skunk cleaner shrimp

[elgordoinavw]

hello everyone, i was wanting to get some cleaner shrimp, but don't know how many to get . i have a 45 gallon w/ 25 gallon sump. i only have a few chromis and was wanting to add a sailfin tang once i put my corals in. what will they eat ? will hey ust scavenge? what about the sailfin good or bad idea? now i've only had my tank setup for about 1 month, should i wait till after the corals to add the shrimp?

well thanks everyone.

[ylmaya]

I think you can add the shrimp any time after your cycle is over. I am not sure how cleaners are towards each other but as far as I know if you don't have a "pair" it is better to just have one. Most reef animals are territorial and don't do too well in groups. (Unless you have enough room for fish to school).

The shrimp will scavenge whatever he can find and believe me he'll find plenty on your live rock to eat. He'll keep your fish clean too! I like Sailfin Tangs for picking algae - I also believe they are one of the easier Tangs to keep. I am sure there are some experts here who will give you more info.

Good Luck!

[Doug1]

FWIW a 45 g tank is too small for a sailfin. Even when small tangs like a lot of swimming room or they get stressed.
Sailfins are hardy and one of my faves, but I wouldnt get one at this point unless upgrading to a larger tank in the next year is a realistic expectation

[Geoff]

check your levels. if they are fine then you can add the shrimp. this would be a very small bio-load. check the levels again after a week to make sure all is fine. your tank is very young. you need to add things very slowly to let the bacteria ramp up also. i was not adding anything to may tank until after 2-3 months.

ditto on the tang thing. sailfins get pretty big. they also like a lot of swimming room. they are range grazers in the wild.

G~