cleanup crew.

[ricksconnected]

ok so now that the 30gal is setup right and running smoothly, what do i need as a good solid clean up crew? if you will, break it down in 3 parts. glass crew. rock crew. sand crew.
this way i can research them and i know who is good for what please. if possible list how many of each i hould have.

 

[socalchris]

Plenty of options for CUC.

Hermits are EVILLLL!!!

This is one piece of advice I wish I had when I first started.

Other than that, I'd recommend the following:

Cerith Snails
Nassarius Vibex
Astraea (These can't flip themselves right side up though if they tip over)
Margarita

These have all been great for me.

 

[divewsharks]

many options.
i use astrea and cerith snails, they work the glass and rock. the cerith often spend the day buried in the sand and goto work at night. on the sand team i have a few nassarius snails, they munch on any uneaten food; also have a couple of cucumbers, 1- black and 1- tiger tail. For rocks, i have a few emerald crabs who are on algae patrol. Should be noted that two of my emerald grew quite large, and one began snagging my zoas and the other munching on a couple of my SPS; the smaller ones still in the tank have been model citizens.
I also have a smaller brittle star, also good and cleaning up and uneaten food.

alot of people also use various kinds of hermit crabs, i don't as i didn't want to add extra shells for their growing bodies, if you don't provide shells, they will likely take out a few snails for their shells.
there are many other snail options that you find at most stores and online as well: trochus, margarita (i wouldn't recommend), nerite, turbo's (i don't use, as they can grow very big, and knock things over).

 

[divewsharks]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15043591#post15043591 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by socalchris
Plenty of options for CUC.

Hermits are EVILLLL!!!

This is one piece of advice I wish I had when I first started.

Other than that, I'd recommend the following:

Cerith Snails
Nassarius Vibex
Astraea (These can't flip themselves right side up though if they tip over)
Margarita

These have all been great for me.

have you not had any issues with margaritas dying early, likely due to tank temps to warm from what they are accustomed too?

 

[PRDubois]

Hermits are cool to watch. They just need extra shells to grow into. You can buy a bag of shells at any craft store for next to nothing.

 

[LouPhoenix]

Crabs are not to be trusted. I will never keep another crab of any kind in my tank. There is a suitable snail for all CUC duties.

 

[Whys]

To start, I'd say about 6 snails and 3 hermits. Assuming you want hermits. They will on occasion eat a snail and steal its shell. But personally, I think some people give them a bum rap since they will often eat snails that have already died on their own. If no hermits, then more snails. Probably 1 for 1 to start. You can always add more later, and as your tank matures you will need to.

It's important to have a variety of snails, both in type and size, as they will each prefer different kinds of algae and pick it out of different sized recesses.

Primary algae eaters are Turbos, Astrea, and Margarite. Turbos are voracious and can grow large enough to knock over corals. Astrea are only slightly less voracious but die if not turned over when they fall on their back. Margarite are another alternative, but aren't native to tropical waters, so don't usually live as long.

Trochus aren't as voracious, but they tend to be very thorough and like to stay to the liverock.

Cerith will eat algae out of the sandbed and occasionally bury themselves in it. This is healthy for the sandbed and most other snails don't do it.

Strombus are good for variety and really get into the small nooks and crannies that other snails can't reach.

Nassarius are meat eaters, so you should wait until you have some fish to feed, otherwise it might starve. But they too eat from the sandbed and bury themselves in it.

Once your tank has visible signs of hair algae, you can add an Emerald Crab. Again, it's a crab and so not everyone likes them. Personally, I think they are invaluable, not just to eat algae, but they do a great job of cleaning any buildup out of the liverock as they eat. This is very healthy for the liverock. Again, some might be giving them a bum rap, as they will eat corals if starving. Normally they don't.

A brittle-star is an option and a good idea, IMO. Nothing else cleans UNDER the liverock like a brittle-star. This is very healthy for the liverock and your tank in general. You probably won't want more than one.

Remember, you can always add more later, and will need to.

 

[Tswifty]

I personally will never add hermits to another one of my tanks. That being said, I prefer a nice mix of:

- Nassarius Snails
- Trochus Snails
- Cerith Snails
- Tiger Tail Cucumber (1 per 50g)
- Emerald Mithrax Crabs (2 per 50g)

If enough algae presents itself, then I would consider adding a Turbo Snail or 2 per 50g. However, my past experience has been that they are bulldozers ,and more trouble than they are worth... unless you have an extremely bad outbreak of algae.

 

[Michael]

id suggest a maximum 6 snails to start, as the bioload grows then add more if you need them, i too like most of the posters dont like hermits either, shrimp are a good alternative when you have enough food for them

 

[ricksconnected]

i have several of these already.
i dont know the names of all of them though.
i have 1 hermit. 1 crab thats dark brown with a white band around his 1 big claw. 1 crab has blueish legs with either orange or red bands up his legs. 3 emeralds. 1 porcelain crab.
the snails i have are 3 of those that live under the sand that have the black "snorkel" that sticks up. and two or three other types. in total 9 crabs, and 9 snails. im worried the snails arent gonna doso hot as when i redid the tank i cleaned the glass to good w/o thinking. am i wrong? the the 3 that live in the sand. the sand was changed completely and the top layer is store bought "live sand". im not sure if thats enough for them. any ideas on this? is there something i can add to help keep them up until algae starts to grow?

 

[CloruroDiSodio]

Hi ricksconnected. Ceriths are the best for sand, I have six of them and they spend the majority of their time in it. My astreas seem to stay on the rock mostly with some time on the glass. I know turbos have got a bad name for being a little destructive but in my opinion they are worth it. I held off on them at first but decided to purchase a few about two weeks after the initial CUC. They are absolute algae eating machines. They go everywhere and will even make quick work of hair algae. To give you a personal example. I had some hair algae on one of my flexible return hoses that enters the waters surface from about 1 1/2" above the tank. I woke up one morning and a turbo snail was on the hose finishing off the hair algae. I still don't know how he got there other than crawling up and out of the water! Brittle stars are also good for getting in hard to reach places. just be warned you will not see much of them as they are nocturnal

 

[divewsharks]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15044127#post15044127 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ricksconnected
i have several of these already.
i dont know the names of all of them though.
i have 1 hermit. 1 crab thats dark brown with a white band around his 1 big claw. 1 crab has blueish legs with either orange or red bands up his legs. 3 emeralds. 1 porcelain crab.
the snails i have are 3 of those that live under the sand that have the black "snorkel" that sticks up. and two or three other types. in total 9 crabs, and 9 snails. im worried the snails arent gonna doso hot as when i redid the tank i cleaned the glass to good w/o thinking. am i wrong? the the 3 that live in the sand. the sand was changed completely and the top layer is store bought "live sand". im not sure if thats enough for them. any ideas on this? is there something i can add to help keep them up until algae starts to grow?

the 3 the live in the sand with 'snorkels' are likely nassarius, although not sure i've seen too many black nassarius, can you post pics of them, you other snail and then crabs that aren't the emeralds? where did they come from, there are many crabs you don't want in reef tank; if you can post pics we can id them for you.
back to the snails if they are nassarius, they don't eat algae, so cleaning your glass won't make a difference, they eat left over food and such.
do the black snails look like little bumblebees, as in mostly black with a yellow band??

 

[moevilla]

Being carnivorous, will nassarius snails eat the infauna in the sand bed?

 

[divewsharks]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15046511#post15046511 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by moevilla
Being carnivorous, will nassarius snails eat the infauna in the sand bed?

no, they are a good snail to have if you have sandbed.

 

[moevilla]

25 gallon tank with 15 nassarius snails, 15 cerith snails, 15 various other snails (bumble bee, periwinkle, limpet, astrea, etc.). Is this over kill? Tank has been running for 4 months. Have 25 lbs of live rock. Going through pretty bad algae out- break on rocks, glass and on sand bed. Just ordered the majority of snails a couple of days ago.

 

[divewsharks]

yah, that is alot of snails to start off with in a young 25G, the nassarius will starve if not fed, they are not algae eaters.

 

[ricksconnected]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15046790#post15046790 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by divewsharks
yah, that is alot of snails to start off with in a young 25G, the nassarius will starve if not fed, they are not algae eaters.

so how do you feed these snails? for the algae eating snails, how do you feed them until you have enough algae built up? is there any way to speed up the algae growth?

 

[jamest0o0]

I personally love hermits, I think of them as more of a tank addition than a part of the CuC though. I plan to get a few interesting looking ones just for my own entertainment.

 

[Whys]

One must take special care with hermits if you plan to have a Deep Sand Bed, as they will eat valuable benthic organisms in the sand. I have 4 in my 37g with DSB. I enjoy them, but consider 4 the maximum for my system. They do eat the occasional snail. I consider this natural and healthy. Snails are cheap.

Hermits are not a necessity for a CUC, but they can make for a good addition. Occasionally snails will die on their own and hermits clean them up nicely. If no hermits, then I really recommend a brittle-star to help perform some of the same functions without the risk.

 

[bms270]

Ok, I just summarized all the above posts so we can have a better view of different experiences. Please feel free to add your comment.


Cerith Snails
-they work the glass and rock.
-the cerith often spend the day buried in the sand and goto work at night
-will eat algae out of the sandbed and occasionally bury themselves in it. This is healthy for the sandbed and most other snails don't do it.
-Ceriths are the best for sand, I have six of them and they spend the majority of their time in it.



Nassarius Vibex
-on the sand team i have a few nassarius snails, they munch on any uneaten food
-they are meat eaters, so you should wait until you have some fish to feed, otherwise it might starve. But they too eat from the sandbed and bury themselves in it.
-they are a good snail to have if you have sandbed.
-they are not algae eaters.


Astraea (These can't flip themselves right side up though if they tip over)
-They work the glass and rock.
-My astreas seem to stay on the rock mostly with some time on the glass.


Trochus
-they aren't as voracious, but they tend to be very thorough and like to stay to the liverock.


Strombus
-They are good for variety and really get into the small nooks and crannies that other snails can't reach.


Margarita
-margaritas dying early, likely due to tank temps to warm from what they are accustomed to
-don't usually live as long


brittle star
-good and cleaning up and uneaten food.
-is an option and a good idea, IMO. Nothing else cleans UNDER the liverock like a brittle-star. This is very

-healthy for the liverock and your tank in general.
-just be warned you will not see much of them as they are nocturnal


Turbos
-voracious and can grow large enough to knock over corals.
-they are bulldozers ,and more trouble than they are worth


Crabs
-are not to be trusted.
-Once your tank has visible signs of hair algae, you can add an Emerald Crab. Again, it's a crab and so not

everyone likes them