New critters -- need help with care of

I just added some new specimens to my reef. One pencil urchin, one pink condi anenome, one flame scallop. My "not-so-local" LFS gave me some frozen krill for the condi but I'm not sure how big of a piece to give it. I read somewhere about feeding the scallop with some type of straw with Marine Snow. Is this good? And not too sure about the urchin. Any help greatly appreciated. BTW, what is an omnivore?

 

Hey, Hey MikeB! I can help with your last question!

Carnivore - eats meat
Herbivore - eats plants
Omnivore - eats meat and plants
Detrivore - eats detrious, or decaying material in substrate
;D
Hope that help a little....as for feeding those other animals, I must defer to others with actual experience.......

 

Flame scallops have a poor survival rate in captivity. Feeding will help possibly but as Fenner and Calfo say in their book Reef Invertebrates "bottled supplements are not likely to keep this animal fed well. Most starve in captivity in time"

Pencil Urchins are mainly carnivorous and I would give him a piece of krill as well, they will eat some algae but not as much as say a Tuxedo or many other urchins.

 

Mike,   It a real shame, I really don't want to be an A#$ but why did you buy something you know nothing about?
Far too often are people posting threads with "HELP what is this I just paid a small fortune for", and unfortunately I'm going to take it out on you.

I will admit I have done it before as well but have learned.

Now this is what I do.  for the LFS in my area (with in 20min drive) I usually browse there selection then go home and research what I had just seen.  Or for the stored that are to far away I bring my books.  I leave the store and find a coffee shop to look though the book and decide if it is something I what or need in my tank.  
This way I always know what I'm getting myself into and I'm the only one to blame if the Coral of Fish doesn't do well.
I also ask here at 3Reef before I Buy

J  

 

Thanks to Birdlady, Shawn, and Jason.
Jason, thanks for the info. I thought I knew enough about them after leaving the LFS but I should have known by now to get some more points of view. I explained to them my whole tank set up and they told me everything I purchased would be fine. Now this wasn't just an ordinary LFS. They are supposedly one of the biggest in the country with 800 aquariums and in business for 30 years. (Below is a paste from there web site.) So I figured I could really trust them.




On-Staff Marine Biologists!


That Fish Place / That Pet Place has over 50 trained Pet Professionals and six on-staff Marine Biologists available to answer all your fish and pet questions. Our staff attends classes taught by our full time product trainer and manufacturer representatives, learning about the products we sell. Our Professional Marine Biologists oversee the maintenance of all 800+ aquariums (over 62,000 gallons in all) in our Lancaster, PA retail center and holding facility, answering customer questions, as well as evaluating and selecting the merchandise you can find on this web site and in our mail order catalog.

Our extensive product knowledge also comes from using the products that we sell, not only with our own pets, but also in the care of the fish, reptiles and small mammals kept at our 110,000 square foot retail store. That Fish Place / That Pet Place is not just a warehouse that stocks merchandise. We are a large team of aquarium enthusiasts, specialists, and pet lovers that use the products that we recommend and sell

 

More than likely, if like me, it was an impulse buy. I had no intention of buying a flame scallop when I went to the LFS, but sure enough came home with one. Watching the 'electric' effect was way cool and out came the wallet.

Mine doesn't seem to be very happy so I'm thinking of moving it to the 'fuge. Perhaps the water will be a bit 'dirtier' down there.

 

Hey Mike,

I have too, been to that pet store. I have had really excellent trips trips there where everything looked great, and other days when I wouldn't buy a piece of Live Rock there cause everything looked terrible.

I will be doing like some others here recommend. BRING THE BOOKS. It is really really, and I mean REALLY hard not to buy stuff first time around seeing something you like. You can always put a hold deposit on something and come back later for purchase after thinking about it. ;D

Do you belong to any of the clubs around here? I have found a few.....I don't know how close to you they are and I have yet to attend any meeting but am planning on it. If you need info on them, let me know

 

Thanks Birdlady. Yes, if you do have some info drop me an email.
m_buscemi@msn.com