Crabs, snails, stars oh my! (sorry had to say it)
- Thread starter DSDoyle
- Start date
SAT
Premium Member
That depends. The usual recommendation from suppliers is a huge number of critters, which will quickly starve when they run out of food. The sustainable number depends on a lot of factors and I would suggest ramping up the number slowly, seeing what works, rather than relying on a magic formula.
Note that crabs or all types are opportunist feeders. For best biodiversity, avoid crabs, including hermits.
As starting suggestions... maybe a dozen Astrea snails to keep the glass clean. For catching food, perhaps a serpent star and a dozen Nassarius snails. A small yellow cucumber is nice for keeping the sand clean.
Note that crabs or all types are opportunist feeders. For best biodiversity, avoid crabs, including hermits.
As starting suggestions... maybe a dozen Astrea snails to keep the glass clean. For catching food, perhaps a serpent star and a dozen Nassarius snails. A small yellow cucumber is nice for keeping the sand clean.
ReefNomad
New member
I concur. Too often hobbyists are advised to get a massive number of CUC critters, and the result is a mass starvation once they've eliminated all the easy food.
Your best bet is to slowly build a crew, a few critters at a time. That allows you to see which critters actually do cleanup, and which are opportunistic, waiting for you to feed
Your best bet is to slowly build a crew, a few critters at a time. That allows you to see which critters actually do cleanup, and which are opportunistic, waiting for you to feed
