Read It Or Don't. 480g Predator Tank - Invertebrates
One primary reason I wanted to keep a predator tank without delicate corals was because of star fish. I really like them, and most are not reef safe. I especially like the chocolate chip starfish. So I decided to forego aggressive fish such as triggers and puffer fish that might hurt these inverts, and instead focus on compatible tank mates.
| Title | Date Acquired | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
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Stenorhynchus seticornis Arrow crab |
Arrow crabs always intrigued me with their alien looks. Since they absolutely do not get along with Boxer shrimp, I could not add it to my reef aquarium. Instead I decided to tempt fate and put one in my 480g tank. It has been several months and it is still alive - so I assume the eels are not interested. Mostly active during the night. I sometimes target feed it pieces of fish when I feed the rest of the predators. |
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Cypraea tigris Tiger cowrie |
5 Sep '06 |
Some people told me this Tiger cowrie has no chance in my tank and that it will die. Well, its been almost one year now and it is still going about every night - eating algae and mussel. |
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Protoreaster nodosus Chocolate-chip starfish |
13 Dec '06 |
This star fish loves to eat mussel from the SeaVeggies clip. If not that, it eats alge. I sometimes spot it over my Zoanthids and mushrooms - not yet sure whether it eats them. |
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Arbacia punctulata Rock urchin |
1 Feb '07 |
I have two of these urchins, and they do a great job of eating away at the various algae growing on the live rock. |
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Nardoa novaecaledoniae Galathea Sea Star |
One of a very few sea stars that actually thrives in captivity. I have two of them and they eat mainly algae. UPDATE: One died recently for some unknown reasons. Maybe predation from one of the fish? |
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| No Picture Available | Engina mendicaria Bumblebee snail |
A couple of months ago I added two Bumblebee snails because they looked very cool. So far they are surviving. |
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Ophiarachna incrassata Green brittle star |
28 Sep '06 |
These two starfish were sold to me as the run of the mill cute brittle stars eating detritus and being general good citizens. Well, two days after adding them to my reef aquarium one jumped my Feather star and killed it. Immediately I realised these are not the typical scavengers I have in my aquarium, so I caught both and placed them in the 125g predator tank. Just feeding them a lancefish is enough to illustrate their aggressive predatory nature. They are incredibly strong - so much that the eels give up if they managed to get an arm on to a piece of fish first. These are my favourite inverts and I feed them weekly. It is cute to see their bodies deform to the shape of whatever they swallowed. They are nocturnal and never come out in the day except if I feed the tank. |
| No Picture Available | Ophioderma Short spined serpent star |
13 Dec '06 |
These serpent starfish are nocturnal and always hiding in the rockwork. They scavenge the substrate for detritus and whatever else they can find - highly beneficial. |
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Diadema spp. Long-spined urchin |
Since the lighting upgrade I had an explosive growth of green algae. I added a couple of urchins and snails to help out. | |
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Echinometra spp.
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Cute rock urchins - they are not the same as the other two I have as they have white concentric rings around the base of the spines. | |
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Holothuria (Halodeima) atra Tigertail sea cucumber |
27 Oct '07 | I added this sea cucumber since I needed something to help clean he substrate. The predators really know how to make a mess. This is my first sea cucumber so I will watch it carefully for any signs of stress. | |
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Ophiomastix annulosa Brittle star |
? | A very cool brittle star - similar to the green brittle star, but IMO less voracious. |