NOTreef safe? "blue knee hermit"

[GeejEx]

Impulse buy- I don't have any coral yet, so I'm thinking he'll stay in the FOWLR tank (reef to be set up later)

I see that he's a "blue knee hermit", but little info on the species or care.

http://z.about.com/d/saltaquarium/1/...hermit_400.JPG

[GeejEx]

Second mistake- a pair of Cowries?

[pagojoe]

LOL what kind of cowries?

[GeejEx]

Looks like Cypraea maculifera "RETICULATED COWRY"
http://www.coralreefnetwork.com/sten...aculifera2.jpg

[pagojoe]

OK, that one doesn't hit the aquarium market very often, but if it looks like that, it's probably a dark variation of Cypraea arabica. About 1.5 to 2 inches long? They are easier to keep in a tank than most species. They will scrape the algae off your tank walls and off your rocks, but you may not have much for them to eat in your tank. You can supplementally feed them wilted leaf lettuce and clams on the half shell like you buy at the grocery store, but it may take a while for them to get used to eating things they don't normally eat. The crabs will probably eat what they don't. Some Cypraea arabica are very dark, almost black, but most look like this:

Marine Fish Picture Gallery - Arabian Cowry picture

Cheers,


Don

[pagojoe]

I probably should have told you how to tell C. maculifera from C. arabica. The easiest way is to look at the bottom of the shell. The black blotch on the columellar side of the base (right beside the teeth) is characteristic of C. maculifera. If it doesn't have that blotch but otherwise looks like it, it's probably C. arabica. See:

Mauritia maculifera maculifera

Cheers again,



Don