clean up crew recommendations?
- Thread starter chilyb56
- Start date
xtrstangx
Premium Member
IMO, get rid of the hermits. They have no place in a reef tank because they are oppertunistic. If they are hungry, they will eat whatever they can find: algae, snails, coral, etc
Same with the Emerald Crabs. If you have a bubble algae problem later on, then get 1 from your LFS. Remove him as soon as the algae is gone.
A variety of snails is good. Each snail does a certain job. Turbos will only do glass and rock. Nerites are good at glass. Ceriths do sand and glass. Nassarius do the sand. Good to have a mixture.
Same with the Emerald Crabs. If you have a bubble algae problem later on, then get 1 from your LFS. Remove him as soon as the algae is gone.
A variety of snails is good. Each snail does a certain job. Turbos will only do glass and rock. Nerites are good at glass. Ceriths do sand and glass. Nassarius do the sand. Good to have a mixture.
crzy4reefs
New member
i have red legged hermits and they do fine,
i have a 45 with the following
5 turbos
2 mexican turbos
15 cerites
10 nass snails
1 emerald crab
1 fighting conch
1 blk cucumber
i have a 45 with the following
5 turbos
2 mexican turbos
15 cerites
10 nass snails
1 emerald crab
1 fighting conch
1 blk cucumber
Blown 346
Active member
I would lower the number of Turbo's since they are clumsy and can knock over corals and rockwork. I would get 2 at the most of the turbo's since they get big.
I would go with some Astrea's nerite, nassarius cerith snails. I like having hermits myself, mine dont bother anyone. There are several types of hermits that are less reef safe than others.
What was said above is true, but you wont always have the same experiences witht hem as I have not. My blue legs do a great job at cleaning and never bother my corals or snails.
The emerald crabs I wont have, I have had one in the past and he started to eat my snails and hermits. They do not always work for bubble algae either. It is a mere hit and miss with them.
They can cause problems and might not, it all depends on the crab. They will eat what they can get if hungry. Once they get bigger there feeding habits do as well.
I would go with some Astrea's nerite, nassarius cerith snails. I like having hermits myself, mine dont bother anyone. There are several types of hermits that are less reef safe than others.
What was said above is true, but you wont always have the same experiences witht hem as I have not. My blue legs do a great job at cleaning and never bother my corals or snails.
The emerald crabs I wont have, I have had one in the past and he started to eat my snails and hermits. They do not always work for bubble algae either. It is a mere hit and miss with them.
They can cause problems and might not, it all depends on the crab. They will eat what they can get if hungry. Once they get bigger there feeding habits do as well.
Nassarius vibex eat leftover food, so I wouldn't have more than 3-4 in that size tank.
Turbo and Astraea snails are in different genera, so they're not the same.
Bumblebee snails are predatory on small animals, so I wouldn't add them if you want live sand.
I would cut the Turbo and Astraea down to about 6 of each. Actually, I'd probably skip the Turbo because many of them can get rather large.
I'd skip the hermit crabs. They do tend to kill snails and are predatory on various small animals as well. I finally got tired of the snail killing. If you want to keep a couple for viewing, they are very fun to watch, IMO.
Turbo and Astraea snails are in different genera, so they're not the same.
Bumblebee snails are predatory on small animals, so I wouldn't add them if you want live sand.
I would cut the Turbo and Astraea down to about 6 of each. Actually, I'd probably skip the Turbo because many of them can get rather large.
I'd skip the hermit crabs. They do tend to kill snails and are predatory on various small animals as well. I finally got tired of the snail killing. If you want to keep a couple for viewing, they are very fun to watch, IMO.
I have a 55 gallon that has been up and running since Nov 1, 2005. I had a bad case of algae two weeks back. I purchased 5 Turbo and within a week, my tank looks wonderful. I read on here and look at the recomendations of sites such as marine depot live and petsolutions for cleaning crew and I am confused. I really don't think 20 of this type of snail and 15 of this and X amount of hermits would survive for long. I have hesitated to buy anymore on top of what I have now which is 5 Nasariuss snail, 5 Turbo's and 3 blue leg hermits. I also noticed a couple of bristle worms after the introduction of some zoas. I think I'm just going to wait and buy more when I feel I need them.
