Kessil

Do you guys do group buy for buying invertebrates?

Alexx

Alexx

Supporting Member
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Hi, I was wondering if you guy's organize group buy when you are getting a cleanup crew.
I heard you can get a better deal then just buying a few snails at a time from a store.
 
It has bone done before, and in some situations can be beneficial however I feel people sometimes over estimate what they need and at the end of the day how much are you really saving? $20 for a handful of snails at the store or $20 for a boatload of snails of which most die because you dont really have that much algae. There just is too much misinformation in this hobby, like 1 snail per gallon is a good place to start... mostly started by the guys trying to sell you the snails :)
 
Mike is right. Sometimes it's just better to ask on the boards before an event if anyone has any extra XXX snails, etc. A lot of folks have spawns of some species and give them away to other supporting members. I didn't even ask for inverts at the last frag swap and ended up taking home two urchins, a large conch, 2 fighting conchs, a fire shrimp and some snails.
 
For my tank restart I went to Red Sea Violet Aquarium to get invertebrates because as stated in their website they do a $20 cleaner crew and I think the deal is quite good. I got 4 hermit crabs, 4 snails and 2 stars.
 
juanfdezdc said:
For my tank restart I went to Red Sea Violet Aquarium to get invertebrates because as stated in their website they do a $20 cleaner crew and I think the deal is quite good. I got 4 hermit crabs, 4 snails and 2 stars.
Click to expand...
What is that website? Red Sea Violet Aquarium It is a good deal for $20
 
While it might seem like a good deal, I would caution against a cleaner pack for a few reasons.
1. Hermit crabs. Unless those are legit scarlet red hermit crabs they aren't safe with snails. 4 scarlet red hermits usually are almost the price of $20 retail, so I doubt they're scarlet reefs. Most likely dwarf blue hermits, which do grow to be pretty aggressive feeders.
2. Snails. Most likely astreas, which are good algae eaters, but tend to perish once they're on their backs if you don't flip them over. This is more so if one of your hermits finds them on their backs. Possibly wait around for the next round of banded Trochus which readily breeds and people usually bring some as freebies to swaps.
3. Stars. Very few survive in captivity for long term. Fromia sp. and Linkia sp. are usually the price of $20 each and probably the only stars that lasts any length of time. Stay clear of sand sifting stars unless you have an establish sandbed since they consume the microfauna, which they eventually deplete. Hopefully, not chocolate chip stars either, which aren't reef safe.

I would take a look at what kind of algae you're dealing with and then customize your cuc around that. Also, don't load the tank up with them. Their population density is determined by food availability.
 
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