Is this a good clean up crew?

[patedship]

9 Turbo Snails
12 Nassarius Snails
6 Bumble Bee Snails
2 Astrea Snails
6 Red Leg Hermits

In a 50 gallon, with a 20 gallon sump/fuge.

[JER-Z]

i just got

10 Turbo Snails (Turbo fluctuosa)
10 Margarita Snails (Margarites pupillus)
10 Cone Trochus Snails (Trochus sp.)
10 Cerith Snails (Cerithium sp.)
10 Astrea Snails (Astraea tecta)
4 Scarlet Reef Hermit Crabs (Paguristes cadenati)
10 Red Leg Hermit Crabs (Clibanarius sp.)
10 Hawaiian Left Handed Hermit Crabs (Calcinus laevimanus)
6 Pacific Super Nessarious Snail (Nessarious sp.)
6 Tonga Bumble Bee Snails (Pusiostoma mendicaria)
1 Mithrax Crab (Mithrax sculptus)

for my 65g from reefer madness

[Anemonebuff]

I would add some more astreas. The others are a good start. Many seem to over add at first and when the algae is gone the snails dieoff. You could start with that and add more later.

[blue20051]

9 turbo snails is alot. If you have alot of frags they will knock them over easily if they are not secured. Add more astreas and ceriths snails.

HTH

[manny_on_rc]

I think people start out with way too many cleaners. They eventually die off from starvation.

A 55 gallon tank shouldn't have any more than what patedship posted.

Jer-Z's cleaner package is too many cleaners for too small a tank. The retailers package these huge assortments because they want to sell more and because they operate under the theory that a clean up crew should clean every scrap of algae and detritus from your tank.

Problem is, when they clean up every scrap of algae and detritus, they are still hungry. The weaker ones die off until your tank comes into balance.

Unless the tank is way overfed, I bet half of Jer-Z's crew is dead in 6 months.

You also have to take into account how much these animals grow. You get small hermits and snails, but in a few months, with proper calcium levels, hermits and snails can grow a lot.

And with so many cleaners, you have trouble adding the types of animals that need algae and dertritus because the cleaners are too much competiton. Algae eating fish that need natural algae on the rocks, linkia stars, nudibranch's, etc.


I'd rather start off with a lower number and then add snails and hermits if needed. Of course you can't do that when you order.

[mthedude]

I always seem to lose astrea's when I have turbo's in my tank, they move at a snails pace, no pun intended. The astreas only move about 10 inches a day and a turbo can cover that amount in a minute. I've always bought big turbo's with the thinking that they are used to eating a lot and typically they keep my tank spotless long term. Anything else will eventually be outcompeted by the hunry turbo's and die. Haven't had this problem with detrivores though. Also, astreas will eat diatoms so at least they'll help control that if they don't find algae.

[Anemonebuff]

I only have 5 or 6 turbos in my tank. I have about 30 astreas too. I have one rogue hermit and a sea cucumber.

[JER-Z]

well crap...i just ordered the package recommended for my tank size...

i was under the impression that more is better than not enough

[Anemonebuff]

You can send some to me.

LOL