clean up crew
- Thread starter mitchwelt
- Start date
Nassarius, and Turbos is my choice. I dont like crabs tho!
The Nasarrius will eat the detritus on your sandbed, and any food that settles, and the turbos will take care of your aglae.
Id say 2 nasarrius per gallon (420), and 1 turbo per gallon (210). keep in mind that thats a range though, and depending on your stock and parameters you might use more or less.
The Nasarrius will eat the detritus on your sandbed, and any food that settles, and the turbos will take care of your aglae.
Id say 2 nasarrius per gallon (420), and 1 turbo per gallon (210). keep in mind that thats a range though, and depending on your stock and parameters you might use more or less.
tiger_eyed1
New member
... I made the mistake of purchasing to many turbos, nassarius, and hermits for my 210. They had the tank clean in a week. Needless to say I'm down to 8 Mexican Turbos(from 30), 4 Nassarius(from 20), 1 olive, 2 conch(from 4), about 50 small blue hermits(from 150), 3 large reds.
They turned on each other. I'd find the Nassarius Snails eating the turbos. Blue Hermits wearring the Nassarius shells and the reds hermits bulldozing everyone & everything. If I had to do it over, I'd only buy a hand full to start out. Would have saved me some money and regret.
They turned on each other. I'd find the Nassarius Snails eating the turbos. Blue Hermits wearring the Nassarius shells and the reds hermits bulldozing everyone & everything. If I had to do it over, I'd only buy a hand full to start out. Would have saved me some money and regret.
No I don't. I have heard of other people having problems, but I have had them for years and never had a problem. If you have the algae I would suggest getting one and then get rid of it when it is gone. I have one in a 90 gal and a couple in the 180. I have not seen any bubble algae in ages but I just leave them in there.
illal
Active member
Do you really suggest this man get over 600 snails for his tank? :fun5: personally id go with a fraction of that!
Oh and im anti crab aswell! Ive had emerald crabs in the past for that very reason to take care of some bubble algae but once it was gone they started munching in GSP! Not sure if he was eating anything else but i actually witnessed him eating the GSP
avaneaton2000
Member
No crabs, they all turn evil when your not watching.
Half a dozen turbo's should be more than enough, and a dozen to two dozen nassarius should be fine.
Half a dozen turbo's should be more than enough, and a dozen to two dozen nassarius should be fine.
ladybug5234
New member
The blue legs were the culprits here... trust me, they started it all. You stocked them almost 5 to 1, and they are vicious little buggers!
I'd say go with a mix of turbos, nerites, and ceriths NOW, then add Nassarius Vibex AFTER you get some fish. Nassarius Vibex are detritus eaters, not algae grazers, so they'll do you no good till you have fish waste to clean up. Be careful you dont pick up the imposters, Nassarius Ilyanassa instead (they are NOT reef safe). See: http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-11/mg/index.php
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jc-reef
New member
+1 on violent blue legs...I have a mix of blue legs and turbos and haven't had a problem since I added a couple handfulls of 'emtpy' shells in various sizes in the tank so when the crabs get too big or just want a new home, they have a nice 'shopping center' to choose from. This has kept them much less aggressive and any casulties down to a minimum, if any, in my tank. FWIW.
illal
Active member
Ding2daDong
New member
Just get a mix of snails. I always had issues with crabs/hermits.
-Matthew
-Matthew
JCeballos27
Monster
I have a 36 gallon and made the mistake of going with the recommendation of 2 crabs per gallon.... It was disastrous! They killed each other! I got rid of a lot of crabs and got a bunch of snails instead... best choice for me
I banned all crabs after watching my blue legs kill snails for their shells and watching my green emerald crabs pick at fuzzy mushroom corals at night.
For my 120 I only had about 10-12 turbo snails and 1 or 2 nassarius snails, as well as a conch that I had that grew from the size of a quarter to over the size of an old style can of coke. I also had mostly grazing fish (purposefully), so they would eat whatever algae cropped up for the most part (except halimedia).
Go with a dozen or two of turbo snails and just let them do their thing. Add a conch or cucumber if you like them as a pet, not need them for a job. You can add nassarius snails a few months in of having a bunch of fishes.
For my 120 I only had about 10-12 turbo snails and 1 or 2 nassarius snails, as well as a conch that I had that grew from the size of a quarter to over the size of an old style can of coke. I also had mostly grazing fish (purposefully), so they would eat whatever algae cropped up for the most part (except halimedia).
Go with a dozen or two of turbo snails and just let them do their thing. Add a conch or cucumber if you like them as a pet, not need them for a job. You can add nassarius snails a few months in of having a bunch of fishes.
neuroslicer
Old School Reefer
I had not had problems with my blue legged crabs and will always make sure I have some. As to the number of critters in the clean up crew, eventually the population will adjust itself to what is sustainable. Here's an example of why I like the blue legs... a friend of mine who sells zoa frags had a moderate problem with hair algae in his frag tank... I bought a zoa frag plug that had a fair amount of hair algae on it.... brought it home and that evening I saw 7 blue legged hermits working away at the algae.. in the morning it was as clean as a whistle!
illal
Active member
My purple tang does the same job only he doesnt steal food out of my corals mouths and doesnt kill snails
5 turbo and 5 nassarius snails. And of course a good skimmer is very important
Regardless of size of CUC, IMO you'll always need to keep your nutrients under control, and always will have to clean your glass.
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