Cleanup Crews: BIGGER orders or smaller more FREQUENT orders?

[revhtree]

So sadly clean up crew critters (snails, crabs etc.), for the most part, don't last very long in our aquariums due to various reasons. Your mileage may vary! For this reason a cleanup crew or CUC needs to be replenished from time to time. The big questions are always, what should I get and how many should I get? Today I want to look at the later part of that question and frame the question a little differently.

1. Do you think it's better to order more critters in bigger orders or smaller more frequent orders?

2. If you chose more frequent how often would these orders be? Monthly, Quarterly etc?

3. Would you ever consider signing up for a CUC subscription service that would deliver critters at certain set dates?

image via @vetteguy53081

 

[Timfish]

Most likely reason CUC die is they starve. I've seen tanks with dozens or hundreds of empty snail shells and very few mature sytems with more than a handful. Best success I've had is a few hermits, one or two urchins and one or two brittle stars per hundred gallons.

 

[ScottR]

I think it’s important to add the right critters for the problem that you have. Randomly adding a CUC is bound to leave you with lots of deaths. 30 dead snails isn’t fun

 

[revhtree]

This should be a great discussion!

 

[scdigby]

i get what critters i need when i need them. i can't really think of a regular schedule where i would need to re-up on any of my CUC. It would be nice to be able to set a schedule like that, but they are living things and life just doesn't work like that. Not in my tanks anyway.

 

[ScubaFish802]

1. Do you think it's better to order more critters in bigger orders or smaller more frequent orders?

I prefer to get any CUC members from
my local LFS. I don’t go through too many so am not in need of frequent replenishment.

2. If you chose more frequent how often would these orders be? Monthly, Quarterly etc?

N/A

3. Would you ever consider signing up for a CUC subscription service that would deliver critters at certain set dates?

No, before I know it I would be up to my ears in CUC with a subscription. There’s something about the idea to subscribing to receive shipments of animals that my brain frowns upon. The whole idea of “CUC Packages” to me is to sell as many of the critters as possible, it seems frequently people pile in snails etc.. until they starve themselves to death.

Overall I would say it’s a No from me.

 

[WVNed]

I add a lot at the beginning and it just needs an infrequent tuneup.

 

[SMSREEF]

I don’t think mail order is a good way to go for me or my tank. Best to know your tank, and buy according to the CUC needs and your tanks biome and environment. Although if I had fish or elegance coral that ate all my snails On a regular basis, my answer may be different.

I had the best luck with 6 Astrea snails for 3 years in my 10 gallon nano. It was bare bottom and they never got stuck in sand, and could always flip back over.

In my new 60. there is a diverse group of hermits, trochus snails, astrea snails, fighting conch, sand sifting star. seems like everything is doing well. Trochus had babies so I may need to downsize.

 

[Aqua Man]

I have a cerith snail that has been in my tank for 5 years.

I would not be interested in a subscription for CUC. I prefer to see them eating before purchasing

Starting slow and building up a CUC is better.

 

[shred5]

I agree they die because of food or the wrong clean up crew.. I have Astraea snails over 4 years old right now. Yea some snails have short life span so avoid them.


I have had cucumbers for my sand bed that have split and last forever.

Brittle stars seem to live forever.

Stomatella Snails will multiply so they last forever.

Avoid hermits because they will kill your snails.

I mean stop buying things like sand sifting stars that require huge deep sand beds or they slowly starve.

 

[CelestEel]

I don't think I could sign up for a CUC subscription service where I was receiving new critters regularly, because that would be me trying to tell my tanks what they need instead of them telling me what they need. I do what the tanks tell me to do. If it were the other way around this whole hobby would be ruined for me.

 

[andrewkw]

I barely believe in cleanup crew. I've said this before, but my small collection of snails is mostly just for show. There are of course stometellas and other random smaller creatures roaming around that have been readily reproducing for almost a decade and a half without needing to be replaced.

Now if I had a new tank with hair algae or something else that would be another story, but my rocks are mostly filled with corals and my glass is cleaned by me nearly daily and weekly for the back. I'm not saying I have 100% algae free tanks by any means I just don't have huge nuisance issues that need to be corrected by an endless supply of critters that can't finish the job before their lifespans are up.

 

[dbowman5]

Man, if there was ever a question that depended on the size and type of tank you have it is this one, IMO.
i have several smaller tanks which are going in different directions. i just buy when i need CUC members. but the other questions: i think small additions are better than large ones just as slow is better in the other areas of the hobby bio load changes are best done gradually. if i had a big system with predators who saw the CUC as snackage I would deal with that by subscription.

 

[brett_schn]

I get them as needed at my lfs. Started with 4 hermits and 4 snails. Will get more as needed. Snails don’t ship too great I hear and it doesn’t make sense for me to get a subscription for inverts when I can go get them down the street for cheaper and support local businesses. Just my opinion

 

[SMSREEF]

I mean stop buying things like sand sifting stars that require huge deep sand beds or they slowly starve.

Do you have any actual experience with them? If so, maybe you just didn’t feed your tank enough. Or maybe it died of other reasons. Who knows... and blanket statements like above are not very helpful.

There are many threads on R2R where people have had them for years.

Mine is doing just fine. That’s not to say others would have the same outcome. As with anything we put in our tanks, if they don’t have what they need or too much of what causes them harm, they will get sick or die.

 

[Eagle_Steve]

I would not subscribe to a clean up crew replenishment. Over the years most of my tank do not need much. Once corals rule the tank I have almost no algae for them to eat. Hermits and a few snails is all I have and they last a long time for me. When a hermit looks a little big for it’s shell, throw 4-5 bigger ones in and then remove what’s left when it swaps. Snails get traded in for a smaller one if they get too large. No need for baseball size zebra turbos lol.

If someone needed them, I could see it being beneficial, but for me it is a no.

 

[92Miata]

Newer tanks have way more pest algae issues - so I tend to order a bit at the beginning. But older tanks generally need very little cleanup crew - because the corals are the main consumers - and there's not a ton of space on the rocks for pest algaes.

If stuff dies - I tend to assume that the tank is no longer hospitable to its dietary needs, and it doesn't get replaced. Older tanks seem to end up with lots of ceriths and stomatella and other stuff that reproduce readily.

 

[DazAquariums]

I tend to use roughly the same critters in my aquariums. I bought everything at once and I do believe my last snail has died. It’s been about 8 months since I added them all. So now I’ll buy some more and add them in a week or two.

 

[Reefs and Geeks]

I've not had a CUC in years due to my questionable selection of fish (puffer and trigger), but I've always wished I could to help keep algae at bay without having to try and keep an ULNS. I like the idea of having a big CUC and just supplementing their diet with nori as needed. Then it's one thing I can control in the aquarium without having to find a perfect balance of algae growth and CUC.

I actually just got a big order of snails in that I bought for my frag tanks, so am going to see how well a strong CUC lives up to it's name after many years without any. I don't have anything useful to comment on replenishing yet through as I am just getting started with a CUC in my mature tank.

 

[Han]

I think this would be a good idea. I keep fish that eat my cuc so I feel like I’m constantly short on snails and need to buy more. I try to always have a batch in QT.