CUC with just hermits?

[Dholmblad]

Does anyone have a CUC with just hermit crabs. I have never had success in keeping turbos for very long, they either fall over and die or a hermit gets em. Has anyone had sucess in having a cuc for a medium size tank(90gallongs) base on hermits. The only snails I would like to keep are Nassarius.

I would obviously be scraping the glass quite often.

[cdbias2]

I have 65 scarlets in my 125g.

[knoxtnreef]

i wouldn't. add some nerites. die off is going to happen no matter what you get..it's part of it.

[Dholmblad]

I have never head of nerites, is that just the species or?

[knoxtnreef]

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/p...472&siteid=23&

I have nerites in my 75 gallon bare bottom and they do not die when they fall back on their shell. they do a great job on algae and do not die off quickly like turbos. I highly recommend them. They can be purchased from bluezooaquatics for under 1 dollar. This is my opinion of course but I wouldn't put turbos in your tank for the long term (as you already know). My main reason for the nerites is the fact that I'm bare bottom but nassarius are fine to if you have a dsb. I'm not saying hermites only is a bad thing but i've never heard of it and considering hermites can't eat all types of algae, it would expect the algae to be a huge problem down the road.

Please chime in if anyone else wants to contribute to the discussion.

[cwbhawk]

I think the hermits would do the job if you got a sufficient amount of them. I would also get some algea eating fish (tangs, blennys, etc.) to help them with the job. And the glass would need cleaning often.

[cdbias2]

Some nerites have very pretty shells also.

[Dholmblad]

I guess Ill give it a shot. How does ~50 hermits 10 nars, and 10 nerites sound? I plan on keeping a yellow tang.

[Whys]

If you have a Deep Sand Bed, then too many hermits is a bad idea.

Trochus snails are another algae eater. As are strombus grazers. Nassarius eat meat. Ceriths look similar, but only eat algae.

Some will tell you a 90g is not big enough for a single adult yellow tang. Just wanted to give you fair warning. It can be a touchy subject.

[Dholmblad]

My sand bed is ~2-3 inches at most. some areas have no sand just because the PH blows it off the glass.

The only reason I was asking this is because I never really saw snails doing much work(lazy bastards!) but the hermits always seemed to be doing something(atleast eating the snails)

My tank should be big enough to house a yellow tang, my rock work is minimal.

[Whys]

Hermits are more productive and omnivorous, unlike most snails. Your sand bed is not a deep sand bed, so there's no worry there. Personally, I enjoy hermits and crabs a great deal for their personalities.

You might want to also consider a brittlestar. They clean under rocks like nothing else I know.

[Dholmblad]

brittlestars? are those the stars with ~6 long skinny legs?

I think I will give this a shot, and hey if it doesnt work oh well. I will pick up some turbos or whatnot.

best place to buy hermits? online or LFS?

[terryagi]

I have had good luck with astrea and nassarius snails and hermits

[Dholmblad]

I picked up 15 bluelegged hermits for my 90 gallon today. I threw in some food for them just in case there was nothing to eat off of the rocks. They are my fired reef buddies