Decomposition of food in SW aquariums

While looking in my 2 week old tank today, I noticed a weird blob hidden behind a rock. It reminded me of a jellyfish, with its clear, transparent skin. Upon closer inspection, I realized it was an uneaten piece of krill that I fed to my Spotfin Squirrelfish. It was surrounded by a blob, or bubble, or whatever you want to call it. When I tried to remove it, the "skin" of the blob tore and the piece of food floated around until I removed it.

Yes, I already added fish to my tank. No, I didn't follow the 3reef motto of "Go slow, watch it grow. I was ignorant and in a hurry. I learned from my mistake, so please no lectures, I've already had a few. ;D

Anywho, I am curious about the cycle of decomposition in regard to uneaten food, like this piece of krill, in a saltwater aquarium. Is what I saw part of the process? I've also noticed some feces, as well as smaller pieces of food that none of my fish ate, but can't really remove due to their small size. What can be added to my tank to remove the uneaten food and feces, or should I let them decompose naturally?

Thanks in advance.

 

Check out Reef Cleaners and get a suggestion from John on what to put in your tank. If you have food decomposing in your tank you are feeding too much. Only put in as much as the fish will eat in 2 to 3 minutes max.

 

I'm guessing the piece of krill had begun decomposition, which if you are still cycling isn't bad. A good CUC (clean up crew) should take care of any detritus. A CUC is composed of crabs(I recommend only hermit crabs), snails, starfish, shrimp, cucumbers, and some fish(like gobies). Almost all inverts are filter feeders.

 

First off, I have 3 damsels and a Spotfin Squirrelfish (too much for a new tank).

My damsels eat flake food, frozen brine shrimp, or "Mariners Blend", which I'll call MB (mix of different things for SW fish). The Spotfin eats those except for the flake food, but he also gets frozen krill.

I find it hard when feeding brine or MB, because once it hits the outflow of my filters, it explodes into 1,000 pieces. After that the Spotfin won't eat it, as he likes the bigger chunks. I turn off my power filter for a few minutes but then turn it back on to keep smaller pieces from settling. The filter then sucks up many of the leftovers.

I'm still learning how much food to give them, and the frequency of feedings, but I concur that I am feeding them to much.

 

I bought 2 Petco hermit crabs over the weekend. One was DOA at home, the other was dead the next morning. Was it a Petco problem or mine? Who knows.

With my schedule right now I'm limited to Petco (blah), so I know they have Turbo Snails, Chocalate Chip Starfish, shrimp, some type of small white crab, and the hermits. Suggestions, and remember this is a new tank that I rushed fish into.

 

was the hermit crab aquatic or terrestrial? also how do you acclimate them before adding them to the tank? The choco chip star is isn't reef safe so if you plan on adding corals to the tank, it would be better to avoid getting one. Imo Turbo snails aren't very good cleaners and usually end up dying quickly. The shrimp would probably be good although they are somewhat delicate, I'm guessing they sell peppermint shrimp.

 

I bought a Red Legged Hermit Crab and a Blue Legged Hermit Crab. I believe the BLHC was DOA because he never came out of his shell. When I removed him there was a worm underneath him. From photos I've seem I'm guessing it was a Bristleworm that must have come from my live sand or live rock I bought.

The RLHC lasted a few hours but was dead in morning. To acclimate, I put then in a container with the store's water, and slowly added some of my own. After a short time (15-30 minutes?) I added them to my tank.

They did have peppermint shrimp, which I was told would be good as I believe I have some type of anemone on my live rock that is harmful. (see pic on one of my other threads). They also had some type of crab that I bleieve was called an Arrowhead Crab. It resembled a stick, or actually the insect called a Walking Stick.

 

the peppermint shrimp would be good since they are relatively cheap, they are decent filter feeders and as someone else told you, will eat aiptasia. the arrowhead crab is also a good cleaner, but like most crabs may eat other inverts like snails if they get hungry.

 

I would hold off on the peppermint shrimp until you have a test kit for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate, and the ammonia and nitrite reads 0. Shrimp are pretty sensitive to those levels.

It's also likely the reason you had the crab die.

 

Appreciate the tips. Do I need any special lighting for shrimp or crabs?