sand / detritus cleaners

[singold]

Hermits are good for eating leftover food on sand and rock, etc. Snails more for algae. I personally have not had problem with hermits and corals and find their personalities interesting to watch. However, there are complaints with them killing snails for their shells. I got some extra empty shells at LFS to avoid this & thus far have not had a snail eaten yet. I have tracked their numbers to see if became a problem. And not thus far any snails for lunch, dinner, or shell usage by the hermits.

 

[shuguley]

I've got some hermits in my tank, they don't seem to be anywhere near the hard workers that snails are... but crabs are cool and fun to watch. If they eat a snail here or there, big deal, a snail costs like $1-$3, and if the snail is dumb/slow enough to get eaten, that's his problem. So far I've gone a month with snails and hermits and I can still account for all my snails.

 

[pong]

my hermit crab was different... it picked on the snails for food... also... it just totally destroyed the coral that i placed near the sand bed...

zoanthids... = food for him

 

[singold]

Interesting, I have many Zoanthid rocks in tank and on sand bed, and have never had problem with hermits bothering them, much less eating them. "Pong", what kind of hermit do/did you have in your tank?

 

[VacavilleFC3S]

nassarius do not eat detritus, they are carnivores. they eat little extra pieces of meaty stuff not eaten when feeding your other creatures but in no way do they clean your sand other than submerging/re-emerging from the sand which creates a little clean spot

 

[RyanMcLaughlin]

Hermits like Red/Blue legged dont normally eat corals. Now others that get really big can destroy them. This guy came to the lfs i work at wondering why his hermits were eating his corals and me and my boss both said how small hermits dont usually eat corals and then he said it was the size of his fist. The bigger the hermit the bigger the food.

 

[FranktheTankTx]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned cerith snails. They are great at cleaning up detritus in a tank.

 

[shuguley]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13243344#post13243344 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by VacavilleFC3S
nassarius do not eat detritus, they are carnivores. they eat little extra pieces of meaty stuff not eaten when feeding your other creatures but in no way do they clean your sand other than submerging/re-emerging from the sand which creates a little clean spot

Really? According to liveaquaria...

The Nassarius Snail is a little snail with a big appetite. This hungry critter glides through your aquarium foraging for food. The Nassarius Snail is an efficient scavenger and detritus eater and is the perfect member of your reef aquarium cleanup crew. You will be pleased at how quickly a small group of Nassarius Snails will clear detritus, uneaten food, decaying organics, and fish waste.

http://liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=497+526+1133&pcatid=1133

 

[naimasreef]

any new thoughts on detritus critters for fuge??

thanks.