Cleaner Crew Variety
- Thread starter Phistick
- Start date
LauraGreenImp
New member
I love, love, love our cleaner shrimp! And I *hate* largeish crabs. We had a too big hermit that managed to shove our chalice coral so much it damaged the coral. Obvs we caught that sucker & it went back to lfs! (also I defy you to kill cleaner shrimp - v easy)
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AlSimmons
New member
Not IME. Really none of the critters listed above do all that much as far as keeping a tank clean goes. They're more like pets than anything else. YOUR the best janitor that tank will ever see.
mcgyvr
New member
You aren't including my "urchins/cucs" in that statement are you?
I'd hope not.. Both certainly do work..
mcgyvr
New member
Yes, I am.
If you don't mind though, let see an up to date picture of that pristine environment you've got there.
Reading back I see that your comment is based on being relative to the amount of cleaning a human does or can do in comparison.
If so I do agree there.. Relative to the work a human can do no animal in an aquarium is capable of doing such work..
I still consider urchins/cucumbers,etc.. to still be a valid part of a "clean up crew" though.. My urchins and cucs seem to do far more work than any snail crew I've had. Those urchins are constantly munching up algae/coralline,etc... and the cucs process quite a bit of sand leaving sand cylinders/mounds in their trail all the time..
To keep with Al's train of thought though.. My wife is the best member of my clean up crew.. She keeps the front glass spotless and can do it faster/better than any animal in my tank..
I haven't taken a picture of my tank in months but it is clean and everything is doing just fine in there.. I've got a billion pictures of our new baby though
IMO, CUC is just another inhabitant in the tank rather than some real cleaners. Of course the exception is the urchin (who is a great algae eater but mows down corals by accident) and the cucumber ( who again is one of the best waste processors, but don't let him die in your tank).
The rest are mostly useless at cleaning anything substantial, my two hands and great water have kept my tank clean without these types of things, which in the case of crabs, can go bad fast.
The rest are mostly useless at cleaning anything substantial, my two hands and great water have kept my tank clean without these types of things, which in the case of crabs, can go bad fast.
I am definitely not looking for a miracle cure to cleaning my tank. I definitely keep it clean. I'm just looking for new inhabitants that will add variety to the life in my tank. The more critters there are in there the better and more enjoyable it is to observe. Thanks for all the great suggestions.
Huma Huma6
New member
Fighting conch, lettuce nudibranch
Smokey Stover
New member
My Chiton is the only "cleaner" that you can tell where it's been. Leaves clean white rock behind it, no algae. But this living fossil moves slower than a snail, And can hide for a week or more at a time.
It depends on the species. Most don't live on algae and are have very specialized diets. Personally, the only nudibranch I'd consider is berghia if I had a bad aiptasia problem. Lettuce nudibranchs look cool, until they're ground through your power head. If you don't have a high flow tank and have a good amount of algae they may work though.
I beg to differ. A group of Mexican Turbo Snails can mow down some algae. They do a batter job than I can getting rid of hair algae and other types of algae.
Yes, there was a day when I thought the variety of life in my tank made it better.
And for some, the more the things the better.
When I found out the the supposedly safe crabs were in fact, slowly taking out my snails and some of my corals, all were removed as they do little to combat algae and snails and corals are very expensive.
Red legs, were the worst, at night would terrorize everyone, and one caught my clowns sleeping.
He was toasted for that, caught him in the act, walking around with a live clown in his claw...could not save the clown.
All that is left is snails, fish, and a ton of corals.
Since banning these reef safe things, I have not lost a fish, a snail, a coral and everything is expanding quickly....17 months and counting.
Perfect water all the time, correct amount of light, and a few finger pulls of algae and problem solved.
And for some, the more the things the better.
When I found out the the supposedly safe crabs were in fact, slowly taking out my snails and some of my corals, all were removed as they do little to combat algae and snails and corals are very expensive.
Red legs, were the worst, at night would terrorize everyone, and one caught my clowns sleeping.
He was toasted for that, caught him in the act, walking around with a live clown in his claw...could not save the clown.
All that is left is snails, fish, and a ton of corals.
Since banning these reef safe things, I have not lost a fish, a snail, a coral and everything is expanding quickly....17 months and counting.
Perfect water all the time, correct amount of light, and a few finger pulls of algae and problem solved.
LauraGreenImp
New member
I thought crabs were cool. Had 3 red legs. They have returned to lfs one by one. (whenever you have time to snag one - I have to stand on step-ladder to do this - they have just miraculously disappeared into the rocks) Will be adding snails eventually.
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Frogmanx82
New member
When it comes to snails I have had the best luck with trochus for algae and nassarius for sand cleaning. Also nassarius snails are just cool to watch erupt from the sand when they smell food. Purple brittle snails and fighting conch are very cool and work to keep the tank clean.
My best glass cleaner is probably the kole tang. Doesn't stay spotless but is always clear enough to see through. I like hermits but they aren't to everyone's liking. I've also learned to appreciate the bristle worm.
My best glass cleaner is probably the kole tang. Doesn't stay spotless but is always clear enough to see through. I like hermits but they aren't to everyone's liking. I've also learned to appreciate the bristle worm.
