really stupid question ?

onevia_01 · 11/24/2006, 04:11 AM

I have a 10g tank with 3/4 volume of live rock. four hermit crabs soft corals, two clowns.
The question is do I need to feed my hermit crabs. Or should they be getting enough on the rocks.there is not much algae in anything in the tank plus i'm skimming. My crabs seem a bit sad and im wondering if this might be the cause.If so what is good?

thanks heaps

jdieck · 11/24/2006, 04:12 AM

No need to feed them they will get whatever escapes the clowns feeding and will scavege around the rock.

sir_dudeguy · 11/24/2006, 05:57 AM

the hermits will be fine on whatever is fed to the tank to the clowns...but you've got 3/4 of the tank space being taken up by rock? Meaning there's only a quarter of the space of actual water? That only leaves like 2 and a half gallons or something for 2 clowns. Thats much to small for one clown, let alone 2...

aquamn1999 · 11/24/2006, 08:54 AM

You don't need to feed the hermit crabs

aquamn1999 · 11/24/2006, 08:56 AM

I forgot there are no stupid questions. Everybody learns something new thats what this forum is for.

sarduci · 11/24/2006, 12:33 PM

Remember, rock that is not 100% solid does not exclude water from filling some of the space.

And I'd be surprised if the rock didn't have spaces between them from being stacked.

Sk8r · 11/24/2006, 12:38 PM

In a very small tank you must be particularly careful of overfeeding, because a little chemical bump is huge for a small volume of water. That's one reason nanos are so difficult. Test your water often, like daily, for the first half year of its life, and you will find how it reacts to, say, an extra pellet or two. Remember that there's food in there you don't see---down to the chemicals. I have an ecoglobe that's been alive for going on 7 years now, with two brine shrimp, about a cup of water, and a wisp of algae, which alternately dies back, coats the sides, makes a clump in the middle, but always feeds the shrimp, as their waste feeds the algae. It's a sealed, equilibrated system, running simply on daylight. When you do a nano, that's what you hope for: equilibration, meaning what one gives off, another uses, with very, very delicate balances.

papagimp · 11/24/2006, 12:50 PM

How the heck to you keep two brine shrimp alive for 7 years without massive bbs everywhere and they shrimp dying within a couple months per their life cycle?

drummereef · 11/24/2006, 02:07 PM

When I kept hermits I fed them snails.

11/24/2006, 04:11 AM	#1
onevia_01 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 104	really stupid question ? I have a 10g tank with 3/4 volume of live rock. four hermit crabs soft corals, two clowns. The question is do I need to feed my hermit crabs. Or should they be getting enough on the rocks.there is not much algae in anything in the tank plus i'm skimming. My crabs seem a bit sad and im wondering if this might be the cause.If so what is good? thanks heaps

11/24/2006, 04:12 AM	#2
jdieck Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Maumee, OH Posts: 15,673	No need to feed them they will get whatever escapes the clowns feeding and will scavege around the rock. __________________ Did I write what I wrote? What the heck am I talking about! Well..... Nevermind. Current Tank Info: 225 gal reef, DSB, 40 g sump w/ LRT100 return, 37 g pre-sump, 3 MH 250 W 15K, 4 96 W PC dual actinic,ETS 1500 Skim.w/LRT70, 20 lb Ca R., 40 W UV, 1/3 HP chiller, two 350 W Htrs, Neptune II Cont., 330 P LR/ 330 P LS. 55 gal Refugium

11/24/2006, 05:57 AM	#3
sir_dudeguy Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 10,841	the hermits will be fine on whatever is fed to the tank to the clowns...but you've got 3/4 of the tank space being taken up by rock? Meaning there's only a quarter of the space of actual water? That only leaves like 2 and a half gallons or something for 2 clowns. Thats much to small for one clown, let alone 2... __________________ TAKE...LUCK!!!

11/24/2006, 12:38 PM	#7
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	In a very small tank you must be particularly careful of overfeeding, because a little chemical bump is huge for a small volume of water. That's one reason nanos are so difficult. Test your water often, like daily, for the first half year of its life, and you will find how it reacts to, say, an extra pellet or two. Remember that there's food in there you don't see---down to the chemicals. I have an ecoglobe that's been alive for going on 7 years now, with two brine shrimp, about a cup of water, and a wisp of algae, which alternately dies back, coats the sides, makes a clump in the middle, but always feeds the shrimp, as their waste feeds the algae. It's a sealed, equilibrated system, running simply on daylight. When you do a nano, that's what you hope for: equilibration, meaning what one gives off, another uses, with very, very delicate balances. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

11/24/2006, 12:50 PM	#8
papagimp COMAS Rocks! Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Oklahoma City, OK Posts: 8,185 Blog Entries: 2	How the heck to you keep two brine shrimp alive for 7 years without massive bbs everywhere and they shrimp dying within a couple months per their life cycle? __________________ 58g Softie & 75g Stoney Member, Central Oklahoma Marine Aquarium Society Current Tank Info: 58g Mixed Reef Project - Started June 2011

11/24/2006, 08:54 AM	#4
aquamn1999 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Charlotte, NC Posts: 155	You don't need to feed the hermit crabs

11/24/2006, 08:56 AM	#5
aquamn1999 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Charlotte, NC Posts: 155	I forgot there are no stupid questions. Everybody learns something new thats what this forum is for.

11/24/2006, 12:33 PM	#6
sarduci Premium Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Wausau, Wisconsin Posts: 1,278	Remember, rock that is not 100% solid does not exclude water from filling some of the space. And I'd be surprised if the rock didn't have spaces between them from being stacked.

11/24/2006, 02:07 PM	#9
drummereef Team RC Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: STL Posts: 14,754	When I kept hermits I fed them snails. __________________ -Brett 180g Marineland Starfire In-Wall 278 gallon system