stocking for a 30g (help with cleanup crew)

[ronin_man]

what would be my best bet for stocking a 30g tank ?

im talking cleanup crew here.

how many snails, shrimp and crabs would be suitable for a 30g tank and of what kind.

i dont want to overwhelm the tank with them, but i dont want to end up not have enough.

any thoughts ?

 

[jenglish]

well, most cleanup crews are waaaay overpopulated for the size tanks they are reccomended for. in a 30 I would say 10-15 snails and 5-10 hermits.

 

[ronin_man]

should i have anything like sand sifting stars or gobys or something too ?

 

[stanlalee]

I have around 8 astrea and the same amount of cerith. nothing else. I have a good number of stomatella hitch hiker snails that come out at night. they even crawl on the astrea snails and strip the algae off of them. I think they do as much as the ones I paid for.

 

[BradsOcean]

i would NOT add any crabs. they will get bigger, outgrow their shells, and kill you snails for the shells...i have no crabs now. but, you can do what i did and not listen to people and learn from experience and gain a testimony of hate for crabs like me . I would add 20 astrea snails. I stay away from turbo snails because they will knock over your LR and corals. For a goby, you could add a diamond goby, it will keep you sand REALLY CLEAN! I love diamond gobies!

 

[ronin_man]

gobys are best kept alone in a small tank ?

 

[BradsOcean]

Yes, they usually are.

 

[tmz]

I'd go with a few trochus and cerith snails to start, Crabs are just too predatory for me.

 

[ReefRescue]

What are you going to have in the tank for live stock?

 

[Whys]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14086584#post14086584 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jenglish
well, most cleanup crews are waaaay overpopulated for the size tanks they are recommended for.

Too true. I regularly see people recommending 1 snail per gallon PLUS several dwarf crabs. This is overkill IMO, and I suspect these recommendations come from very established tanks with considerable bio-load.

I have a 37g. Started out with 3 hermits, 6 snails, and a brittle star. About a week later, added an emerald crab and 3 more snails. About a month after that, added 5 more snails.

It's important to have a good mix of snails, both type and size. Margarite are great glass cleaners. Trochus prefer to graze on the liverock. Strombus are small enough to really get into the nooks and crannies. And cerith will clean the sandbed at times.

Hermits will occasionally eat snails. Typically ceriths. Some refuse to keep hermits for this reason. Others just replace the snail. Emerald crabs, red scarlet hermits, and blue-legged hermits, typically cause the least trouble.

Brittle stars are good for cleaning under the liverock and finding left over food. They do require occasional feedings of their own.

 

[Guygettnby]

i personally keep about 4-5 different kind of snails, red leg hermits, dwarf white leg hermits, emerald crabs, cucumber, 2 serpent stars, 2 brittle stars, golden head sleeper goby.

thats in a 58g tank and i think that the crabs play a big role in tank clean up. i would tend to stay away from blue leg hermits though as they seem to be abit too bold and agressive to me. i think that the scarlet hermits are the least agressive hermits out there. i have also found that the dwarf white leg hermits that usualy come in with the tiny nassarius snail shipments are very good cleaners and never bother anything, they are work horses in my tanks.

 

[kel2682]

brads ocean Keep your shirt on

 

[Whys]

LOL

I could look like that if I wanted to. But I prefer the penny.

 

[BradsOcean]

haha....
ok ronin, if you don't want to go w/ a diamond goby, you could add a few Nassarious snails. They will sift through your sand and keep it cleaner

 

[tmz]

There are some snails commonly sold that are from cooler waters such as the Tegula funebralis(maragarita) sail. In my experience they last a few months and the die under the higher temperatures in reef tanks.

 

[Firesole]

I have a 55 and believe I may be a lil under stocked according to what most of you are saying above. I have a decent mix on snail types and a few hermits. Should I get some type of star fish? What kind is best?

 

[ronin_man]

as for stocking the tank i was thinking this list for the 29gal.

1 diamond goby
2 ocellaris
1 royal gramma
1 flame angel or bicolour angel

and then the clean up crew, prolly 10-20 snails and maybe a few shrimp i was thinking a sand sifting star too

 

[BradsOcean]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14091877#post14091877 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ronin_man
as for stocking the tank i was thinking this list for the 29gal.

1 diamond goby
2 ocellaris
1 royal gramma
1 flame angel or bicolour angel

and then the clean up crew, prolly 10-20 snails and maybe a few shrimp i was thinking a sand sifting star too

ok, if you want corals, stay away from the angels. they like to eat them. I'd go with closer to 20 snails. you'd be fine w/ shrimp and a sand sifting star too

 

[ronin_man]

do all angels eat all types of corals ?

 

[BradsOcean]

I'm pretty sure they do. I know flame angels do.