Questions on: gobys & corals, molting, and more

[Crab Rangoon]

1. My yellow clown goby seems to like perching on corals more than sand and liverock. He lays around ontop of my brain coral frequently, my toadstool leather a few times a day, and occasionally on my mushrooms. The brain coral wont open polyps for feeding while the goby's on it, and the leather obviously closes up, but is this touching by the goby negative? Is it regular for gobys to lounge around on soft corals?

2. I was spooked when I saw a crab, I didn't know I had, laying on its side this morning by my anemone crab. Luckily, it was just his shell/molting(?). How frequently might I expect this to occur, does it need to be removed from the tank, and do all the crustaceans (crab & shrimp) molt? Or just some?

3. I set up my 52g yesterday, so all thats in it is ~50 gal. of saltwater, 53lbs liverock, and some seasand/rubble. I'm adding another 30-35lbs of lr today, letting it cure for 2-3 weeks, and adding the PC on around the end of curing or when I start assembling the cleaning crew. The tank doesn't really need a light while curing, correct? That all sounds fine and dandy?

4. Lastly, this is probably more an opinion than fact issue, but here's the deal. I'm interested in adding 1 or 2 fish that'd possibly be predators of small/ornamental shrimp that I'd planned on having in my tank. If I built my tank in the order of: snails/crabs/shrimp, then corals, then fish, and letting the tank get established between each groups addition, would there be less a chance of the fish eating the shrimp? I figure if I have a fish that can eat shrimp, then I drop a shrimp in the tank, its lunch, but if the fish is added to a tank the shrimp live in, it's not as much a risk. Is this just me having high hopes?

Thanks.

[CD]

Hi Randy! I'm going to try and take a crack at these questions, and if anybody disagrees, feel free to chime in:

1. Clown gobys like to perch on corals...they *prefer* branching type corals, and will actually lay their eggs on the corals. This type of goby is best kept with other docile species, but one advantage this type of goby has is that it has a type of body slime that is noxious and keeps *most* (but not all) predatory fishes from eating them. I'm sure this goby is probably irratating your soft corals...long term effects? I guess it depends on the coral. I would definitely keep a close eye on the appearance/health of your corals. Although this type of goby is known to occasionally nip small coral polyps, it is not supposed to create any irreparable damage.

2. Crabs and shrimps molt as they grow. Do not remove the exoskeleton, as it is high in protein and nutritious for either the molting creature or other creatures in your tank.

3. Uncured LR does not need light while curing, but since it usually takes about two to four weeks for all traces of decay and odor to disappear, it is *definitely* recommended to do several complete water changes during the curing period to purge the system of toxic nitrogenous wastes.

4. Hmmm. I'd say high hopes are OK for some, but not for all. I really need to know what types of predators you are planning on keeping, which tank (size) you are planning on placing these creatures, and exactly which types of invertebrates you plan on placing in there with the predators.

Wendy

[sharkie]

Hey Randy...

Sounds like you need someone to take that clown goby off your hands. :)

1. I too also read that clown gobys like to lay their eggs on corals, and that it could harm the coral, but as long as your system is pristine, it should not cause any long term problems

2. I added a cleaner shrimp to my tank over the weekend, and the first thing it did was molt. I heard that it was actually good that they are molting, as that is a sign of a healthy tank? I left the shell in the tank, and it was gone in a couple of days.

3. Uncured LR does not need light. In fact, I heard that you should minimize the light as you may start getting unwanted algae in your tank.

4. Not a clue...

Again, as wendy said, if anybody disagrees feel free to correct me, and teach me the right answer. :)

chiu

[JimD]

Ill only debate the light issue, everything else seems right on. True, the rock itself doesnt need light to cycle, however, some floura/fauna that hitchhikes on the rock might. As the die-off occurs, the remaining life, be it plant (photosythesis) or animal (nocturnal hunters) may need some form of light/dark period to survive the three to four week cycle. I would provide at least a minimal light source.

[cailan]

i agree with jim. they say not to use lights when you cycle to cut down on algae growth but i like to leave my lights on for a few hours a day for anything that may be in the rock and need lights.

[GaryP]

I've heard folks repeatedly say to limit light to control nuisance algae. I'm still waiting for someone to show me that it actually worked. You'd be surprised how little light some of them need, especially cyano.

I actually think its a good thing to let nuisance algae bloom in a new tank. How else are you going to cycle the wastes? Sure the bacteria will do some, but what about things like phosphates? What are your clean up crew critters going to feed on?

Gary

[cailan]

yeah, i never really understood the point of trying to keep the algae from growing. when you do get things in your tank you need the lights on and the algae is going to start growing then. you might as well just do what gary said and let the algae get a head start on getting rid of phosphates other stuff.

[Someone]

I agree with cd on questions 1,2,3. but I just wanted to add a little to number four. IMO the shrimp will have a better chance, but it is liable to eventually become lunch. Now if you add a huge shrimp or something now, let it stay there for 6 months or so, then add a very small fish that you expect to eat it, then the fish will grow up looking at the shrimp lke its bigger, (this is only true for most fish). Overall if you add the shrimp(or whatever it is) now and then add the fish later, your shrimp will have a better chance of making it for at least a longer period of time. If I were you instead of adding the shrimp then fish, I would add like a clown or something similar, just to make sure that water params are all correct. Then your clown will not pick at your shrimp, and you will have a cool little fish to look at. unless you got a maroon clown or something.......what kind of fish and shrimp or invertebrate are w talking about here? just out of curiosity.

[Crab Rangoon]

the mental conflict over fish vs shrimp I'm having is the Sexy Shrimp possibly being consumed by a longnose Hawkfish. I didnt think it would be doable anyway, just because I've noticed how big the mouth of a LN Hawk is when they're 3ish inches, and the sexy shrimp stay rather small. But all in all, I was just wondering if adding crustaceans, letting them settle, and then adding fish would better, or by any means, insure the life of the crustaceans, rather then dropping them in and somebody thinking they are getting fed :-x
Also, the tank gets natural sunlight, since its straight across the way from our balcony, which we leave unshaded during the day, and also through the evening its right under a cieling light that we keep on most of the time. I just was't planning to add the PC on until closer to the end of the month.