Re: best clenup crew
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11553243#post11553243 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ejrabekoff
I have a 150g setup, and need a cleanup crew. I was thinking about getting
25 Nessarius snails
25 Mexican turbo snails
25 Astraea trubo snails
25 dwarf blue leg hermit crabs
25 emerald crabs
25 scarlet reef hermit crabs
2 peppermint shrimp.
Does this look good? Is there anything else that you would add? Would you get 1 peppermint shrimp, or 2, or 1 peppermint shrimp, and another cleaner shrimp? I know that margarita snails are good. Where do you find them?
My take is:
Nassarius snails are great. Great on the sandbed.
Mexican Turbo Snails: forget 'em. Big, clumsy, knock over rock, die easily.
Forget the hermit crabs. Their best function is eating detritus buildup on rocks but will kill your snails for their shells. Forget the hermit crabs and get more snails that will do 10X the work and clean your glass. hermits can never clean your glass.
Look for margarita snails if you can. Do a great job on glass, detritus, and are long lived.
Get some conchs for your sandbed. Do a good job of stirring things up and eating detritus. Usually a fighting conch needs 2' X 2' to have enough food to survive. I'm not convinced on this rule because my footprint is 48X18 and I have 4 conchs that have been alive and going strong for over 6 months now!
I wouldn't bother with the emerald crabs... they're cool but 25 is way too much. Also, I've found them to be tempermental and may kill your snails. If you do get them, get one with pink inner joints as they seem to behave more reef-safe.
Peppermint shrimp are small. 2 will get lost in your tank quickly. I'd buy more of them. Also, if you dont have any aiptasia don't bother. Get cleaner shrimp, blood shrimp, coral banded shrimp, or pisol shrimp. More colourful and interesting. And bigger.
Pistol shrimp are cool if they setup their burrow in the front of the tank. You should have a sand bed at least 3 or 4 inches, though.
