Hi Mike,
I've got a Chainlink, first cousin to the Snowflake. They are both species of Echidna, growing up to about 30" at a rate of 1/2" per month if well fed. They need a good sized tank and can push the bioload for a moderate sized reef tank over the limit.
Their natural diet is primarily crustaceans, hence the short rows of teeth for crushing rather than the fangs of the Gymnothorax types.
I feed mine pieces of frozen Lance Fish, thawed with a bit of Selcon, two or three times a week with
shrimp pellets as snacks in between. The freeeze dried jumbo Krill is a good food for them as well.
They are generally peaceful but will snatch a shrimp in a hurry!
As for the Green Serpent, watch out as they are predators...keep them well fed...those long arms are for prey capture and have been known to eat fish!
The Chocolate Chip is another reef-unfriendly..they do eat corals, clams, and can deplete your sandbed of beneficial 'pods.
I would recommend you get a copy of
Robert Fenner's
The Conscientious Marine Aquarist. It has much good info about the animals commonly sold in the aquarium trade and which ones to watch out for.
HTH,
Dick
[ 09-06-2001: Message edited by: FishDaddy ]
