I was thinking of adding to my cleaner crew since I'm having a problem with green turf algae, I'm seeing some patches growing on the live rock holes. I currently have 3 big hermit crabs, and other cleaners, but I was thinking of taking the hermits to my LFS since they are too big. What are some invertebrates to help me battle my issue? Also, which do you think are more reef safe? Red legged crabs and blue legged?
Cleaner crew
- Thread starter Phixman
- Start date
norfolkgarden
New member
Smaller if possible, they are bulldozers for loose frags, Turbo snails, 1 per ten gallons.
Trochus, 1 per ten gallon.
Dwarf cerith that the blue legs will kill for their shells even if you have empty cerith shells lying around... 3 to 5 per ten gallon.
Astrea snails if you can't find trochus snails, same, 1 per ten gallon.
1 Nassarius snail per 20 gallon, food clean up, not algae.
1 really pretty harlequin serpent starfish per 20 gallon, food clean up, not algea.
If you add too many of anything the excess animals will starve and die.
If you have 8 serpent stars like we do you will end up feeding them the same way you feed your fish.
Our serpent stars - Bright reddish orange, pale purple, (6 to 8" large and possibly tiny fish killers)
Harliquines 4, from red disk and paler 2 tone arms, bright white and black, 2 greyish 2 tones,
2 Brittle fuzzy black serpents, 7", also potential tiny fish killers according to some people.
Make sure you skip the "green death" serpent starfish. They get up to 2' long! Known fish killers even when fed. Heard the pretty yellows get big too.
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Trochus, 1 per ten gallon.
Dwarf cerith that the blue legs will kill for their shells even if you have empty cerith shells lying around... 3 to 5 per ten gallon.
Astrea snails if you can't find trochus snails, same, 1 per ten gallon.
1 Nassarius snail per 20 gallon, food clean up, not algae.
1 really pretty harlequin serpent starfish per 20 gallon, food clean up, not algea.
If you add too many of anything the excess animals will starve and die.
If you have 8 serpent stars like we do you will end up feeding them the same way you feed your fish.
Our serpent stars - Bright reddish orange, pale purple, (6 to 8" large and possibly tiny fish killers)
Harliquines 4, from red disk and paler 2 tone arms, bright white and black, 2 greyish 2 tones,
2 Brittle fuzzy black serpents, 7", also potential tiny fish killers according to some people.
Make sure you skip the "green death" serpent starfish. They get up to 2' long! Known fish killers even when fed. Heard the pretty yellows get big too.
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norfolkgarden
New member
Red leg crabs and blue leg crabs are almost the same thing.
I've been told that blue legs eat red legs so combining them usually doesn't work well long term.
We have three Scarlets under an inch and 3 to five remaining dwarf zebra under an inch and probably five remaining blue legs under an inch.
Scarlett's like Nassarius snails shells.
Dwarf zebras seem to like Margarita snails shells best or Nassarius.
The blue legs 100% love dwarf cerith snail shells.
Keep some extras in your tank that are slightly bigger than the ones you have now so they can upgrade as they grow.
BTW, we have a 75 gallon tank for reference.
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I've been told that blue legs eat red legs so combining them usually doesn't work well long term.
We have three Scarlets under an inch and 3 to five remaining dwarf zebra under an inch and probably five remaining blue legs under an inch.
Scarlett's like Nassarius snails shells.
Dwarf zebras seem to like Margarita snails shells best or Nassarius.
The blue legs 100% love dwarf cerith snail shells.
Keep some extras in your tank that are slightly bigger than the ones you have now so they can upgrade as they grow.
BTW, we have a 75 gallon tank for reference.
Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk
Thank you for your detailed response, I really appreciate it. I'm going to pick up a couple blue legged crabs and see how they do, one of the reasons I wanted to get smaller crabs was because the ones I have now are damaging some coral by walking over them with their massive shells. Do blue leg tend to eat green turn algae?
norfolkgarden
New member
Green turn algae?
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Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk
