Best Clean Up Crew for Pico??

[fishy_fishy_fish]

Hi everyone,

First of all, just wanted to say thank you to the community as I am learning how valuable of a source this really is. I am new to reefing but not to the aquarium hobby overall, so I'm combining my experience with the unfamiliarity of this side of things.

Anyways, here are the details of my tank as of now:
- Pico tank, about 3.5 gallons (long rather than square)
- 4 pounds of live rock currently, going to add about 2 pounds more to complete the rock work
- Tank has been cycling for a little less than 4 weeks, no water changes in this time although I will start when I get a chance to go to my LFS and pick up some more live rock. Plan is for weekly 40-50% water changes once everything is set up. So, first water change will be when the rock work is complete and from then on it will be weekly.
- light has been on fairly low power for daily cycles since I set it up, decided that I'd rather start the tank off closer to the conditions it will be operating at rather than doing a dark start
- right now, there is some brown hair-like algae on the rock work and the glass

Currently, I plan on getting the last few small pieces of live rock along with the first members of the CUC in the next couple weeks.

So, my question is, what is the best CUC for a pico of this size? Obviously will be limited by the size, so looking for a good combo of appropriate numbers to take care of algae growing on the rocks, glass, and sand. The live rock introduced a spaghetti worm that I know is good for the substrate, but that seems to be all (other than a couple feather dusters).

I wouldn't mind having an entertaining member of the CUC like a crab or something since the livestock will be extremely limited in a tank this size. So yeah, what combination and types of snails, crabs or others would you recommend for this tank? Rock work doesn't sit on the sand so anything that digs is fine.

Thank you, all help is appreciated!

PS, after the last of the live rock has been added and the tank has been set up for 6-8 weeks, would you recommend I start with corals or fish? Was planning on doing a single green clown goby.

 

[TX_REEF]

Congrats on the new system!

I'd recommend against crabs of any type in a tank that size if you plan to have corals. I have seen both large hermit crabs and emerald crabs eat healthy corals, including the skeletons.

I WOULD recommend trochus snails and dwarf ceriths. They are some of my favorites. A skunk cleaner shrimp might also be a good addition, if you like they way they look. A few nassarius snails will keep your sandbed stirred.

 

[fishy_fishy_fish]

Congrats on the new system!

I'd recommend against crabs of any type in a tank that size if you plan to have corals. I have seen both large hermit crabs and emerald crabs eat healthy corals, including the skeletons.

I WOULD recommend trochus snails and dwarf ceriths. They are some of my favorites. A skunk cleaner shrimp might also be a good addition, if you like they way they look. A few nassarius snails will keep your sandbed stirred.

Thank you, that is good advice. I was worried about crabs due to the size so that's important. What types of shrimp are effective for CUC? I know that sexy shrimp are more entertaining than productive so wondering which ones are helpful and a good size?

 

[TX_REEF]

Thank you, that is good advice. I was worried about crabs due to the size so that's important. What types of shrimp are effective for CUC? I know that sexy shrimp are more entertaining than productive so wondering which ones are helpful and a good size?

Both skunk cleaner shrimp (my favorite) and TRUE peppermint shrimps are great CuC members. Skunk cleaners are my favorite because I am as close to positive as possible that they will never harm corals or other creatures in the tank.

Sexy shrimp are neat looking, and a nice pico size, but I haven't kept them myself so can't comment on their CuC utility.

 

[fishy_fishy_fish]

Both skunk cleaner shrimp (my favorite) and TRUE peppermint shrimps are great CuC members. Skunk cleaners are my favorite because I am as close to positive as possible that they will never harm corals or other creatures in the tank.

Sexy shrimp are neat looking, and a nice pico size, but I haven't kept them myself so can't comment on their CuC utility.

Awesome thank you, +1 for a combination of snails and a shrimp!

 

[Izzy36c]

Both skunk cleaner shrimp (my favorite) and TRUE peppermint shrimps are great CuC members. Skunk cleaners are my favorite because I am as close to positive as possible that they will never harm corals or other creatures in the tank.

Sexy shrimp are neat looking, and a nice pico size, but I haven't kept them myself so can't comment on their CuC utility.

checkout Pederson Cleaner Shrimp (Ancylomenes pedersoni) or Spotted Cleaner Shrimp (Periclimenes yucatanicus) . theyre usually clear with some blue. very nice looking and they stay very small (less than an inch) for a pico vs the skunk cleaners which grow a bit big for a pico imo and they have a very similar personality and benefit. Theyll eat algae, parasites and also detritus. If you plan on any kind of euphyllia type coral, the spotted cleaner would work because they like to host in anemones or the like.

 

[BriDroid]

I would also recommend the dwarf ceriths. I got a bunch of them from Reef Claners when I bought my CUC. They’re awesome and the only come out at night and under the sand all day. So if you don’t want to see snails, they’re great!

 

[fishy_fishy_fish]

checkout Pederson Cleaner Shrimp (Ancylomenes pedersoni) or Spotted Cleaner Shrimp (Periclimenes yucatanicus) . theyre usually clear with some blue. very nice looking and they stay very small (less than an inch) for a pico vs the skunk cleaners which grow a bit big for a pico imo and they have a very similar personality and benefit. Theyll eat algae, parasites and also detritus. If you plan on any kind of euphyllia type coral, the spotted cleaner would work because they like to host in anemones or the like.

Very interesting, thank you. I was a little concerned with the size of skunk cleaner’s and other candidates like sexy shrimp don’t seem to offer much in terms of cleanliness. I will look for those options, thank you!