so what is the perfect clean up crew?
- Thread starter AIR-FX
- Start date
Capt_Cully
Active member
I like nassarius snails to stir the sand bed and fighting conchs for the same reason. Glass I like astreas and spiral topped snails. Turbos do a great job on the rocks but they can bulldoze stuff, so for 200 gallons, I only have 3. I'm going to toss in some scarlet hermits, but just a couple. That's about it for me. There are some safe options but these do the trick for me.
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+1 for the fighting conch. Great cleaner....I also have smaller turbo snails that do a great job as well
Dave VG
New member
Banded Trochus, Nerite Snails, nassarius snails and Scarlet Hermits. Unlike the Astraea Conehead Snail the Banded Trochus snails can upright themselves so no worries when they fall off the glass or rockwork and land upside down. This is the combo I'm about to purchase for my tank.
Gary Majchrzak
Team RC
Best cleanup crew?
Best cleanup crew?
bristleworms
Best cleanup crew?
bristleworms
AIR-FX
New member
forgot to write in the subject line that i was asking everyone BUT you. sorry wont happen again.
Henry Colf
New member
I think what you have as your clean up crew is up to you. It's your tank and you know it better than anyone else as to what you need. JMO.....
I have trochus, Cerith and some tiger striped snail along with a Queen Conch as well as a tiger cuc. and 20 BLUE legged hermits(the red ones are more aggresive in my expereience)..This works for my bio-load.. You may need less or more depends on how you feed your tank,what your water change schedule is like ..there is no set amount of what is good for who's tank ..JMO....
I have trochus, Cerith and some tiger striped snail along with a Queen Conch as well as a tiger cuc. and 20 BLUE legged hermits(the red ones are more aggresive in my expereience)..This works for my bio-load.. You may need less or more depends on how you feed your tank,what your water change schedule is like ..there is no set amount of what is good for who's tank ..JMO....
Steve Canyon
New member
???
Gary Majchrzak
Team RC
? x 2
cardiffgiant
Active member
In my 90 I've got astrea snails, turbos, a couple of scarlet hermits, a couple of blue legs hermits, and an unknown population of tiger tail cucumbers. The tiger tails reproduce by fission. I started with 2 and I did see 5 at one point.
I try to get the smallest turbos that I can. They eat that real whiskery brillo algae that will pop up on the occasional frag plug, but they also knock a lot of things over.
Some of my favorite CUC members are the hitchhikers. I've seen populations of various hitchhikers peak, drop, and level off over the years. Everything from key hole limpets, brittle stars, asterina stars, bristle works, pods, stomatellas, collinistas, spaghetti worms, etc.
Hopefully whatever else is going is handled through PM.
I try to get the smallest turbos that I can. They eat that real whiskery brillo algae that will pop up on the occasional frag plug, but they also knock a lot of things over.
Some of my favorite CUC members are the hitchhikers. I've seen populations of various hitchhikers peak, drop, and level off over the years. Everything from key hole limpets, brittle stars, asterina stars, bristle works, pods, stomatellas, collinistas, spaghetti worms, etc.
Hopefully whatever else is going is handled through PM.
Capt_Cully
Active member
Stomatellas! Good call!
AIR-FX
New member
when i first came onto this forum i was asking alot of questions about the hobby and most responses i got from gary were snippy and snide. i realize he is he knows a ton about the hobby,but i get ****ed when i see him talking down to people like they are stupid. BRISTLEWORMS..... REALLY? GEE I SHOULD RUN OUT AND BUY SOME......WHERE CAN I GET EM? i......again was asking a legit question from people who have been through the trial and error on clean up crews.........when i get a smart [profanity] remark it makes my blood boil. I am trying to do things the right way and not waste $ in the process. ive done a ton of reserch.....as much as i can.....on the hobby and sometimes i don't find the whole answer ,so i come back on here and ask the question my way so i can get a better answerto what i would like to know. ive talked with many people from here about the way he treats some people and they all have the same thing to say..."just ignore him" he does help out alot on the forum but he also ****es alot people off ! im done with what i have to say.......:angryfire::wave:
Creative use of symbols or misspellings to evade our profanity filters is frowned upon here
Creative use of symbols or misspellings to evade our profanity filters is frowned upon here
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Gary Majchrzak
Team RC
no smart azz remarks ever given here
no smart azz remarks ever given here
The cleanup crew in my aquarium consists of bristleworms and Stomatella.
This is the "best" cleanup crew IMO.
If you need other cleanup critters you might need to try a different approach- or quite simply ignore my posts.
IMO/IME there is no reason to spend a lot of money on a cleanup crew. People usually go way overboard on CUC's.
no smart azz remarks ever given here
The cleanup crew in my aquarium consists of bristleworms and Stomatella.
This is the "best" cleanup crew IMO.
If you need other cleanup critters you might need to try a different approach- or quite simply ignore my posts.
IMO/IME there is no reason to spend a lot of money on a cleanup crew. People usually go way overboard on CUC's.
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GMaquarium
New member
To answer the original question I would have to agree with what Gary said about worms and stomatella snails. There is not one single perfect clean up crew. Each critter specializes in eating a specific type of food that can be beneficial to one tank and not to another. I think when picking out clean up inverts one must pick and choose based on the type of tank he/she has. If you want a general, broad spectrum clean up crew without wasting money you have to look at bacteria, pods, worms and snails that come on live rock and you probably already have in your tank. After all that is the point of purchasing the rocks alive.
Good sand dwellers for detritus and leftover foods would be conches, nassarius, sand stars, cucumbers, sand sifting gobies. When it comes to algae it becomes more difficult to generalize because of specialized feeding.
Good sand dwellers for detritus and leftover foods would be conches, nassarius, sand stars, cucumbers, sand sifting gobies. When it comes to algae it becomes more difficult to generalize because of specialized feeding.
RC members that have a TRC badge are members that have proven, over the long haul that they know what they're talking about, and have been recognized by the staff here as people that you can and should trust. We take pride in TRC, and I will not have people taking shots at them. If you, or anyone else feels that any member has nothing to offer to you, I'd like to introduce you to a wonderful feature we offer called the ignore button. Go into any member's profile and click it if you don't want to hear from them, and you won't.
FTR, Gary's recommendation of bristle worms as at least part of a CUC is more than valid. They are some of the best detritus eaters out there, so to answer your question, YES, Bristle worms, really.
As far as "snippy and snide responses", feel free to contact me directly with links, and if I am in agreement, snippy and snide members will hear from me.
FTR, Gary's recommendation of bristle worms as at least part of a CUC is more than valid. They are some of the best detritus eaters out there, so to answer your question, YES, Bristle worms, really.
As far as "snippy and snide responses", feel free to contact me directly with links, and if I am in agreement, snippy and snide members will hear from me.
AIR-FX
New member
well i guess i stand corrected and i appologize gary. ive only heard that if you have bristle worms .......get rid of em. i removed one that was at least 10-12 inches in length and a good 1/4 wide. this is the first time i have read anything on here that the worms are bennificial. i KNOW that gary is far more knowledgable than i in the hobby. i often read many of his post to learn,but ive also seen shots taken. anyways moving on.......lifes to short i said my piece......gary i was wrong about worms,i do hope you will except my appology.:headwally:
