Boxer Shrimp & Cleaner Shrimp

[ak_47]

hi people i just purchased my self 2 cleaner shrimp and also a boxer shrimp and hey they look great, set up my new blue aquarium light as well, moonlight effect i think and it's looks really cool.


Q is, is there any tips you guys/girls can give me on looking after them ?

Thanks people !


p.s i think i posted this in the WRONG place ? any mods can move this for me ?

( god what a newbie ) )

 

[Navarre]

Hi and welcome to the site.
Here is a tip, get rid of the boxer (or the cleaners) as so on as possible. )

I dont know your setup but i would guess that its below 50 gallons? if so then the boxer will be very close to the cleaners in a tank of this size. A boxer can and will catch and eat cleaners and even fish if they get a chance. (sorry to be the bearer of bad news)
I love boxers, one of my favorite shrimps but i would not entertainone even in a tank of my size withthe shrimpsi have in it.l

 

[ak_47]

it's nearly 70 gal, and they guy in the shops said that it would be ok, have i been done, just so he can make a quick buck ?

 

[Navarre]

I would not condem him completely, betteradvice would have been to get more hermits or perhaps a different type of shrimp like a blood shrimp etc. these will all live happily together.

There are a few tanks that keep Boxers alongside fish and shrimp with no problem, however i have seen many more tanks suffer from dissapearing shrimps and/or fish only to find the cuplrit is the boxer )

If you really want to keep him then with a tank this size and lots of hiding places you might get away with it. However be aware that should the boxer manage to corner a shrimp then it will be on the menu Boxers are very deceptive, they look big and cumbersome but in actual fact they can move at a very high pace and are very adept at sheparding their prey into corners.

Just watching him closely and see how he reacts at feeding times. if he attacks the others in an attempt to get to the food then i would get rid of him. if he is laid back and gives the rest a fair cahnce also then perhaps he will be ok.

 

[ak_47]

man what a great site this is and yeah thanks for the welcome, you see i do thing's the wrong way round that i WON'T do again, after all i decided that i wanted them and then asked the guy in the shop, of course he may say yes and that just to make a sale, as you don't know how some people will react if you wave cash under thier faces ?

i did check the net and that about this and i thought that i could trust a guy who after all sells them.


Any way man it seems that i need to get a lot more hiding places in this tank then, picture attached... if i want to have any chance of them surving then.

At the moment she has a cluster of eggs on her underside so maybe she's keeping out the way until they hatch eh ?

You see i know it's hard with marine fish and that to stop them from eating each other thats why i asked loads of questions to the guy in the shop before i bought it!
But i could think of nothing worse than coming home to find part of my cleaner crew hanging from it's face !

i fed them last night and i'm going to try again tonight but she didn't seem to bolt out and flee about harrasing the other shrimp, she simply sat on the coral until the coast was clear and then started to wander about a bit looking for food.


if this has something to do with her eggs and that i don't know !


Thanks for all your time man.


i think maybe i can only post pictures in another part of this forum so here's the link http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?act=ST&f=22&t=61823

 

[Navarre]

Ok, after seeing hte piccy I would advise you to add live rock asap. Lots of live rock to help create a natural environment for them. I know live rock is expensive but its the best filter money can buy. Well worth getting as much as you can afford.

 

[ak_47]

ok i'll get some at the weekend but i am worried about if it will decay during shipping and when they are added to the aquarium it will cause water pollution and damage to the biological balance in the aquarium.


So i'll try and buy as much as i can but is it advisable to put loads in the tank in one go ?


hey dude, thanks for your help.

 

[ak_47]

ok i updated with some live rock...i've been offered

"I NOW HAVE AVAILABLE, LIVE ROCK AT £10 PER KILO BIG PIECES WITH PLENTY OF ALGAE GROWTH ON COLLECTION FROM THIS MONDAY ON !"

Is this a good deal and do you think that i should be heading for more algae as i'm allready seeing a problem with this brown stuff, now it has trapped air bubbles in it and kinda looks a bit er not good, it's attached only to the barnicle pods and a bit of rock, but since i upgraded with a blue/moon light then the green stuff seems to have died down, well apart form the green long stuff attached to the coral and that.

 

[Navarre]

The advert probably means Coraline algea or some sort of macro algea. IMO both are good options as this will be putin the tank and will be in direct competition with your nusance algea for nutrients. Its highly likely you will find the nusance algea will not grow much more or even die out if the algea in the new live rock can outcompete it.

 

[ak_47]

ok thanks your advice is sort after as your the fish master! i've read loads of posts on here and your input is well good. did you check the piccy ? updated !

 

[Navarre]

Ok checked the update. I must say the sand is very clean! Have you gone through the Diatom stage yet (Brown dusty algea)? If not then expect it to happen any day now as this is a natural part of the tank maturing. If the tank has gone through the diatom stage then its cleanuped up very well indeed!

Adding mor elive rock is good, I owuld add a little each time you visit yor LFS, it doesnt have to be £50 or more, just a little here and there to help add to the stability of the tank.

All algeas compete for the same nutrients which is Nitrates and Phosphates. By trying to keep these 2 nutrients down will help enormously. If you use RO water this will ehlp, tap water might make the matter worse). If you have rock with coraline algea or live rock with macro algeas, (Halymeda, Halymenia, etc). then these are far more attractive and also help keep nutrients low. Also, as the macro algeas grow they can easily be pruned to be kept under control.

 

[ak_47]

yeah i think i went thrrough that stage some time ago, but the fact that my sand is clean i think is down to my fav fish the " goby " he's great at turning over the sand, but he keeps taking all the sand from the front of the tnak and then spitting it over the back of the rock..... i've tried telling him but no effect.

ok so my tnak seems ok at the moment and i will keep adding a little bit rock at a time. Thing is i want some polyps and that but have been advised that the hermit crab will eat them, so until i get rid of him, then i can't i suppose.

Any one want a free crab ?

 

[Navarre]

What type of hermit crab is it? if its part of the normal cleaner crew then you should not have any wories. Normal cleaner crabs are Redlegs, Bluelegs, zebralegs. These are the most common but by no means the compelete list. All of these remain small and should pose no threat to the corals. Its true that some irritate corals by climbing over them but they are usually trying to reach food trapped within the polyps of the coral and not after the coral itself. I have alot of hermits in my tank and none of them have cause any harm to my corals be it hard corals or softies.

Soft mushrooms or Zooanthids are perfect beginners corals as they are very undemanding. However, a word of caution on zooanthids. They carry in their mucus a toxin called Palytoxin. There is no antidote and it can prove fatal. Make sure you respect this coral when handling it as any breaks in the skin will increase the change of it getting into the bloodstream.

 

[ak_47]

he's just a small hermit crab, not a blue legged oneinfact he's so small it's hard to tell.

thanks once again for all your advice.


One other thing, there is confusion on when and how often to do the water changes on my tank, some people say only when it needs it i.e the tests and that, yet the guy in the pet shop told me once a month and i should also clean the filter, it's a fluval cannister filter that sit's out side the tank?

Now i'm confused as i've been reading loads about then.

P.s i don't have a skimmer either.

Cheers

 

[Navarre]

I would do 10% water changes every 2 weeks for the 1st 6 months of the tank. this will keep water quality high with trace eliments and buffers. Then perhaps drop to a 15-20% change once per month.

I would also change the filter wool in the external and also wash out the sponges in the external.. Remember to only wash the sponges in old tank water when doing this to protect the bacteria living in these sponges.