Kelmen

Yoh, bro, sounds like you are considering keeping it... Well, here are my (novice) experience with my red hairy hermit.... is past. As with cleaner shrimps, I have not problem with this. 2 shrimps, and the hermit, grow together been in the tank almost that long. No problem. Even shrimps molted many times... Big, all of them --- more than 6 months. As for coral, I have very few during that time: - I have star polyp (doing damn good, like weed now). - no problem also, but many time the hermit will wander into their area foraging food, so caused them all retracted. But never "witness" the hermit eat any of them. - got a mushroom (Ricordea), frag size, damin mini size, also no problem. - I have a long dead flower pot (goniopora), also fall down few times, can't say who did it. - when its dying, the hermit taking them as snack food - I have few snails too, saw it play play with few, but also quite rare. I believe 1 been eaten by it. 1 been in eaten in about 6 months - no big deal to me. - afterall snails cheap mah (prejudice) - saw it ate my 2nd cuke (newly stock), but no problem with 1st old cuke. - I believe the new cuke is not doing good, so the hermit having fun with it. - I only have 2 Nemo with anemone, 1 6 lines, 1 yellow tang, 1 algae blenny. No problem with the crab. Dunno about small fishs like dartfish. - I run a 4" DSB in main tank, it always sifting the sand, so make the water a bit cloudy due to the sand. Well, that's fine with me, kind of look "natural" to me. In short, if you gonna stock new pets into the tank, there's always a risk that whether the hermit will "bother" it. But if you really not in stocking frenzy, its really a "priceless" janitor.

keep the pump running, feed the tank once awhile. during these time you also can run some "purging" process such as carbon \ UV, as these usually not compatible during medication.

ge.... just wondering you guys can get a snapshot of the infamous "ich" parasite? So that we other brothers can "recognize" these buggers. In Cantonese: See them anytime, beat the hell out of them anytime

yes, happened to me too. eventually they will disperse. Probably some die off. Since you are just cycling, can leave it be.

yah, it happened to me too. Tank been running about 9 months, just that now the erosion is lesser and smaller, but still there. Likely we have to "replenish" the rock at some time later too.

too many "pincers" (weapon) in your tank, battle is guarantee, just when go buy more no-pincers shrimps mah...

better remove it, not until they swarm then you crying up and down. They are likely pest. Hard to remove. Unless you can chk them out 1 stone by stone, whatever juice or kalk things done, "they will be back". So, I put in peppermint shrimps. Wow, it work! I can't see those pieces in my main tank liao, but refugium one somehow doesn't work....? I Hit on my main tank, but Miss on my refugium.

Yoh, bro. Here are my real exp: http://www.sgreefclub.com/forum/index.php?...ndpost&p=453478 red hairy hermit crab (non reef-safe), is the best for that purpose, I tell you. My sea cuke do help, but..... they are really slowwwwwwwww, but they kind of work on area randomly, as they are blind.

IMO: Make many holes with various, got big, medium and small. So diiferent size pets can find their fav spots in. And make these area kind of shading, I find that many pets like staying under the shade. And try make these holes zig-zag, not straight line like 1 tunnel. So pets evading bully can play hide and seek. Use big (can use dead rock) for base, good for shading too. If you go with DSB, try put some base rocks at least at mid level of the sand depth. With time shirt, sand level may shift due to sifting from pets. And your rock can go "dancing", dangerous. HTH

If its not bleached, its likely not enough light for it, so it expand itself try to get more of the light. Based on what I read from the net. Or... Its not doing so good in the LFS, your tank is so good for it. It so happy and go party. Both "side" opinions, gauge them based on your own judgement.

They rich mah. SGD so good to be use.... Those are probably their 1st pH pen purchase, as kind of "test buy".... geeeee....

Yaloh, so jam the space. Want to run and hide also dunno where to go. No transport worst too. That's the beauty (and its purpose) of "aquascaping". Red hairy hermit crab is always "hungry". I used to have 1, it grow so fast and big. Half year it can become about more then 5 times bigger! I donated it to someone else, because it having fun with my new feather duster. After the donation, realized that how "good" it been doing the "cleaniness" in my DSB main tank. Used to have white and clean sand and rock and no hair algae. Now, sand bed diatom strike, rock detrius build up, aiptasia go partying, hair algae grow so much like macroalgae. So, you decide wanna remove the crab or not... GL

IMO: I believe the fish color fading is highly related to their nutrients taking. You have to do a research onto that species, chk out their diet. You probably missed out something, or the fish diet is not fully study by researchers. Likely you have to test and trial with the diet. GL

Of course you can, but why so "drastic"? Unless the whole rock almost infested with the aiptasia, then maybe you go for it. Else whatever bad and good inside will become pizza liao. You want like that meh?

If we all really look into what we, and those around us are doing, its quite simple - we are working hard to "enhancing" our life quality. So you can say that's our life purpose. Maybe at our current humanity stage, we are working on material level. There may be more superior or better approach (forget about religion), we yet to fully grasp those one. So, its all back to square and simple. Our life "purpose" is kind of game, ever play the game "The Sims"? Something like that, keep on make yourself happy, through any mean you would and gonna pick, good or bad. At youth, we just wanna be happy by playing, enjoying. At adult, about the same but also wanna be "power", and with (financial) responsibilities, we play a more higher degree or complex of the game - politic, $-making, ######, etc. Even at old age, we still wanna do all these, but I dunno on this as I'm not on that stage yet. There's really no "meaningful" purpose in life, its just kind of a game -- make yourself happy, by good and or evil means, by reefing or not.

these pets are not known to eat algae. Tang only eat macroalgae, not those on the glass (microalgae), although it may nip on them, but dont hope on it. Best is algae blenny aka lawnmower blenny. certain snails (dunno which one though) and hermit will love to munch on them too.

So, only 1 bro's fire shrimp is working as dentist? All others are "jobless"? doesn't sounds reliable. But then, if no harm, I will try it.

if you can remove the rock easily, take it out, pour boiled water onto that spot, then wait sometime, use brush clean it off. Put back.

Mmm.... sounds like my intention of getting "dentist" isn't going to work. At most, they probably just the typical "body massager" only.

I really seriously believe our life is just kind of Matrix. Human suck. The only good thing I can see from human is the "science". Its something more solid, can pass down onto next gen for better good. All other are just "talks" and "feels" only.

The movie "Maxtrix" is a best hint. We just dunno what's the real situation at the "other end". Wonder why scientist cannot find ET? Because the "system" dont bother to work out that part.

I got 2 grown big skunk cleaner shrimps. Good and active. And recently stocked in 2 small peppermints. Hardly see them, so far only can see 1 moving at night. And I'm thinking to try fire shrimp. Heard from the LFS they saw it clean a fish mouth. Since I only saw my skunk clean yellow tand and algae blenny body only, wonder maybe they need a "dentist" too. So, for those bros keeping fire cleaner shrimps, do you ever spot them performing cleaning tasks? Are they working on the fish mouth too? Will mixing this shrimps in 4' tank a bad idea? I always try put in 2 pieces of stocks (either pair or not, just tembak).

Aiya, lagi shock. Go buy more herbivors, they will love your tank dearly.

Hey, with time and efforts, you can "breed" them, then $$$ come....

grow of algaes mean your water got the right things for them to grow, and many other live stocks do feed on these. So, one "can" say its "stableness", or other would say you not maintaining the tank "clean" enough. Anyway, its best to get some pets to help mow down on these algaes. As to improve the mini-ecological cycle there as well.