Please Help With Clean Up Crew!

[blaisewilson]

My Nano Cube 12 just finished cycling and I wanted to know if this would be a good clean-up crew or if I should change something. Also should I get one or two shrimp, and is the serpent star a good idea with small fish in the tank, and would it be OK to get the porcelain crab?

5 Scarlet Reef Hermit Crab
1 or 2 Peppermint Shrimp
3 Astraea Snail
3 Nassarius Snail
3 Cerith Snail
1 Serpent Sea Star
maybe a Porcelain Crab

Thank you for all your help.

 

[brandon]

Welcome to the board!

I would say just 1 pepperment shrimp, and no on the serpant star because it can eat unsuspecting fish and whatnot.

I personally dont like too many hermits, i have just 2 scarlet red legs and they do the job for me in my nanocube 12

 

[KidNano]

I have 2 blue legged hermits, 1 Nassarius, and a hitchhicker crab that I haven't figured out what it is and my 12 gallon tank is very well kept. I swear those little hermits are like lawn mowers. They went to town on my algae.

good luck and have fun.

 

[Trogdor]

My Nano Cube 12 just finished cycling and I wanted to know if this would be a good clean-up crew or if I should change something. Also should I get one or two shrimp, and is the serpent star a good idea with small fish in the tank, and would it be OK to get the porcelain crab?

5 Scarlet Reef Hermit Crab
1 or 2 Peppermint Shrimp
3 Astraea Snail
3 Nassarius Snail
3 Cerith Snail
1 Serpent Sea Star
maybe a Porcelain Crab

Thank you for all your help.

The 5 hermit crabs seem to be overkill crab wise. They have the potential to grow and kill off most of your snails for their shells. I would limit a 12g to about 1 or 2 hermits. Astraea's are a great addition and should work rather well, the same for the ceriths. The star will more than likely starve after it eats your snails and crabs. The porcelain crab seems to be a good addition to what you have listed, though I have no experience with them.

If I were to make a suggested list I would have these for a 12g

3 Astraea
3 Cerith
5+ Nassarius
1-2 Hermit crabs
1 skunk/peppermint cleaner shrimp

 

[skipm]

The porcelin crab is a fine addition but it is a filter feeder and not a cleaner. I would add it after you have some other fish and inverts in the tank.

 

[blaisewilson]

Thanks everyone. I think I will keep it down to two hermits, one shrimp, and skip on the star, and wait to add the Porcelain.

 

[Mr_Detail]

Being a newbie to saltwater tanks and their friends, where does one order or buy all of these different clean up crew species?
I have always been a proponent of buying online especially if there is a guarantee that they arive healthy and alive.

 

[skipm]

Most of these are available at most LFS. The different snails and hermits are not that rare and if your LFS doesn't stock them they can usually order them in with no problem. If you really want to oreder on-line most of the e-tailers also stock these species.

 

[davenia7]

tip for the Hermits, give them extra shells and use marine epoxy to keep any rocks or coral where they belong. My hermits love to "redecorate" my unsecured corals aka flipping them off the rocks onto the sand upside down.