Before we actually begin to examine what constitutes a reef package, let’s look at what this salt water aquarium add on actually includes. When building a salt water aquarium, it is important to keep a diverse number of species in the tank, because it keeps a true to live living environment. Reef packages usually include a number of different species, most of which are invertebrates. Crabs, snails, shrimp, starfish, and clams are commonly included in any reef package. But other than diversity, why are reef packages important?
Above all else, the invertebrates commonly found in reef packages are the janitors of a fish tank. The hermit crabs and snails are especially good at cleaning your salt water aquarium while adding diversity. Because hermit crabs are scavengers, they’ll eat just about everything they can find, essentially ridding your aquarium of waste of all kinds. When choosing hermit crabs for this special talent, you should keep in mind that smaller hermit crabs (usually only a couple of inches long) are best for the job. Because the crabs are smaller, they can get in more areas to clean them. Red Legged Hermit Crabs and Scarlet Hermit Crabs are often cited as being efficient.
Many people would choose to have starfish in their salt water aquarium based solely on looks, but these interesting little invertebrates actually serve a more useful purpose. Like crabs and snails, many starfish species are scavengers who will help keep the tank free of debris. However, it is extremely important to do your research when choosing starfish. Some species are harmful and can eat different species also housed in your aquarium. Starfish are also infamous for carrying disease that could infect other species in the aquarium. This is why it is important to have a smaller quarantine tank for any new species you are going to introduce into your tank. By keeping the starfish (or other new species) in a separate tank for a week or so, you can be sure they are healthy and disease free.
Reef package prices run the gamut from around $60.00 to upwards of $180.oo depending on where you purchase them. The more species that your package includes, generally the more expensive it will be. However, when purchasing these packages it is good to keep in mind that the species would be much more expensive when bought individually. Also, those who design the reef packages choose specific species that are known to live well together, dropping any worries about species co-mingling.