Time to get a cleaner crew...

[DLHDesign]

So our tank (525XL - 108gal w/ three separate rock piles; mixed is the goal) is approaching the point where we're going to add the cleaner crew (Sat, 6/11). As this is our first tank, I'm not sure how much of what to get...

Obviously the first goal is to get effective critters (can't say I even expected to have any snails in the tank initially - much less dozens). But I would also like to have everything in the tank add to it's appeal, so I'm willing to spend a bit more (in money and effort) to get interesting things. At the same time (this is my head space when thinking about this project...), these are the first things going into my first tank, so I'm not looking to drop down $50 for a crab or the like I'd not know was dying until it was gone...
SO, here's what I've come up with; purchased as a BYO cleaner kit from LiveAquaria:

• Dwarf Blue Hermit x12 (one pack)
• Dwarf Zebra/Orange & Black Hermit x5 (one pack)
• Scarlet Reef Hermit x5
• Nassarius Snail x10 (one pack)
• Cerith Snail x 5 (one pack)
• Babylon Snail x2
• Banded Trochus Snail x10 (two packs)
• Peppermint Shrimp x2
• Banded Coral Shrimp x2
• Emerald Crab x3
• Brittle Sea Star x2
• Short Spine Urchin, Caribbean x2

Too much? Not enough? Missing something? Something I shouldn't get?

 

[cjd]

That's a lot of critters and will end up starving to death causing more harm then good in the end. Clean up crew Reef package places try to sell you often do this knowing you will have to buy more to replace. First off ,are you having any trouble areas? hair algae ? BRS has a great video on YouTube on their new 52 weeks of reefing series that describes what and when to add a cuc. Its worth a watch and hits all the points and its a lot quicker then I can type all the info. But yes that's far to much especially in a new tank. On a side note Id rather have snails do my clean up rather than crabs. crabs can sometimes be destructive in my experiences.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

yup crabs can go rogue fast, shrimp are jerks, and stars really need to be double checked they are brittles not serpent or they go after anything. Urchins eat corraline.

a guess then you can add later. 16 small snails two turbos 5 small crabs and a brittle star(only because they are cool) then see how it goes. A shrimp later only if you like them. Same with urchin.

 

[cjd]

yes shrimps can be a pain , I would not add a peppermint shrimp unless I had Aptasia problem and looking for a quick fix. I had them go rouge and find a liking to some zooanthids. Coral banded shrimp only if you want to keep that species because they too like to bother coral , shrimp learn its easier to steal food then to search for it. I had an emerald crab get a taste for a War coral , I put his favorite snack in a clear tube and when he was in there chomping away ......gotcha sucka! Watch out for green brittle stars , they are very predatory by nature and have learned to hunt fish. they like to hang upside down with a couple of arms extended downward and when an unsuspecting fish swims through or rest at night ...easy catch, if the fish is small enough. I've had a red serpent and a tan serpent that didn't bother a thing , unless it was dead of course. I had a Mexican turbo snail to aid me in a new tank algae issue a few years ago, he did his job and I corrected whatever water quality issue I was having , well unfortunately he ran out of food and I kept putting off finding the little guy a new home . needless to say he died , I actually watched him fall off the glass and not move and that moment when you say ooooohhhh my snail just died :( the serpent reached his arm out , scooped him out of his shell and pulled his body under the rocks and your left with this look on your face staring at your tank . o_O

 

[GoldenBoys]

That's a lot of critters and will end up starving to death causing more harm then good in the end. Clean up crew Reef package places try to sell you often do this knowing you will have to buy more to replace. First off ,are you having any trouble areas? hair algae ? BRS has a great video on YouTube on their new 52 weeks of reefing series that describes what and when to add a cuc. Its worth a watch and hits all the points and its a lot quicker then I can type all the info. But yes that's far to much especially in a new tank. On a side note Id rather have snails do my clean up rather than crabs. crabs can sometimes be destructive in my experiences.

That 52 weeks of reefing suggestion is awesome. I just started it after reading your response. Great info. Thanks

 

[Wiz]

I would stay away from these :
Blue leg hermits
Coral banded shrimp
Babylon snails
Urchins
Not sure about the orange and black Hermits

I would defanitly have these :
tiger sand conch
Banded trochus snail
Cerith snail
Nerite snail Particularly virgin
Scarlet hermit crab
Nassarius snail
Brittle star
Emerald crab with caution
Peppermint shrimp with caution


That's my opinion

 

[cloak]

For a tank that size I think you would be better off just going with 7-10 Banded Trochus snails and maybe 5 Scarlet Hermit crabs. Use something like a Mag-Float to clean your glass and either stir up or vacuum your sand bed once every month or so. If everything goes well this nuisance algae your seeing will be replaced by Coralline algae anyways. Now your stuck with a bunch of invertebrates that will most likely have to fed at some point. (if they survive that long) There's really no need to rely on an army of snails, crabs etc to keep your tank clean as long as your willing to do a little work.
If you just want to add a bunch of pets to your tank as opposed to janitors though, then by all means knock yourself out.

 

[Wiz]

I would at least be very careful with a MAG float. I personally will never use one again. Say hello to scratched glass

 

[Wiz]

And I also agree start with fewer and see if you need more. You don't want to just start them.

 

[cloak]

I would at least be very careful with a MAG float. I personally will never use one again. Say hello to scratched glass

If your in this for the long haul scratches just come with the territory IMO. ;)

 

[DLHDesign]

Thanks; I'll scale things back a bit. Less to start, then more later if there seems to be food available. @cjd - I did watch the BRS series; yeah. Several times with that episode. It was tough (for me) to know how to scale their 160gal down to my 108gal, basically...

At the moment (coming down from the initial tank cycle), I'm mostly looking for things to handle the brown algae I've got. It (the algae) is already starting to reduce, but I'm sure it will need help.

Based on your guys feedback and more research (a never-ending task, thankfully ;-)), I think that I'm going to head down to my LFS and see what they have in stock rather than buy online (to buy online, I have to order too many things I don't need).

Cheers!

 

[Wiz]

If your in this for the long haul scratchs come with the territory IMO. ;)

I agree. But my current tank has like 3 scratchs after a year plus. My old one was destroyed In six months. Mag floats are very poorly designed and are frequently misused. I would get a newer design that does not mash the glass.

 

[cjd]

Thanks; I'll scale things back a bit. Less to start, then more later if there seems to be food available. @cjd - I did watch the BRS series; yeah. Several times with that episode. It was tough (for me) to know how to scale their 160gal down to my 108gal, basically...

At the moment (coming down from the initial tank cycle), I'm mostly looking for things to handle the brown algae I've got. It (the algae) is already starting to reduce, but I'm sure it will need help.

Based on your guys feedback and more research (a never-ending task, thankfully ;-)), I think that I'm going to head down to my LFS and see what they have in stock rather than buy online (to buy online, I have to order too many things I don't need).

Cheers!

If you cant get anything local , try Reef Cleaners.com . I use them and you can buy as little or as much as you want.

 

[DLHDesign]

I would stay away from these :
Blue leg hermits
Coral banded shrimp
Babylon snails
Urchins
Not sure about the orange and black Hermits

Done; thanks!

I would defanitly have these :
tiger sand conch
Banded trochus snail
Cerith snail
Nerite snail Particularly virgin
Scarlet hermit crab
Nassarius snail
Brittle star
Emerald crab with caution
Peppermint shrimp with caution

I've only got a ~2" sand bed, so I'm not sure that a conch will do well with so little sand?
Aside from that, your list matches (exactly, in fact!) the one that I'm taking with me to the LFS tomorrow. If they don't have the things on the list, I'll look to ReefCleaners.com (thanks @cjd).

 

[Wiz]

I understand your concern. I only say the tiger conch because it is the best cleaner I have ever owned. Most definitely the best. Cleaned everything that it can reach spotless. And is also very very interesting to watch. The eyes and nose are Very strange poking out of the sand and vacuuming. It does not bother any other inhabitants aside of knocking things over occasionally. And is the only cleanup crew member I know of that will eat dinos with no ill effect.I have one in my display which is only three quarters of an inch.

Done; thanks!


I've only got a ~2" sand bed, so I'm not sure that a conch will do well with so little sand?
Aside from that, your list matches (exactly, in fact!) the one that I'm taking with me to the LFS tomorrow. If they don't have the things on the list, I'll look to ReefCleaners.com (thanks @cjd).

 

[Wiz]

And you are welcome I hope things go well for you.

 

[DLHDesign]

I have one in my display which is only three quarters of an inch.

Oh; cool. I'd love to have one or two; I agree that they are cool critters to watch. I was just concerned after reading the notes on them "requiring 4 inches" of sand or more...
If you've got them in 3/4", then I suspect my ~2" will be okay. ;-)

 

[Wiz]

Mine spends most of his time buried in the sand so just the tip of his shell stick out and his eyes. The rest of the time he is actively around the bottom of the tank vacuuming rocks shells Dirt anything he can reach with his nose. I've even caught him climbing up the Rocks a little bit to reach higher. I am not sure why they would require 4 inches of sand but mine does not have even one inch. And he seems to do just fine. I hope I am not making him suffer.

 

[LadAShark]

Urchins eat corraline.

A good thing, in my opinion. As long as they eat corralline and not corals, I'm happy.

As for the original poster, how about conches and abalone?

 

[Roboson]

I was on reef cleaners earlier, so I just saw some real cool stuff there. You should check that out.

From them I'd order:
20 dwarf cerith
10 Florida ceriths
5 limpets (because they're cool)
5-10 nassarius snails (depending on sand grain size and dirtiness)
10 assorted hermit crabs (for fun)
3-5 scarlet hermits (because they're great and peaceful)
5-10 blue legs
The one penny macro algae
30- zig zag periwinkles
1 coral banded shrimp

Reasons:
Each of these snails covers a different area
Ceriths = top of sand
Nassarius = inside sand
Limpets = glass and rock
Zig Zag Periwinkles = glass and rock (and they're super cheap).

As far as hermits go, Scarlets are vibrant and effective. They just aren't super interesting to watch.

Assorted hermits is a grab bag, but you may get something cool or fun to watch. Or something that eats something that nothing else will eat like hair or bubble algae. However you should watch these to make sure they aren't eating things you like.

What I wouldn't get:
Any mithrax crab.
(They are veracious and without a good food source, they can go rouge. If you have bubble algae or you feed them, they're super cool)

A brittle star
(Requires direct feeding once they get above 6-7 inches in diameter. Once they get that big they have a bigger appetite than detritus can supply and your CUC starts looking really tasty).

Short spine urchin:
Just get a pencil urchin, they're better and less dangerous. And cheaper.

Peppermint shrimp
Will go rouge if you don't have aptasia.

Zebra hermits
These guys are ******s. They have a strict hierarchy, will fight for shells, and they don't even like algae! They only eat left over fish food and other detritus. They will walk all over corals too and bother them. They're villainous little buggers.
-----------------------------------

That said, most people's mistake is that they put the CUC in long before the fish and other livestock. They're put in a basically empty tank with little food except for each other. Those that are needed for cleaning up later on will starve and those that don't matter as much survive.