - you're overcrowded! So adding a copperband isl ikely to be difficult as they are a bit touchy and will not respond well to poor water conditions. I would lose the bird wrasse.
Your options are
1. Butterfly - not guaranteed to work, not especially guaranteed to eat anything at all. Often need to be QT'ed with just aiptasia as a food source to get them going.
2. Peppermint shrimp - make sure you get the right ones. Your wrasse and eel will eat these.
3. Nudibranch Berghia verrucicornis - guaranteed to work, but can be tricky to get. Google for more infor yourself.
4. Manual injection with kalk, joes juice et al. Hard work

 

[S.Reef]

Yes you are very over crowded. To start with mixing two species of clownfish together is never recommended in a small aquarium 100 gallons or less. Second the Green bird Wrasse will grow 14inches long and will require a tank of a least 100 gallons. Third your Snowflake eel will grow up and probably eat your clowns and lawnmower blenny.

Now on to your other problem. It is questionable to whether the Copperband would eat the aiptasia. Some do, some don't. Also you are already to over-crowded for another fish. You could try pepperment shrimp as long as your eel, and wrasse dont eat them. Lastly you could inject with a liquid. This can be impracticle if you have a lot of them.

Sam Reef

 

[hookedonsalt]

The bird wrasse was a temp fix for my other problem---> fire worms. You're right, I should bring it back to the store, and probably along with the tomato clown. I know the pepermint shimp would be a snack (the eel killed mine within 10 minutes of being introduced to the tank), However, the eel is probably one of my favorite fish in the tank, I could not dare part with him. Do I run the risk of poisoning the tank using a kalk injection?

 

[1979camaro]

you arent likely to posion the tank injecting a few anemones...i have injected aiptasias in my 20g using lemo juice (fairly acidic) and it didnt screw things up even in the smaller system...of course, i only did a few (5 or 6 i imagine) so if youve got a whole lot you might want to spread it out i guess...as far as the eel, he isnt going to be compatable with a reef in my estimation...if you plan to have more sesile inverts or crabs, shrimp, etc, hes going to have to go...correct me if i am wrong, but isnt the eel going to outgrow this tank as well?

 

[wayne]

You'll likely get great coralline growth if you have to inject a hundred or so aiptasia with kalk! You will need to spread it out over a couple of weeks.
Eels are pretty static so growth isn't really a problem but they are hellish messy and will eat your clean up crew

 

[1979camaro]

interesting...so even if he is too long for the tank he wont mind being stuck curled up? I suppose they live in tunnels in the rock and whatnot anyway

 

[1979camaro]

addendum...i know when i was snorkeling in hawaii they were often swimming around too, not just living in their little holes...it was a very amazing thing to watch, more fascinating than the fish a lot of the time...i wonder what it would take to get them out and swimming...bigger than a 90 gallon tank i bet...if not maybe thats what ill do with the new setup...hmmm

K

 

[hookedonsalt]

The eel is probably my favorite. He'll usually stick about 3 inches out of his hole most of the time. He'll venture out some times...when you throw in some shrimp it doesn't take long to see him in entirety. I used to hand feed him, now I use a pair of plastic tongs. On the flip side, I had done some research before purchasing this particular eel. Alot of web sites recommend min. of 30 gallons, some others say 75. He is a messey eater, that's why I don't feed my hermits or anenome's supplements, I figure they can get the scraps.

 

[S.Reef]

If you want a clean-up crew...get rid of the Snowflake. If not keep it. However you could buy some brittle/serpent stars. Eels do not pick on them. And yes since eels are not a very active fish they can be kept in smaller quarters (as long as there is adequate filtration).

sam Reef

 

[hookedonsalt]

I should mention that the tomato and the false clown have been living together for about a year, they started out in a 30 gal. There was a maroon, but it was beat up by the other two.....no deaths since then. Should I ditch the tomato, or keep it. They both have their own anenome.