Reef custodians

[Myka]

Originally Posted by jason604

I think I'm going to get the same CuC set as yours but switch brittle star for Red Sea star and red scallop because I love it's color and get like 2-3 hermits because they look cool hahha.

Most starfish are not usually hardy long-term because they have bigger or more refined appetites than we can usually cater to. Red Linckia and Blue Linckia Starfish typically are not very hardy for this reason, as are Sand Sifting Starfish, Sand Dollars, and that Flame Scallop you mention.

Green Serpent aka Green Brittle Starfish as well as the Banded Serpents are known to eat small fish and other crustaceans. These guys are all nocturnal and hang out in the rocks.

Black Brittle Starfish are known as being hardy long-term. My BBS is about 6 or 7 years old. The Black Brittles are reef safe in my experience, and I haven't heard any reliable sources say otherwise. The Black Brittles are nocturnal and hang out in the rocks eating leftovers and stirring up detritus.

Here's an oldie, but a goodie: http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-0...ture/index.php

[Son Of Skyline]

Originally Posted by jason604

Hi how many reef custodians do I typically need for a 75g tank? I went JL and they said to get Package #5

60 - Blue Legged Hermits
10 - Red Scarlet Hermit
20 - Astrea Snails
20 - Margarita Snails
20 - Cerith Snails

Seems way too overkill and just want to milk money from new hobbyist like me lol.

That package is waaay too much for a 75 gal. I'd go with something more like 5-10 hermits and 10-15 snails total.

In my 70 gal I have one hermit crab and one big strawberry top hat snail. All other leftover food is eaten by my natural cleanup crew (small brittle stars, pods, bristle worms...etc). Tank has been running for 4 years and all is well.

Over the years nice noticed that a huge cleanup crew increases your bio load too much. I'd rather keep 2 extra fish than 40 hermits which will dwindle down 10 within months anyway.

[subman]

I wish my clean up crew was ....no hermits or snails. They are both a huge pain in the butt. Always knocking stuff over, stealing food from corals and getting into areas they shouldn't get to (ie pumps)

Bristle worms, brittle stars and conchs are perfect. I also like shrimp mainly because they are nice additions to the tank not as much for cleaning.