concerned about nuisance hitch hikers.

[Mrs. Music]

I am considering ordering LR from TBS, however I have concerns about nuisance hitch hikers. I have 11 years of experience with salt, so have been thru my fair share of saltwater tank challenges. How do you recommend removing pests prior to placing LR in your DT? my tank is 30 inches tall, so getting mantis shrimps out is a real challenge. traps have been useless in the past. do you recommend a dip or flush?

[Ambiturner006]

The problem with a dip or flush is you will probably end up hurting a lot of the life you want to keep.

The way I re-homed my mantis was to pay attention to which rock was its den. Then when I knew it was inside, I just pulled that whole rock out and put it in a simple 10g with nothing else in it. From there it would have been easy to catch it, although I just donated the rock along with the mantis to its new owner. You end up getting so much rock, it didn't hurt to lose one.

[t3thomas]

I've recently been doing some reading on Coral RX and it might have some benefits for eradicating the unwanted hitchhikers you mentioned. The drawback is that it shouldn't be used for shrimp, crabs and other inverts so it might end up killing some of the desirable hitchhikers. Maybe someone else can offer an opinion or other solution.

[Mrs. Music]

I suppose I may observe the rock in a smaller tank for a bit to prevent unwanted hitch hikers from entering my DT.

[Ambiturner006]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure CoralRX is designed to kill all crustaceans, which is why it's great for coral dips.

But it would be a shame to lose all of those on your new TBS rock. My dozens of porcelain crabs are maybe my favorite hitch hikers.

[Ambiturner006]

Originally Posted by Mrs. Music

I suppose I may observe the rock in a smaller tank for a bit to prevent unwanted hitch hikers from entering my DT.

If you're starting a new tank, that's what a lot of people seem to do. Set up the tank with just the new rock, and use the first few weeks to try and catch/eliminate anything bad before you put all the fish and coral in. I'm sure it couldn't hurt.

Although I had a mantis in mine, the only thing she seemed to bother was the barnacles. I also had the usual gorilla crabs, but I've been able to catch them one at a time pretty easily over time (still have a couple really tiny ones). And none were anywhere near a size large enough to hurt anything. I think the biggest gorilla I got was about the size of a dime or slightly smaller.

[Mrs. Music]

My tank is 30 inches tall and way too hard to catch stuff.

[bobt2]

I,ve had a mantis for 2 years, their damage is way over rated. sure he takes a snail or hermit once in a while. but I keep him fed just like everything else. he comes right up to the feeding stick

[GXPKY]

I have a friend that has 3 in a biocube, he feeds them daily and they have never hurt any of his fish. I personally think they are way cool

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[saf1]

The plan at the moment for my 240 is to set up the new tank, add new rock, sand, etc, and watch it for a couple days. Should be able to catch whatever by removing rocks and what not. Once it is settled then I'll just move over the other rock, coral, and fish and call it a day.

If I miss anything I'll let mother nature sort it out. Not like I'm moving over 100 fish or those I have can't take care of themselves.

[Professor Sweat]

Originally Posted by Ambiturner006

If you're starting a new tank, that's what a lot of people seem to do. Set up the tank with just the new rock, and use the first few weeks to try and catch/eliminate anything bad before you put all the fish and coral in. I'm sure it couldn't hurt.

Although I had a mantis in mine, the only thing she seemed to bother was the barnacles. I also had the usual gorilla crabs, but I've been able to catch them one at a time pretty easily over time (still have a couple really tiny ones). And none were anywhere near a size large enough to hurt anything. I think the biggest gorilla I got was about the size of a dime or slightly smaller.

Yup, this is how I cleared out most of by lil nasties... who weren't really even being that nasty. They're not so bad most of the time. The largest crab that I found on my rock was a hairy, rusty colored mithrax of some sort and he's a big sweetheart (for a crab). Worst offenders I found were the welks (I missed one and it killed my derasa clam) and weirdly enough the limpets. I caught one eating my zoas. Suffice to say though, the mollusks are easy to remove. The crabs are harder, but you'll whittle their numbers down to nothing over a few months. Worst thing they did to me was steal food from my fungia.