what clean up crew do i need?

seanbugeja

New member
Hi all,

im currently cycling my tank im new to the hobby....i believe that when the cycle is over my next step is establishing a clean up crew....i have a 30g tank. What should i stock? thanks a lot guys for your help :)
 
Whatever you do, do NOT go and buy one of the pre-built CUC packages! I do not understand how people keep the number of critters alive that they suggest. To give you an idea of what was put in my 150 at the point you are at and it was enough for the inverts to survive with only minimal food being added:

5 Astraea (monsters in terms of cleaning any algae growing!)
5 Cerinths (power houses but at a slower pace in my tank)
9 hermits
1 pincushion urchin

I honestly don't think I could have put any more in the tank initially without a decent amount of them dying if I hadn't supplemented them a decent amount.

I really like the Astraea snails the only thing is they cannot get flipped upright if they end up on their shell. (I have never seen any snail flip themselves though so don't let that be the only reason you don't get them). A lot of people like the turbo snails. I had two in my 55 a few years ago and they pretty much kept the whole thing clean with only the help of a few small hermits. Just be careful to consider how much food you have available for them and build them slowly rather than throwing them all in at once.
 
Nassarius snails for the sandbed If you can find someone that has Stomatella snails they're a great addition and breed like rabbits.
 
Whatever you do, do NOT go and buy one of the pre-built CUC packages! I do not understand how people keep the number of critters alive that they suggest. To give you an idea of what was put in my 150 at the point you are at and it was enough for the inverts to survive with only minimal food being added:

5 Astraea (monsters in terms of cleaning any algae growing!)
5 Cerinths (power houses but at a slower pace in my tank)
9 hermits
1 pincushion urchin

I honestly don't think I could have put any more in the tank initially without a decent amount of them dying if I hadn't supplemented them a decent amount.

I really like the Astraea snails the only thing is they cannot get flipped upright if they end up on their shell. (I have never seen any snail flip themselves though so don't let that be the only reason you don't get them). A lot of people like the turbo snails. I had two in my 55 a few years ago and they pretty much kept the whole thing clean with only the help of a few small hermits. Just be careful to consider how much food you have available for them and build them slowly rather than throwing them all in at once.

I would not recommend a pincushion urchin, if this a brand new tank and new to the hobby. Pincushion urchins while they do eat algae, mainly munch on corraline algae. I waited over a year to let my corraline build up, before I added them to my tank. I added one of them and they are voracious eaters, wiping my tank clean in just like 3 months. If you really want an urchin in a brand new tank, be prepared to feed it some pieces of nori every few days. While its not a big deal to do.....just not sure if you want to go through the hassle right now. If you are brand new to this hobby.....I would wait a few months.


In addition... I would add some Nessarius snails that move around the sand bed to keep it stirred. The Trochous snails can right themselves if they fall, which is nice....so I would add some of them as well.

Hermits...while I love them, they will eventually search and seek out other snails for their shells, especially in a small tank. I had a Halloween hermit that even took out a skunk cleaner shrimp on me.

Skunk cleaner shrimp are nice...they will eat any left over food that your fish don't eat.

Cerinths and Astrea are good to add as well. Mexican Turbos....they are powerhouses but are like bulls in a china shop.

I would also recommend a fighting conch snail. They travel under the sand, keep it stirred and aerated, and eat detritus.

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=497+526+2174&pcatid=2174
 
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For that size tank, maybe 3 or 4 Trochus snails and one scarlet hermit crab should suffice. You can keep the glass and the sand clean all by yourself. Just get yourself something like a Mag-Float and use your finger or a small power head and stir up the substrate once every month or so right before a water change. Piece of cake. The picture below looks bad, but I want this stuff out. If your willing to do a little work every now & then you should be able to keep a happy healthy reef tank for years on end. GL.




 
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