blue devil - first inhabitant

thefatman · 02-26-2003, 09:24 AM

ok well, everything seems to be going good so far, all my water parameters test good, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and ph.. so i added my first two inhabitants yesterday, and so far, they are still alive and very active.. i went with two blue devils, because i read enough to see they were a level 1 on the "easy to keep alive scale" lol and they are a nice colorful addition..

two questions. i'm now finding out that i shouldn't have went with blue devils, because the tank will also house a pecular clown and a sebae clown. and i'm reading that the blue devil is more aggrssive and they should have been put in last :-( or will i be ok?

oh, and i don't havea name, but i saw some really cool "red crabs" at the LFS today, smaller than a dime, but a really bright/deep maroonish color.. anyone know what these are. they were only about 4 bucks. what do they eat? i'm assuming they are just bottom scavengers, and will eat fod particles in the sand, or do i throw in some spirulina tabs or someting else?

here is a pic of one of them. he has apparantly decided that this clam shell is HIS anytime i come near the ank he runs for the calm shell. if the other one comes within 3 inches he darts out, chases him off, and heads back for the shell.. who knew i was buying a "guard fish" lol

Alice · 02-26-2003, 10:17 AM

Well....they don't call them "devils" for nothing. And it might give you some insight to know that many people think the correct way to spell "damsel" is to add the letter "n" in there

I agree, the Blue Devils are a beautiful fish but damsels are just too much trouble. I'd catch them or trap them while there's not much in the tank and take them back. Be leary of pseudochromis and dottybacks, too; also very aggressive.

As for the crabs...very small emerald crabs or sally lightfoot crabs can be good for algae grazing, but once they get bigger, they may take aim at your snails, coral polyps and even small fish. I'm not sure what these maroon crabs are you are describing but always add crabs with caution and the knowledge that you may be taking them out of your main tank later down the line.

HTH,

Alice

coralkeeper · 02-26-2003, 05:43 PM

I know you hate hearing this but I would take him back to the LFS, I had one of these 5 dollar fish kill about 70 dallars worth of other fish

basically I agree with what Alice said

good luck

Ross

wildthings44 · 02-26-2003, 07:46 PM

However nasty he is, he sure is gorgeous!
I keep a pair of yellow tails, if you like the blue but not the attitude this might be the fish for you. But be careful if they spawn as they can become very territorial, I have been nailed several times! I am scared to death of the male, but everybody else in the tank just ignores him!

MontanaRocknReefer · 02-26-2003, 09:32 PM

I have found that of all the damsels that I have kept the blue devil I had was the best of the lot! But must remember we are talking about "damsels" and their personality can vary alot and they are very territorial!
They are such a beautiful species of fish and they are cheap and that is what lures many to purchase them and then reqret it later!

thefatman · 02-26-2003, 10:45 PM

phew, i'll tell ya, ya'all have hit the nail on the head with this one.. One of the damsels is VERY mean. I'm talking tyson mean. he was ok, for the first few hours. he only bothered the other one, if it came near HIS clamshell home. but, now, he jsut chases it everywhere. the other can be minding it's own business on the other side of the tank, and swoosh, he flies out of his clam shell and starts chasing it. He is going back to the LFS tommorrow!

On the other hand, the other blue devil, is a blue angel! he is very calm, and collected. seems very passive. so i'm hoping to hold onto that one, and cross my fingers that it too doesn't become viscious. but for now it's very docile.

i have decided on what the tank will end up housing, there will be a royal gramma, a coral beauty angel, a percula clown, and the blue devil. in addition, i'll be adding some astrai snails, a "sand-stirrer" starfish (is that the right name) and some crabs, and cleaner shrimp.

ok, now i know i'm gonna regret doing this, but i already know this will be far from my last SW tank, i'm already planning where the next will go :-) but anyway, today i jsut couldn't resist.... and i bought 3 crabs!! i know one of them is an emerald crab, but the other two, i have no idea what they are called. and the guy at the particular LFS i went to was not very helpfull. the sticker on the tank jsut said, green crab, white crab, red crab !! lol anyway i'm sure they'll get too big, and eventually need to be moved, but i jsut HAD to see some activity in this tank, yes i know, i'm terrible.

anyway, i've included some shots of the crabs, and also a shot of the "nice" blue devil.. oh, and since introducing the crabs, the "mean" blue devil has become even more viscious, not only toward the other blue devil, but even to the crabs themselves. he keeps backing his tail fin into them (sort of "mooning" them) lol. i keep waiting to see the green crab snatch onto his tail fin :-)

anyway here are the pics, i'll stop blabbing now, if anyone knows what these are called, that would be great, i hate saying white crab and red crab. (i know the green is an emerald)

thefatman · 02-26-2003, 10:50 PM

here is the "nice" blue devil

thefatman · 02-26-2003, 10:52 PM

this is the red crab. the body is about the size of a dime, and with legs, about the size of a quarter. but i can't seem to find a name or even photos of this type anywhere.

thefatman · 02-26-2003, 10:53 PM

this is the emerald crab. it is the coolest thing watching him eat. he holds the food in one claw, and uses the other claw to break off small pieces and shovel them into his mouth. it's totally captivating. the body is about the size of a quater, and with legs, bigger than a 50 cent piece.

thefatman · 02-26-2003, 10:55 PM

this is the white crab. it's about the same size as the emerald crab, but again, like the red crab, i can't find a name or photo anywhere at all.

thefatman · 02-26-2003, 11:01 PM

one final question. it's virtually impossible to see, but the emerald crab has hundreds of little critters all over him. they are a reddish brown color, and move very very fast over the surface of his shell. they resemble tree aphids, only smaller. at first i thought it was just water movement, till i got a really close look.

the LFS that i bought the emerald from is very reputable, and has been in town and in the same location for 8 years, and htey are a saltwater/reef store only, thier tanks and specimens are really in top notch shape, so i'm wondering if these things are normal or are they good for my tank?

Calvinc4s · 02-27-2003, 12:44 AM

Red crab looks like a fiddler or rock crab? can't tell with out a pick of the claws.

The white one is a Porcelain crab; it eats organic particulates, so its a filter feeder and will mainly feed off liquid foods and scraps in a pinch.

The chances are that the red one is not reef safe. Fine for you current stocking though.

thefatman · 02-27-2003, 02:02 AM

yeah for now i'm not planning on a reef setup, jsut a fish only.. but i'm sure in time i will do a reef, but that will be a different tank.. i can't seem to get a good pic at all of the red crab. but here is the best i could do, of a front view.

Calvinc4s · 02-27-2003, 02:26 AM

Yeah, that looks like intertidal species. I would get it out of the tank and into something that has a rock it can climb up to get some air.
Please if im wrong, someone come in and smack me, but if im Wright and I am 90% sure I am, it will drowned in that tank in no more then a week.

thefatman · 02-27-2003, 02:35 AM

hmmm if that's the case then it's going back to the LFS wit ha nice complaint. i bought this one from the not so helpful store, they had a tank with about 20 of these little guys in the bottom. nothing else in the tank. just the red crabs. no rocks, no plants, no fish. just a tank of water and crabs. which was why i assumed it would be ok in my tank. but if this sucker needs to climb to the surface, then this store had better refund my cash! they knew my tank setup before selling it to me.. i mean it's only 3 bucks, but hey, it's the principle!

thanks calvin