Recommended cleaner crew

[Snufflupagus]

Hey All,

This is my very first post, so bare with me. I'm just wondering if anyone has some suggestions to what would be the best clean up crew I could put in my 96gallon salt water tank. I know there are different types that do different things, but really all I'm looking for is a basic cleaning crew that would clean the glass for the most part, and keep things looking fairly clean without me having to go into the tank and clean it myself. Does anyong have any suggestions and how many of each invert I would need for a 96 gallon tank? Thanks.
Snuffy

[brillo2723]

i have always used red and blue legged hermit crabs, margarita snails, cerith snails, turbo snails, bumble bee snails.
brillo


Hey All,

This is my very first post, so bare with me. I'm just wondering if anyone has some suggestions to what would be the best clean up crew I could put in my 96gallon salt water tank. I know there are different types that do different things, but really all I'm looking for is a basic cleaning crew that would clean the glass for the most part, and keep things looking fairly clean without me having to go into the tank and clean it myself. Does anyong have any suggestions and how many of each invert I would need for a 96 gallon tank? Thanks.
Snuffy

[Snufflupagus]

Thank you. Appreciate it.

[Aquattro]

I find the blue-legged only have one purpose in life, and that is to kill snails and steal their shells. I won't use them any more. The scarlet hermits are good, and a few cleaner shrimp will help, for the glass, a magnet scraper is your best friend.
Snails won't keep your glass clean, they'll just create trails through any algae :)

[naesco]

I agree with Aquattro.
Also bumblebee snails are predators and will only eat the good life in your tank that provide food for your corals.
Snails will not clean the glass.
Do not buy the reef cleaner packs offered by some LFS as they contain the hermit crabs and snails you don't want and they sell you too many snails which starve and die. You do not need that many. Maybe 10 to do a clean up job.
Also snails require carefully acclimatization as they are sensitive to changing salinity so use the drip method to slowly adjust the water you buy them in to your tank water
Thanks for asking before you buy.
Wayne

[bowkry]

I allways stay away from crabs, I find in the end they are more of a pain then they are worth. (esp if you have any direct feed corals, sun corals lps ect, they seem to steel the food) And I found fighting conch's, and sand stars (dont add a sand star till your sand bed is totally mature) do a great job of keeping the sand mixed up. Sory and turbo snails, and the large strawberry ones are great.

[Carmen]

No one has mentioned nassarius snails yet. They are typically under the stand so help to keep the sand stirred up abit as well, they come out near feeding times and collect uneated food or scavenge. An important addition to cleanup crews in my opinion.

[ElGuappo]

Agreed. I love the nass snails. Be careful with bumble bee snails as they will eat your other snails. Mine ate full sized turbos. Plus I would recommend staying away from turbos anyway as they get huge and are very clumsy. They knock your corals around.

[whatcaneyedo]

I've read that Margarita snails are sub tropical and typically boil in most saltwater aquariums within a short time. Has anyone kept them long term?

My favorite clean up crew members are the ones that are free and reproduce on their own like stomatella snails and mini brittle stars.

[Doug]

Hey All,

This is my very first post, so bare with me. I'm just wondering if anyone has some suggestions to what would be the best clean up crew I could put in my 96gallon salt water tank. I know there are different types that do different things, but really all I'm looking for is a basic cleaning crew that would clean the glass for the most part, and keep things looking fairly clean without me having to go into the tank and clean it myself. Does anyong have any suggestions and how many of each invert I would need for a 96 gallon tank? Thanks.
Snuffy


I have some scarlets but more for the novelty that use. I would keep no other crabs. Like various turbo,s for helping with any algae on the rock but the others are correct in that they dont clean much else. A serpent star or two, depending on tank size, are pretty good scavengers.

For sandbed if using one, the snails Carmen mentioned are good and perhaps a Fighting Conch and something like a Tiger Tail cuc. Again all depending on load and age of tank & sand.

and

Welcome
to
Canreef

[ElGuappo]

i have marg snails for over 2 years now. well i bought them over 2 years ago and their still alive.

I've read that Margarita snails are sub tropical and typically boil in most saltwater aquariums within a short time. Has anyone kept them long term?

My favorite clean up crew members are the ones that are free and reproduce on their own like stomatella snails and mini brittle stars.

[whatcaneyedo]

i have marg snails for over 2 years now. well i bought them over 2 years ago and their still alive.

Do you keep your tank a little cooler (under 78ºF) or does it heat up into the low 80's?

[Myka]

I received 5 Margarita snails on an order when I ordered Nassarius snails. Grr... 4 of them died within 3 months, and one lasted about 8 months. My tank get no higher than 80. This is too bad because Margaritas are the best algae eaters out there.

You will still have to get an algae scraper for the the glass. I prefer a scraper to a magnet as I have found magnets scratch the glass real bad - just one little fleck of coralline on the magnet, and bam you get scratches from it. After wrecking two tanks this way, no more magnet cleaners for me!!

I am also a big fan of small conches (fighting or orange lip are great) provided the tank is 40 gallons or more. If the tank is too small the small type of Nassarius do a great job. I prefer Brittle Stars to Serpents, as I have known Serpents to eat small gobies. Grrr!

I also despise hermits, they are evil murderous jerks. I would call them worse, but these are public forums. ;)

For snails I really like Stomatellas (they breed in the tank too). Astreas are great, especially if you can find the ones with the pointy star shaped shells (A. caelata), they are awesomest. I find Cerith kinda useless, both the black and the white ones. Bumblebees are in the same category as the hermits, oh and Tonga Nassarius belong in that group too. As stated, keep away from Turbo snails...they get huge. Trochus are great snails, but also get quite large.

The only crabs allowed in my tank are Emeralds, I think they do a good job picking at the rocks.

I don't like shrimp. Peppermints will eat Stomatella snails, and the rest I find to be pretty useless, and a pain in the butt at feeding time, the thieves.

[spreerider]

I love Emerald Crabs, they are awsome and are survivors, i had a tank crash 2 weeks ago because the ac in my house crapped out because it was too hot out for it to keep up and it tripped the breaker. Tank got up to 90F before i got home to find all my corals and shrimp dead, all that was left was kenya trees, waving hand coral, emerald crabs and hermits (nothing can kill those Bas#9rd)

[Koresample]

Blue legged hermits are bad? Should i get rid of the ones i have i my tank? I saw a bizarre looking crab the other night, it looks like an emerald crab and had red claws. It was only picking stuff from the rocks and i set a trap (shot glass with a piece of shrimp inside) which it completely ignored (although several blue leg were in it in the morning)

[Doug]

Blue legged hermits are bad? Should i get rid of the ones i have i my tank? I saw a bizarre looking crab the other night, it looks like an emerald crab and had red claws. It was only picking stuff from the rocks and i set a trap (shot glass with a piece of shrimp inside) which it completely ignored (although several blue leg were in it in the morning)


Its not so much they are bad, just carnivorous. If there,s plenty of food for them they may be fine, if not they will find it one way or another. :lol: Plus as they grow, larger shells are needed for homes. Keep a good supply of old snail shells for them helps.