Ok Fish Mixing? Your Thoughts...

[LineDropper]

This is what I currently have living in my tank:

(Tank is 55g FOWLR, 55 lbs of LR, crushed coral substrate)

1 Clarks Clownfish
1 6-lined Wrasse
1 Spanish Hog Fish

1 Cleaner Shrimp
1 Horseshoe Crab
5 Snails
2 Electric Blue Hermit Crabs
1 Fiddler Crab

Anyone see any problems with this? I was also wondering if it would be ok to add 2 to 4 damsels?

Thanks

 

[n3ont3tra]

The fish all look okay. It's the inverts that aren't quite suitable.

I'm not totally sure on this, but I think that most hogfish will eat crustaceans and shrimp. You'll want to get a second opinion.

Horseshoe crabs get huge, and eat a lot of the microfauna that live in your tank. A 55 gallon is probably not large enough to support one long term.

I think you'll need a lot more than 5 snails to keep algae at bay.

And the fiddler crab... there's a lot of different kinds of fiddler crabs. The only kind I see at my LFS are brackish, and need a land area. So they wouldn't be suitable.

In my opinion, adding a few damsels would be okay, but keep in mind they are very aggressive fish. You might be better off with some peaceful fish. If you do decide on the damsels, add them all at one time, and add them last to help with the aggression.

 

[LineDropper]

The fish all look okay. It's the inverts that aren't quite suitable.

I'm not totally sure on this, but I think that most hogfish will eat crustaceans and shrimp. You'll want to get a second opinion.

Horseshoe crabs get huge, and eat a lot of the microfauna that live in your tank. A 55 gallon is probably not large enough to support one long term.

I think you'll need a lot more than 5 snails to keep algae at bay.

And the fiddler crab... there's a lot of different kinds of fiddler crabs. The only kind I see at my LFS are brackish, and need a land area. So they wouldn't be suitable.

In my opinion, adding a few damsels would be okay, but keep in mind they are very aggressive fish. You might be better off with some peaceful fish. If you do decide on the damsels, add them all at one time, and add them last to help with the aggression.

Yea, I get too excited when I go to my LFS and tend to buy livestock w/o doing enough research. I like the way the hogfish looks but according to one site --> "The mature adult Spanish Hogfish will eat snails, worms, mussels, small fish, shrimp, and squid." Not what I was expecting. my fault...

I've had the fiddler crab for about a month now and he seems to be doing well. But you are right, they do require access to land/water. I'll see what I can do to help this guy get to open air.

I think I need to chill and learn more about what I have... going to hold off on the damsels until I get my current community straight. Might try to take the hogfish back.

thanks for the comments.

 

[n3ont3tra]

A different kind of hogfish would probably work out, for example, I love the twin spot hogfish. They might be just a little /too/ peaceful, though. Especially for damsels.

Keep an eye on the fiddler crab. It usually takes a month or two but they usually won't last in full salt, especially with no air (from what I've read).

Just did some research on spanish hogfish... how big is it now?
According to wetwebmedia they get to 16 inches.
http/www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/fishes/w...ianus/index.htm

So yeah, you might wanna take him back.

 

[SkiFletch]

Agreed, Spanish Hogfish do not play nice with inverts as they age, horeshoe crabs require HUGE tanks, and some "fiddler crabs" aren't really suitable for a reef. Time for some research

 

[andywg]

More importantly on horseshoe crabs is that the ones most commonly encountered in the trade are NOT tropical, and will almost certainly require a good chiller long term, as well as a huge live sand bed to support a population of food large enough to keep the crab going.

 

[Lynden]

Agreed with above.

 

[dilbert]

It usually takes a month or two but they usually won't last in full salt, especially with no air (from what I've read).

It takes also about a month or two that those species that need access to a land part do drown finally when they can't get on land.