Clean up crew?

[scarin]

As there is a current group buy going on from reefcleaners I was looking at a bulk clean up crew. At the LFS they reccommended putting a variety of snails in my tank. But suggested 4 to 8 of each so I started out adding about 16 snails (turbos, nass, etc.) The CUC for my tank size from reefcleaners contains over 175 various snails. Is this overkill? Or should I load up the tank with a full CUC like the one from refclesners?

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[NaClH20NMYVEIN]

If your sig. is still correct and you have a 90G tank I think 175 snails would be way too many. A few years ago there were regular group buys for snails and people would buy like 100-200 for there 100G tank. Months later they would have 20-30 or so still alive. I think the LFS was more on track for you IMO. I would go with about 7-10 of each kind. If you overload the tank they will starve and die and create a water issue in the tank.

[tcamos]

Here's my personal thoughts on snails.

cerith snails (1 per 5 gallons)
nassarius snails (1 per 10-20 gallons with caution)
nerite snails (1 per 3-5 gallons)
trochus (1 per 5 gallons)
turbo snail (1 per 30-50 gallons)

That's what I follow with my tanks. Everyone has a slightly different view on it but that's mine for what it's worth...

[UberNoober]

for my 75 i think i ended up with 10 each with the exception of torbos cuz the are big and clutsy, had only bout 3 -5 i think. and 1 conch.

[UberNoober]

IMO the premade CUC they list on the websites are a little out of control...

[scarin]

That was kinda my take on it as well, seemed like way to many critters. Appreciate the input, based on the feedback I will come up with my own CUC and not a massive package. Also what are thoughts on CUC for your Refugium?

[evolved]

Personally I love Reef Cleaners and think John does a great job of putting packages together. Yes, he might make the package a little on the large side to sell you a bit more, but for the most part he isn't totally off-base.

I presume you're looking at this package?:

85 Dwarf Ceriths - small cleaners that get to the nooks and crannies. Feed on diatoms, cyano, algal detritus, and film algae. Nocturnal cleaners that leave the sandbed at night to search for food.

29 Nassarius - scavengers that will eat leftover food and some fish waste. They will stir sand, but can also be kept in bare bottom tanks.

27 Florida Ceriths - small cleaners that get to the nooks and crannies. Feed on fine hair algae, diatoms, cyano, algal detritus, and film algae. Nocturnal cleaners that leave the sandbed at night to search for food.

14 Large and 20 Small to Medium Nerites - We are currently offering the longer lived and quite hardy Antillean Nerite. (Nerita fulgurans). It grows to a nice size,and consumes a good deal of diatoms, cyano, algal detritus, and film algae. It will also consume some fine hair algae. A nocturnal herbivore that will feed more often at night, they tend to need some time to adjust to the limitations of the aquarium during their first week.

True, this is over 175, but realize 85 of those (Dwarf Ceriths) are tiny. I probably have 150 of these in my tank (120gal) and they're awesome. They can get into all the places the rest of the snails can't.

[Kalakuhan]

Originally Posted by evolved

True, this is over 175, but realize 85 of those (Dwarf Ceriths) are tiny. I probably have 150 of these in my tank (120gal) and they're awesome. They can get into all the places the rest of the snails can't.

Agree, the dwarf ceriths are tiny and can't have enough of them!

I started out with the 50gallon package for my 75 and added more as needed.

[scarin]

Hunter yes the sig is correct, just upgraded to the 90 a month ago. As usual you gotta love the fact that there is always more than one answer to any given question. It is great that people can get good results and maintain healthy tanks and make their own calls.

[UberNoober]

My way of thinking is start of conservative, you'll soon notice what your lacking and buy more as you deem necessary. Atleast that way ur little pets arent dying of starvation...

[Rippinfrags]

Since were on the topic of clean up crews, what are peoples feelings or thoughts about hermit crabs instead of snails. I recently made the switch to hermit crabs and they have done wonders for me!

[UberNoober]

I LOVE my hermits...i've got both snails and crabs, altho the crabs tent to steal the snail shells, not sure if they murder them first or find the occasional snail thats fallen victim to gravity and cant get up and died...non the less, if i went with one or the other i'd prolly take crabs...but i like a mixture of both. I think nassarius are a must for sifting thru the sandbed, but the crabs are great at picking at the surface and ofcourse taking care of rocks.

[Rippinfrags]

Originally Posted by UberNoober

I LOVE my hermits...i've got both snails and crabs, altho the crabs tent to steal the snail shells, not sure if they murder them first or find the occasional snail thats fallen victim to gravity and cant get up and died...non the less, if i went with one or the other i'd prolly take crabs...but i like a mixture of both. I think nassarius are a must for sifting thru the sandbed, but the crabs are great at picking at the surface and ofcourse taking care of rocks.

Unfortunately, I believe they murder them! All of my hermit crabs quickly took out all of my snails. It's cool that your able to keep both crabs and snails in your tank.

[UberNoober]

Ya, there are actually quite a few little baby snails scooting around. The crabs cant get to the sand dwelling snails

[evolved]

I have 50-60 hermits as well, and IME they don't pick on snails too bad provided you have plenty of empty shells in the tank. They completely leave my Nerites alone, and the dwarf Ceriths are too small for them to bother with. I have seen them take out my smaller turbos, but it's not often enough to conern me. And Nassarius snails are way too fast for a hermit to catch.

[HanoverFist]

I got the 20g CUC from them for my 40 breeder when I set it up. I still ended up losing about 1/2 of the snails, especially the nerites. He also sent me a ton more than I had ordered.

Keep in mind when people say buy less or buy more they're picturing a normal tank. You may be more barren like I was, or have out of control algae/detritus. So it's important to understand each snail and size up your particular tank. And buy a smaller amount than needed. Better to buy 5 snails later than have 15 die in your tank.

I'll post what I've observed about the snails from ReefCleaners and hopefully others will too - because I'm far from expert on any subject. By the time we're done you should be able to look at your tank and have a good idea of whats necessary and whats overkill.



Dwarf Ceriths - Storm the glass like marines on a beach when the lights go out. Takes dozens to get the job done though. So more like micro-marines. I have about 20 in my 40 breeder now and they can't keep up with the glass algae. The florida ceriths put in a lot of work to back them up.

Florida Ceriths - Don't seem to be very fast or efficient - but not bad. They make a great backup to the dwarf's. Probably why they pair them up. I'm assuming together they replace the bulldozing turbo snails. I have maybe 3-5 floridas in there now. Need a couple more of these guys and I'll be set.

Nerites - Eat mostly the rock algae so most of mine died off in my freshly cycled tank (I had no algae bloom except a speckle of diatoms). I think there's 2 left in there. Might just be one. Not much algae on my rocks so either they're doing a great job or they're just good at fooling the boss. Says they clean glass too but never seen them there.

Nassarius - The legendary zombie army. Unless you're bare bottom, or have a great sand sifter already, these are a must. About a dozen in my tank still and they do an excellent job of keeping the sand clean and well-worked. I'd say what I have is doing a great job, but they have some crabs backing them up too. So it's hard to gauge their performance. I'd guess I'll need 8-10 more nassarius to replace my 4 hermit crabs.

Hermits - Got 4 scarlet hermit crabs from Aquatouch when they had them on sale. Received one hitchhiker blue-legged hermit from RC with my dwarf cerith's. 2 scarlet's immediately became way too big. Fortunately I'd bought some spare shells from RC when I ordered. None have been any real problem except any frag that isn't nailed down gets knocked over and tossed in the sand (if i am lucky). And now that I have a frogspawn and Hammer in my tank I have to deal with whether they nip at them or not. So far they haven't. Still, I'll be ditching them as soon as I can find a new home for them. Kinda sucks cause they are fun to watch. For the record, all my snail losses were from before I added the hermits. And they had plenty of spare shells to choose from.

You can also just email the guy at ReefCleaners and he'll design you a crew for your tank specifically.

p.s. if you want these hermits they're yours.

[evolved]

Interesting to hear what you have to say about the Nerites; mine don't often leave the glass of my tank. At any point in time during the night, 80% of them are on the glass. They also bunch up in the upper back corners of the tank during the day.

Do note that Nerites will crawl out of an uncovered tank. They will eventually stop doing it though, if you pick them up and put them back in on a daily basis. They are a tide pool snail, so until they figure out there is no other "tide pool", they keep looking for one. Don't put them back in if you have ever sprayed your house with pesticides...

I should also add my hermits are all blue legs.

[tcamos]

I love nerites. I kept them in my freshwater tanks, they were great and left the plants alone. They can live in fresh water but cannot breed in it so they were perfect there. I like them in my reef tank because they are so small they seem to be able to get into just about any corner.

[Kalakuhan]

Originally Posted by HanoverFist

Hermits - Got 4 scarlet hermit crabs from Aquatouch when they had them on sale. Received one hitchhiker blue-legged hermit from RC with my dwarf cerith's. 2 scarlet's immediately became way too big. Fortunately I'd bought some spare shells from RC when I ordered. None have been any real problem except any frag that isn't nailed down gets knocked over and tossed in the sand (if i am lucky). And now that I have a frogspawn and Hammer in my tank I have to deal with whether they nip at them or not. So far they haven't. Still, I'll be ditching them as soon as I can find a new home for them. Kinda sucks cause they are fun to watch. For the record, all my snail losses were from before I added the hermits. And they had plenty of spare shells to choose from.

You can also just email the guy at ReefCleaners and he'll design you a crew for your tank specifically.

p.s. if you want these hermits they're yours.

I'll take your hermits if "scarin" doesn't since this is his thread.

[scarin]

Ok based on some of the comments and the amount of algae I am getting in my tank, particularly on the glass, which I end up cleaning almost daily, and the diatoms (or at least I think they are diatoms, see picture) I am getting, it sounds like a beefier crew might make more sense, not sure the 90 crew is the way to go though

From Drop Box

Kala you can have the hermits

[Kalakuhan]

Originally Posted by HanoverFist

And now that I have a frogspawn and Hammer in my tank I have to deal with whether they nip at them or not. So far they haven't. Still, I'll be ditching them as soon as I can find a new home for them. Kinda sucks cause they are fun to watch. For the record, all my snail losses were from before I added the hermits. And they had plenty of spare shells to choose from.

Hanover,
i've had some hermits with frogspawn and hammer and they don't bother them at all. I'd keep em in there cause they do a great job on the sand and rocks. They even clean up in between my zoas.