Clean up crew question.

Reefind · 10/06/2010, 08:32 PM

How many clean up crew I need for 20 gallon nano tank? So far i have 3 blue leg hermit crab and 2 snails that have cone like shell.
What kind of snails that have nice looking shell and can eat algae from the glass without over breeding in the tank?

Dalbery · 10/06/2010, 09:01 PM

You will never have enough snails to keep your glass clean. How much liverock do you have in your tank? That will determine how many snails and hermits to populate your tank with. I'd quess around 20 hermits and 10-20 snails. I really like my nassarius snails. Turbos can be a pain if you have frags. They find ways to knock everything over.

Reefind · 10/06/2010, 09:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dalbery

You will never have enough snails to keep your glass clean. How much liverock do you have in your tank? That will determine how many snails and hermits to populate your tank with. I'd quess around 20 hermits and 10-20 snails. I really like my nassarius snails. Turbos can be a pain if you have frags. They find ways to knock everything over.

I don't know how many lbs rock I have but this is the picture of the 20 gallon long tank at nano forums: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=1915897
How large do nassarius can grow?

Brndn0515 · 10/06/2010, 09:34 PM

IMO i would not put any more than 6-7 snails and no more than 10 hermits. Even this is pushing it IMO. You want these little guys to have enough to eat otherwise you will starve them. Hermit crabs are scavengers, however when there isnt enough in the tank for them to scavange on due to competition for food they will turn to other things to eat ( your corals and even your snails. Sure its cool to have plenty of these little guys and to watch them work, but at the same time we should be responsible in keeping them alive.

Syncere · 10/07/2010, 12:07 AM

I have gone with about 1 snail per gallon in my 20L still see them hard at work freeing my tank of algae. I have an assortment also. The nassarius will help keep your sand clean and stir it up for you. Also margarita and astrea snails will help keep the glass and rock as clean as they can but you will still need to wipe away the access with a mag-float or similiar. At the moment I have 12 margarita, 4 nassarius and a mexican turbo. The turbo does however knock over small frags I have so be prepared to glue your frags or find a tight spot.

Reefind · 10/09/2010, 10:13 PM

Thank you all, I just added 6 astrea snails, 2 emerald crabs, 2 scarlet skunk cleaner shrimp and 2 yellow clown goby.
I had also 1 spider decorator crab that I forgot to mention..I think that is enough for 20 gallon long aquarium, so how often do I need to feed the fish and inverts and when( daytime or night time)? so far I just have mixed dry food for marine fish.

m-rass · 10/10/2010, 12:26 AM

small amounts of food 2x a day should work fine.

10/06/2010, 08:32 PM	#1
Reefind Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Posts: 57	Clean up crew question. How many clean up crew I need for 20 gallon nano tank? So far i have 3 blue leg hermit crab and 2 snails that have cone like shell. What kind of snails that have nice looking shell and can eat algae from the glass without over breeding in the tank?

10/07/2010, 12:07 AM	#5
Syncere Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: San Antonio, TX Posts: 212	I have gone with about 1 snail per gallon in my 20L still see them hard at work freeing my tank of algae. I have an assortment also. The nassarius will help keep your sand clean and stir it up for you. Also margarita and astrea snails will help keep the glass and rock as clean as they can but you will still need to wipe away the access with a mag-float or similiar. At the moment I have 12 margarita, 4 nassarius and a mexican turbo. The turbo does however knock over small frags I have so be prepared to glue your frags or find a tight spot. __________________ Please don't touch the glass Current Tank Info: 6g Rimless Cube in progress

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10/06/2010, 09:01 PM	#2
Dalbery Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Sand Springs, OK Posts: 71	You will never have enough snails to keep your glass clean. How much liverock do you have in your tank? That will determine how many snails and hermits to populate your tank with. I'd quess around 20 hermits and 10-20 snails. I really like my nassarius snails. Turbos can be a pain if you have frags. They find ways to knock everything over.

10/06/2010, 09:34 PM	#4
Brndn0515 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Mobile, AL Posts: 30	IMO i would not put any more than 6-7 snails and no more than 10 hermits. Even this is pushing it IMO. You want these little guys to have enough to eat otherwise you will starve them. Hermit crabs are scavengers, however when there isnt enough in the tank for them to scavange on due to competition for food they will turn to other things to eat ( your corals and even your snails. Sure its cool to have plenty of these little guys and to watch them work, but at the same time we should be responsible in keeping them alive.

10/09/2010, 10:13 PM	#6
Reefind Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Posts: 57	Thank you all, I just added 6 astrea snails, 2 emerald crabs, 2 scarlet skunk cleaner shrimp and 2 yellow clown goby. I had also 1 spider decorator crab that I forgot to mention..I think that is enough for 20 gallon long aquarium, so how often do I need to feed the fish and inverts and when( daytime or night time)? so far I just have mixed dry food for marine fish.

10/10/2010, 12:26 AM	#7
m-rass Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Aurora, CO Posts: 50	small amounts of food 2x a day should work fine.