Cleaning Crew

JeffDubya

JeffDubya

New Member
I have read a bunch of threads on this forum dealing with choosing the "cleaning crew" which will be the first animals I place in the tank after it finishes cycling.

There are a lot of conversation beginnings, but no follow-ups. i.e., I can't tell what worked and what didn't work. Since this is an opportunity for me to learn from others' mistakes and successes, I'm trying to come up with a plan.

I also have looked at this site: http://www.phishybusiness.com/cuc.php

And this site: http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/scat ... &subref=AQ

I'm sure there are many others.

Keeping in mind that I have a 30 gallon tank, I would appreciate any recommendations as to what my crew should consist of, so I can be ready to order when the time comes!


Thanks in advance! :thanks
 
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idog

New Member
IMO, with the CUC packages, you get alot of stuff you don't need. You don't want a bunch a exotic shrimp, conches, cucumbers and crabs when your tank is just starting up and fluctuating. Get maybe 10 dwarf hermits, a dozen nassarius snails, a dozen astrea/cerith/trocchus snails. Don;t get too big a cleanup crew because you will just have starvation once the tank is established.
 
JeffDubya

JeffDubya

New Member
Yeah I saw that in the phishy package... the sea cucumbers in a newly established tank didn't sound like a super idea to me, but what do I know, I'm just a noob. :)

I *do* want a banded coral shrimp... can I make him the crew boss or should I wait?
 
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idog

New Member
Coral banded shrimp can be very aggressive. Not good if you plan on having other shrimp, or small docile fish.

CUC= clean up crew
 
proraptor

proraptor

New Member
Coral banded shrimp are bad just as i dog said....Dont get a crab they are 99.9% going to kill something. Also try and only buy a nice variety of snails with no hermits...Hermits are a pain in the butt and will knock stuff over, kill each other, and kill shrimp...
 
EDGRAY

EDGRAY

New Member
IF i had to get another cleaning crew ill go with : blueleg hermits,nerite snails & nassarius snails.. why cause other snails are too big and knockdown frags or anything but nerite snails will do the same job clean rock,glass and cause of their tiny round shell they are really careful with anything and well their variation on color of shells gives them another A+ really nice i love them and then nassarius snails just some to stirr you sand bed and well hermits are ok they will go clean were any snail wont go except my nerite that i recomend the go everywere but if you have the $$$$ replace the hermits in a future with sexy shrimps and cleaner shrimp really good cleaners too and well no shell = NO nocking stuff ..... so thats it well this is my honest opinion & best results i got with those invertabrates! :mrgreen:
 
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reefman23

New Member
I think i am in an uncommon group that finds clean-up crews to be unnecessary... sort of a band-aid. I have relied on proper flow, rockwork, and filtration for about 6 months now in my 20L and have managed to have immeasurable nitrates/nitrites/ammonia the entire time. In my 20L, i have ~650 GPH and an in-sump refugium with a skimmer and filter sock.... I do have 2 hermits and 2 nassarius snails... when they die, i dont plan on replacing them.

My tank is mature though. In a new tank, i feel that a clean-up crew can be beneficial for the common algae bloom that takes place. Once this passes though, i think that a tank will run just fine with or without a cleanup crew.

Jesse
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
jesses right nothing beats proper planning to avoid algae issues, but even in my ancient 125 i get a little algae here and there - especially around my zoas for some reason
but i also don't have large clean up crews - a few margaritas and about 4 turbos and an ugly cuke i've had forever in the 125 - a couple hermits, margaritas and one turbo in the figi, and just one turbo in the new 12. a few snails are always nice, but too many and they start to cause more trouble then solve knocking things over and such. also i added some ceriths a couple weeks ago cuz they had a special on them, but they don't seem very hardy - i wouldn't doubt i lost 1/3 of them already??? oh yea i have a ton of stomatellas - they reproduce like crazy in my tank and you never see them but early in the morning when the lights first come on
banded corals are cool but then you only get one the other cleaners and sexies you can keep in groups more easily.
 
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reefman23

New Member
I forgot about the stomatellas.. I too have a couple black ones that have been breading in my tank.

Like you said though.. clean-up crews can become a nuisance because they tend to knock over anything and everything that isnt securely mounted down.

Jesse
 
JeffDubya

JeffDubya

New Member
Anyone have issues with bumble bee snails? When I got my last batch of live rock I had a hitchhiker, and my son loves that little guy. :) He guessed the name even before I had looked it up. That really cracked me up. Smart kid.

My nitrites are now down to 0 and my pH is on the rise. Just waiting now for my RO/DI filter. Then I can do a water change, and order the cleaning crew! We're totally FINALLY looking forward to having critters in the tank!

I'm painting the back tonight. Talk about something I wish I had done before filling it with stuff. Damn me for being so impatient at the outset. Not good!
 
skipm

skipm

Moderator
Staff member
Bumble bee snails are fine in a tank but they are not cleaners, they are carnivorous and will eat meaty foods that they find but will not eat algaes. I think a couple of them add color to a tank and are great additions.
 
JeffDubya

JeffDubya

New Member
OK, so aside from snails... I need to decide on 3 additional things:

(1) To shrimp or not to shrimp

(2) Starfish

(3) Hermit Crab Rumble

First, should I get some little shrimpies? Yeah, I know - a bunch of you put the kibosh on my banded coral shrimp, which was such a disappointment. I had one years ago, and never had any problems, but the answer was so resounding, I will have to just leave it there.

Now, I know I don't *have* to have shrimp, but they will probably be fun to watch. I am trying to decide between Scarlet Skunk Cleaner, Peppermint Shrimp or the Blood Red Fire Shrimp. Or is there something else I should consider? The color of the Blood Red is really amazing, but then again so is the price. I am wondering also if I get shrimp, should I stick with one of each or get a few of one?

Next, Starfish. I really REALLY like starfish. Seems like in a lot of pre-packaged CUC packages, a Sand Sifting Sea Star is included. Too bad these guys are so plain looking. They really do nothing to excite me! I like the blue of the Linckia Sea Star and I also think the Orange Sea Star or Red Sea Star would look great. All of these are reef safe. Are sea stars relatively easy to keep? I used to havea chocolate chip star back in the day, but I can't even find them for sale on the sites I am perusing. So, whaddya think?

Last, Hermits. Now many of you have weighed in as not liking hermit crabs, so you don't have to tell me twice. But for those of you who do like them, can I mix blue and red hermits? I read somewhere that they are little racist bastards and will rumble if you try to mix the two. True? Maybe? Imagine judging somone by the color of their carapace. It's so sad, really. Right now I have at least 4 reds (possibly as many as 8, but they are all over the place and hard to count).
 
EDGRAY

EDGRAY

New Member
1.There are alot nice shrimps to consider like sexy shrimps and cleaner shrimps...
and well the red shrimp is really nice but doesnt worth it is always hidding and you can hardly see him just like a pistol shrimp and sometimes not even at feeding time comes out... just at night ...peppy mmm personal i dont like them really simple .. :lol:

2. The ones i know for sure are easy to take care of are serpent stars and there are alot of colors from yellow,orange, black&white and so on and well they're not in the open either but during feeding time you can see the legs reaching for food and well just in case they dont get enough food i target feed mine one time a week pellet food...

3. Mixing hermits will lead to a WORLD WAR II ... cause for unknow reason in the end you get stock with one spicie... In my case the blue won the war :mrgreen:

Not a big help but thats my experience with trying different invertebrates the only one i havent tried yet is the blue lickia but they say is easy to take care off and is more in the open.. HTH
 
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idog

New Member
I would go with a peppermint to start. I swear by them. Good scavenger, great at controlling aiptasia and they are the cheapest so if you make any rookie mistakes, you are not out the cash. Don't get pairs unless you are sure they are a mated pair. This rule applies to mostly anything you add.

Starfish are very difficult to acclimate and to keep alive. They browse on micro fauna in your tank and do it very well. They can vaccuum your tank dry of these pods. They then usually migrate up the glass looking for food, where they get caught in overflows and powerheads. More trouble than they are worth. Many also bury themselves or hide in crevices so they might as well not even be in the tank.

You might get some shell thievery among any hermit. IME reds and blues can be mixed.
 
TimSchmidt

TimSchmidt

New Member
Sexy shrimp are pretty cool and do well in groups, as Edgray. If he's feeling nice he'll post a picture of his group of shrimp. :D Just looking at his pictures makes me think a couple of sexys will find a home in my tank soon.
 
EDGRAY

EDGRAY

New Member
I need to get home first :mrgreen: but my group lower from 3 - to 2 :sad: i dont know why but eveytime i introduce a pair only one makes it so this is second pair of 4 sexys and one of each pair survived to i guess need other 2 pairs (4sexy) so in the end ill have only 4 sexys :lol: anyways ill try to get the pictures today or by tomorrow... sexy duo
 
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