Tank mates for moray / cuttlefish

[LCDRDATA]

I recently picked up a 30-gallon cube I plan to use for a species tank. I have my eye on a small (~ 6-8") snowflake moray, which I figure won't outgrow this tank for quite awhile. I've also tossed around the idea of cuttlefish instead of the eel - I'd be very interested in hearing from anyone who has experience with them.

 

In either case, what would you recommend in terms of tank mates, particularly cleanup crew, that these guys won't eat? As the lighting setup isn't that great and the money will be going into other aspects, I'm thinking of lower-light softies and maybe an anemone of some kind, but since I expect the moray (especially) to mainly hang around the bottom of the tank, any good ideas for higher in the water column / further up the rock work? Thanks!

[Ryan S]

This link should help you out a bit:

 

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-12/fm/index.php

[extreme_tooth_decay]

When I had a snowflake that size (or larger) he never bothered anything.

 

I would feed him using a feeding prong a couple or few times a week.

 

Only complaint is that he was almost always hiding in his hole.

[LCDRDATA]

This link should help you out a bit:

 

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-12/fm/index.php

 

That was helpful in terms of fish, and confirmed what I was thinking in that area. However, I'm still trying to figure out a cleaner crew. It seems to me that hermits would almost certainly become dinner very quickly and cucumbers ought to be safe, but there's a lot of "gray area" in between - what about (what kind of) snails? Brittle/serpent stars? Other? He seems to be settling in well but I'm going to need something before too long; anyone have any experience and/or other references? Thanks!

[Ryan S]

That was helpful in terms of fish, and confirmed what I was thinking in that area. However, I'm still trying to figure out a cleaner crew. It seems to me that hermits would almost certainly become dinner very quickly and cucumbers ought to be safe, but there's a lot of "gray area" in between - what about (what kind of) snails? Brittle/serpent stars? Other? He seems to be settling in well but I'm going to need something before too long; anyone have any experience and/or other references? Thanks!

 

I don't know the answer. I had a snowflake and a puffer in a tank for a while. I tried hermits (they would hide under the rocks to avoid getting eaten and not clean anything); snails got snacked on; an urchin got flipped over and then snacked on... so honestly, I went without a CUC in the tank after that. I just ran a basic flourescent bulb, and I wiped the sides down and vacuumed the sand bed to keep it clean. And I had decent flow to keep detrimus in the water column to get sucked into the sump w/ the skimmer. But I'd have to pull hair algae off the rocks every couple of months that did develop too.

 

The culprit, for the record, that ate the snails, crabs, and urchin was the puffer, not the eel. I never saw him go for any inverts. I kept him well-fed, with a frozen shrimp every day, so that might be why. If your cuttlefish is less aggressive than my puffer was (valentini), then you might very well be able to get away with hermits or snails or an urchin. Just toss a couple hermits and snails in the tank and see what happens. They live and clean, or you feed your fish a tasty snack.

Edited June 27, 2011 by Ryan S