Serpent Starfish vs Cleaner Shrimp

[Proctor614]

We are looking to up our CUC gang and have a quick question. What is the most useful for a bare bottom tank, a Serpent Starfish or a Cleaner Shrimp? We've got a Waterbox 70.3 that has been up roughly 5 months. We have a red Tuxedo Urchin, 4 Trochus Snails, and two dwarf hermit crabs as our current crew. We also have 8 saltwater acclimated mollies to cycle the bacterial load. We are ready to order our first true saltwater fish and get one or the other as an additional CUC. Any thoughts, recommendations, or concerns with one or the other?

 

[andrewey]

What is the main goal of your CUC? Uneaten food, stir sand, algae control, etc.?

 

[Nan3182]

As the co-owner, uneaten food is not an issue. The Mollies are pigs, they don’t leave any food behind. No sand bed to stir so not an issue. Algae control is our #1 concern right now. But that is not to say that there isn’t something that we are not thinking of right now.

 

[andrewey]

If algae control is your #1, then I would actually suggest an invert other than the cleaner or serpent, as neither is likely to help much with your algae. Additional snails (depending on the type of algae you're focused on) would be a much better addition than the shrimp or star.

That being said, if you are looking to add either as a pet, then my personal vote is cleaner shrimp :) Fantastic personality and a ton of fun!

 

[Proctor614]

The mollies will move on to cycle qt tanks and such as we grow our collection. Eventually we'll have several fish and corals. I imagine detritus and uneaten food will increase as the variety grows and the type of food fed changes with the inhabitants. Like anything, we want something semi-functional and cool to look at. If a star would be better suited in a sand bed, then it's functionality is lost. Ultimately I'd like both. Who doesn't want to have everything?