Post your cleanup krew

friedkalamari

New member
Lets see your nanos cleanup krews(pics). fill me in on what cleaners are a waste of time and which are must haves.

My nano is ready for stocking, been running for about a month now with nothing in it but live rock/sand. i have various algae, should i leave it alone to die off or should i get something to eat it up?

dont mind recommending me some fish btw, its a 14g biocube, will have some shrooms, leathers, brains, nothing crazy.
 
2 emerald crabs
approx 13 hermit crabs (red and blue leg)
4 nassarius snails
5 astrea snails
5 turbo snails
3 margarita snails
 
thanks fishface. anyone else please include tank size, and effectiveness of each critter, or what they are suppose to be effective for.
 
Sorry, kalamari. I've got a 24 gal Aquapod. The emeralds eat algae from the rocks (especially hair algae). The hermits will clean the rocks and the sand. The nassarius snails burrow under the sand and keep it stirred up (pretty cool if you ask me). And the other snails will clean the tank glass as well as the rock.
 
14g BioCube.
2 emerald crabs - algae control
4 blue leg hermits
2 scarlet leg
1 jade leg hermit
3 nassarius snails
5 astro snails (turbo)
1 medium brittle star; 4 "new" brittle arms located throughout the LR
many other starfish, slugs/snails, etc that have grown over the last 8 months.

as far as a necessity. IMO - hermits, emerald crabs, nassarius and astro snails. After that, go with whatever is compatable with you bioload.

Good Luck!

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tank_014.jpg
 
very nice dx, same tank as me.

so it looks like i definetly should get some emeralds and nassarius snails.

do peppermint shrimp do anything? they look very neat at the least
 
Peppermint shrimp may eat nuisance Aiptasia. Although, I never had one that actually did that. I think cleaner shrimps such as the peppermint or skunk are interesting to watch. My last skunk cleaner shrimp was a giant. Over two inches long. He would jump on my hand every time I put it in the tank.
Here he is attacking a sea hare: Made it ink in my 58 gallon.
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Here's my old Emeral Mythrax Crab:
IMG_3363.jpg
 
Whoa sweet emerald.

what should i expect to pay per each of these guys.

im assuming theres no compatibility issues with the crabs, shrimp, and snails? dont plan on keeping any hermits
 
Thanks Fried. He was huge. Called him the Green Machine.

Regarding compatability. Emeralds get along with just about any snail or shrimp I can think of. However, not all shrimp get along with each other. Skunk cleaners and peppermints are fine together in my experience. There are a few thought that I would research before placing in the same tank.

Skunks are pricey. $15 to 20 or so I think. Emeralds are cheap I think I paid $5.00 for mine. (Bought from fellow reefer) Peppermints are less than skunks. Maybe $10.
 
In my experience, emerald crabs can grow very quickly and get pretty mean when not well fed. I am pretty sure that mine was attacking fish at night because some started to have shredded fins and missing scales. That problem went away when I removed the crab.
 
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