Clean up crew for a 55 Galon!

AaronOwens · 12/19/2013, 11:11 PM

Hey Reef Central!
I made a post earlier, & Dad has finally taken all his fish, leaving my drained, ready to be drilled, sump attached and cycled.

Now, once the tank has cycled.. probably around 3weeks - 2 months (P.S can anyone tell me about the cycle and how to do it, can i just use LR?)
I want to add a clean up crew from the start, and then let it sit for a further few months before I add any life stock to the tank - I would like to do it right instead of adding fish prematurely.

I have composed a small list; should I add, what types etc.
2 x Shrimp
12 x Hermits (Requiring the larger shells for growth)
2 x Brittle stars
15 x Snails unsure yet?

Any help would be amazing, thanks heaps.
Aaron .

Daimyo68 · 12/19/2013, 11:30 PM

Plenty of stickies at the top of this forum to answer any questions about starting up a tank

AllieFish · 12/20/2013, 12:03 AM

I would suggest sticking with either snails or hermits, not both. The hermits usually kill the snails, IME. As far as brittle stars, you can have lots of mini brittle stars, but make sure you avoid the stars commonly sold as green brittle or green serpent stars, they eat fish like nobody's business.

AaronOwens · 12/20/2013, 05:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AllieFish

I would suggest sticking with either snails or hermits, not both. The hermits usually kill the snails, IME. As far as brittle stars, you can have lots of mini brittle stars, but make sure you avoid the stars commonly sold as green brittle or green serpent stars, they eat fish like nobody's business.

Hi Alliefish, thanks heaps for your reply.
Yeah, it would be awesome to have a diverse range of things makes the tank feel more alive ! - Just wondering, would the hermits still attack the snails if there is no competition for shells!?
THanks!
Aaron

Spyderturbo007 · 12/20/2013, 11:19 AM

I have both hermits and snails. To my knowledge, I've never lost a snail to a hermit, but I make sure there are plenty of extra shells for the hermits to pick over if they want. I've seen them harass the snails, but normally they get bored after a few minutes and wander away. My CUC consists of one turbo snail, 3 hermits (2 red legged and one blue legged), about 3 or 4 Cerith Snails and about 4 Nassarious Snails.

It seems to be enough for my tank. I had more snails in the beginning, but I think they died off because there wasn't enough to eat. Everyone seems to be happy now.

chicagoreefer20 · 12/20/2013, 11:40 AM

I have both snails and hermits and I'm pretty sure over time there are less and less snails roaming the tank.

My understanding is a mix of snails types beats hermit crabs for clean up ability, but hermit crabs are a lot more interesting to look at than snails. I have some red legged (scarlett?) hermit crabs which are supposed to be better citizens, but I think hermit crabs will always ocassionaly eat a snail.

I'm not sure you need to go out of your way to buy brittle stars - these things come on rock, corals, etc. that you add to your tank. If you started with decent live rock, you will end up with some of these, bristle worms (also a good part of a CUC, though hated by many), and other wonders.

Oh - I bought A LOT of spare shells - there is like a shell graveyard/repository in the back corner of the tank. But I'm pretty sure the hermit crabs will still do whatever they want to do.

On the shrimp - maybe hold off for now unless you spot some aptasia - but look into a peppermint shrimp or two and perhaps a cleaner shrimp.

I think its good to add a few clean up crews once the cycle seems complete - though there isn't much food in there so you should feed them. Let the tank continue to mature with just a few entertaining CUC members. As you add fish bioload, add more clean up crew. Its a lot of fun to watch the clean up crew eat! When I had a smaller tank I would spot feed my peppermint shrimp - was really cool. I could drop a pellet in front of him and he would come out and grab it. Eventually he would grab it out of my hand. Also you can drop a pellet and watch nassirus snails emerge out of the sand aka army of the snails.

AaronOwens · 12/20/2013, 03:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chicagoreefer20

I have both snails and hermits and I'm pretty sure over time there are less and less snails roaming the tank.

My understanding is a mix of snails types beats hermit crabs for clean up ability, but hermit crabs are a lot more interesting to look at than snails. I have some red legged (scarlett?) hermit crabs which are supposed to be better citizens, but I think hermit crabs will always ocassionaly eat a snail.

I'm not sure you need to go out of your way to buy brittle stars - these things come on rock, corals, etc. that you add to your tank. If you started with decent live rock, you will end up with some of these, bristle worms (also a good part of a CUC, though hated by many), and other wonders.

Oh - I bought A LOT of spare shells - there is like a shell graveyard/repository in the back corner of the tank. But I'm pretty sure the hermit crabs will still do whatever they want to do.

On the shrimp - maybe hold off for now unless you spot some aptasia - but look into a peppermint shrimp or two and perhaps a cleaner shrimp.

I think its good to add a few clean up crews once the cycle seems complete - though there isn't much food in there so you should feed them. Let the tank continue to mature with just a few entertaining CUC members. As you add fish bioload, add more clean up crew. Its a lot of fun to watch the clean up crew eat! When I had a smaller tank I would spot feed my peppermint shrimp - was really cool. I could drop a pellet in front of him and he would come out and grab it. Eventually he would grab it out of my hand. Also you can drop a pellet and watch nassirus snails emerge out of the sand aka army of the snails.

Thanks so much for your reply, was SUPER helpful!
Sounds awesome about just having a CUC roaming around.. my plan is to add the CUC, then corals, then fish over the course of a long period of time!!

Sounds heaps good a out your peppermint!

Aaron

robotman · 12/21/2013, 02:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daimyo68

Plenty of stickies at the top of this forum to answer any questions about starting up a tank

ive had my 2 green serpents for 6 months and I have 2 gobies and never seen anything O_O

living_waters · 12/21/2013, 02:59 AM

some people dont like them but i love them EMERALD CRABS those guys take out any algea problem before it even has a chance i couldnt have enough of them....

12/19/2013, 11:11 PM	#1
AaronOwens Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2013 Posts: 17	Clean up crew for a 55 Galon! Hey Reef Central! I made a post earlier, & Dad has finally taken all his fish, leaving my drained, ready to be drilled, sump attached and cycled. Now, once the tank has cycled.. probably around 3weeks - 2 months (P.S can anyone tell me about the cycle and how to do it, can i just use LR?) I want to add a clean up crew from the start, and then let it sit for a further few months before I add any life stock to the tank - I would like to do it right instead of adding fish prematurely. I have composed a small list; should I add, what types etc. 2 x Shrimp 12 x Hermits (Requiring the larger shells for growth) 2 x Brittle stars 15 x Snails unsure yet? Any help would be amazing, thanks heaps. Aaron .

12/19/2013, 11:30 PM	#2
Daimyo68 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: North Palm Beach, FL Posts: 2,270	Plenty of stickies at the top of this forum to answer any questions about starting up a tank __________________ 120g, 50g Sump, SRO XP2000i, MP40W x2, DIY Hybrid LED/T5 Fixture, Apex PBMAS VP 2010-11 PBMAS 2017 President

12/20/2013, 12:03 AM	#3
AllieFish Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: Washington State Posts: 3	I would suggest sticking with either snails or hermits, not both. The hermits usually kill the snails, IME. As far as brittle stars, you can have lots of mini brittle stars, but make sure you avoid the stars commonly sold as green brittle or green serpent stars, they eat fish like nobody's business. __________________ Happy Reefing! Current Tank Info: 55 gallon reef in progress, 45 lbs live rock, ATS, cheato refugium 216 watt LED lighting with hammer and torch corals, duncans whiskers, candy cane coral, xenia, leather coral, asst. polyps and mushrooms, purple firefish, clown goby, starry blenny

12/20/2013, 11:19 AM	#5
Spyderturbo007 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: PA Posts: 2,564	I have both hermits and snails. To my knowledge, I've never lost a snail to a hermit, but I make sure there are plenty of extra shells for the hermits to pick over if they want. I've seen them harass the snails, but normally they get bored after a few minutes and wander away. My CUC consists of one turbo snail, 3 hermits (2 red legged and one blue legged), about 3 or 4 Cerith Snails and about 4 Nassarious Snails. It seems to be enough for my tank. I had more snails in the beginning, but I think they died off because there wasn't enough to eat. Everyone seems to be happy now.

12/20/2013, 11:40 AM	#6
chicagoreefer20 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 199	I have both snails and hermits and I'm pretty sure over time there are less and less snails roaming the tank. My understanding is a mix of snails types beats hermit crabs for clean up ability, but hermit crabs are a lot more interesting to look at than snails. I have some red legged (scarlett?) hermit crabs which are supposed to be better citizens, but I think hermit crabs will always ocassionaly eat a snail. I'm not sure you need to go out of your way to buy brittle stars - these things come on rock, corals, etc. that you add to your tank. If you started with decent live rock, you will end up with some of these, bristle worms (also a good part of a CUC, though hated by many), and other wonders. Oh - I bought A LOT of spare shells - there is like a shell graveyard/repository in the back corner of the tank. But I'm pretty sure the hermit crabs will still do whatever they want to do. On the shrimp - maybe hold off for now unless you spot some aptasia - but look into a peppermint shrimp or two and perhaps a cleaner shrimp. I think its good to add a few clean up crews once the cycle seems complete - though there isn't much food in there so you should feed them. Let the tank continue to mature with just a few entertaining CUC members. As you add fish bioload, add more clean up crew. Its a lot of fun to watch the clean up crew eat! When I had a smaller tank I would spot feed my peppermint shrimp - was really cool. I could drop a pellet in front of him and he would come out and grab it. Eventually he would grab it out of my hand. Also you can drop a pellet and watch nassirus snails emerge out of the sand aka army of the snails.

12/21/2013, 02:59 AM	#9
living_waters Moved On Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: coral springs fl Posts: 424	some people dont like them but i love them EMERALD CRABS those guys take out any algea problem before it even has a chance i couldnt have enough of them....