I'm Back with updated summary! Please add your experience to this thread so we can create a great collection of the experiences over CUCs:
Cerith Snails (BEST)
-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.
-Definitely the best snail choice for all around cleaning. They'll eat mostly anything too but still at a snail's pace.
Nassarius Vibex (GOOD)
-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.
-Vibex are better if in numbers, large ones are ok but still don't clean much above the sandbed.
Astraea (So So)
-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.
-just are pitiful. They drown and die when tipped over.
Trochus (GOOD)
-they aren't as voracious, but they tend to be very thorough and like to stay to the liverock.
-These are my favorite pick for film/hair algae cleaning on rocks and glass. They are one of the only snails available which are suitable for warm waters of aquariums. They live longer than Turbos, are not too big and IMO are much hardier.
Strombus (GOOD)
-They are good for variety and really get into the small nooks and crannies that other snails can't reach.
-Fighting Conchs are interesting and somewhat useful, but still don't do much.
Nerite
-are not really appropriate for most aquariums cause they like cooler waters and intertidal zones.
Margarita (NOT A RIGHT CHOICE)
-margaritas dying early, likely due to tank temps to warm from what they are accustomed to
-don't usually live as long
-like cooler water and die quickly
brittle star (GOOD)
-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 (So So)
-voracious and can grow large enough to knock over corals.
-they are bulldozers ,and more trouble than they are worth
-are also mostly meant for slightly cooler waters and get too big and seem to die easy.
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
-Hermits do get a bad rap and are not given proper credit for doing the majority of the work in our clean up crews.
-Sometimes they may actually kill a snail but mostly they just end up doing the dirty work of cleaning up the rotting mess of a drowning snail.
-Hermits are much more active than snails and actually clean up excess food and waste at a productive rate.
