cleanup crew?

[aquareefer]

I'm currently cycling my new tank with some uncured live rock. The cycle is almost complete and I'm trying to decide what cleanup crew is best. I'm planning on a few different species of snails but will they clean the rockwork as well as the glass? I have been siphoning out most of the detritus but of course I can't get it all. What critters will eat the decaying matter in the sandbed and off the rocks? I have about 1" to 2" of sand as my substrate so I can't have critters that rely on a dsb. Any suggestions?

[aquareefer]

I should add that I don't necessarily want any aggressive crabs. Which crabs are peaceful or aren't there any?

[Patman]

I have always enjoyed red-legged hermits, as well as blue. I know some people complain about them....but I find they do a great job, and they add a ton of interest to the reef..very striking little creatures.

Pat

[Nafe]

As well as eating algae hermits feed on the other various species of creatures in the live rock and sand bed critters. So in the end you end up with a reef tank with only species that arent preyed upon by hermits.

I only plan to get one or two for my 55gallon tank, the rest will be snails.

[Patman]

It's true that hermits have the potential to be destructive, however they are, at heart, scavengers and do a great job on left over food, etc. They obviously don't affect pods, etc, and I have never had a problem with them attacking any polyps, etc that are healthy.

Good luck with your decisions

Pat

[Geoff]

i do not trust crabs. i only have snails in my tank for cleanup purposes. i really like the nassarius snails for the detritus cleanup. bumblebee's are great for finishing off dead things. they will finish off a snail though it if has fallen and it can not get up, so be quick in your snail patrols if bumblebees are in the tank. i do not know how well nassarius snails work in BB or crushed coral tanks. i will prolly be finding out in the next week or two when i remove my DSB. if you can get black brittle stars that would be great. they are great detritus eaters. they are the ones with the ridiculously long arms compared to the central disc.

as far as detritus goes, nothing can eat it and make it go away. at some point it will need to be removed from the system by some means. either skimming, harvesting, water changes, or vacuuming the SB.

G~

[aquareefer]

Thanx everyone! I think I'm going to get a brittle star, which is something I've always wanted, a scarlet hermit or two and the rest just snails. I also thought about adding a carrier urchin at some point, those little critters are too cute. Thanx again!!

[Prismaco]

-Sand sifter - do a great job cleaning the sand
-Cleaner Shrimp - are very cool and love to eat left over food on the sand
-Turbo Snails - I got about 25 for my 20 gallon. They do wonders!!!
-Bumble Bee Snails - get the little nick and cranys that all the other ones cant. And they look cool.
-Nasuier Snails (sp) - These are some of the fastest snails I have seen. They are great sand cleaners.
-Blue/Red legg Hermits - I add 3 to my 20 and with in 5 mins they started to go to work on eating my hair algea. But beware that they are not always reef safe. If you have them and turbos together. Leave a couple turbo shells laying around so if the crabs want a new shell they wont kill your turbo for it.
-Lawnmore Blenny (Algea Blenny) - I would only get one of these after your tank has cycled. They are so cool and they have a great personality. And they love to eat hair algea...

Hope my $.02 is some help...



-Paul

[ruhspolostar]

-the sand sifting star is really cool I have 2
-the hermits listed in this thread are usually okay, I have only notice them become disgruntled when they do not have enough new shells to go around then they turn on eachother and when that usually doesn't work the snails are easy targets, learned that the hard way....I have 15 hermits, 10 have turbo snail shells

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