What would be the ULTIMATE cleanup crew for my new 75?

[Patrick G.]

Any suggestions on what would be the absolute best way to go in the way of a cleanup crew for a brand new 75g future reef. Also, where would you order it?

 

[danmhippo]

What do you have now, and which one(s) do you have in mind? There are too many to choose, why don't we start by you listing out your wishlist?

 

[Patrick G.]

I simply want what is best for a mixed reef in terms of algae control and keeping the sand bed clean. It's a brand new tank. Nothing in it yet.

 

[MiltonP]

How new is brand new? Hermits can go in fairly early. My blue-leg and burgundy hermits are always busy. I went with a higher number of blue-legs as they are less fiesty. My emerald crab is the best algae eater of the bunch and fun to watch. Note - females have smaller claws. My sally lightfoot seems busy but I can't tell what she is eating.

Marguerita snails keep busy on the rocks and glass for the most part and are supposed to be decent at turning themselves over if they go upside down but I usually have to turn one over every other day. My nasarius snails work the sandbed though they may be unnecessary with the hermits.

I worry more about the impact of missing a snail death than a hermit.

 

[Patrick G.]

Brand new as in completely empty - no water, no nothing yet.

 

[Anonymous]

Conchs and abalones are great for algae control too. I have several in my tanks. The Conchs are especially cool to watch.

 

[reefsnreptiles1]

Hi Patrick,

I would go with a mixture of snails. Nassarius are good. Have had great luck with astreas. Turbos get big and can knock down corals but are otherwise good cleaners.

Conches are great cleaners. Real hard workers. General rule of thumb is one conch per 2 square ft of tank bed.

As for hermits, they are great cleaners as well but some people have had problems with them.

I personally would stay away from emerald crabs as they can be trouble when they get bigger. I have watched them tear polyps off corals and have heard many stories of this.

Sally lightfoots are not a good idea as they eat small fish and invertebrates when they get big.

Hope that helps,

Brian

8)

 

[AllenF]

The hermits are cheap and easy to get rid of if they cause problems. I also vote for the astrea snails.

A brittle starfish does good for those hiding places under your live rocks. So far my purple brittle star co-habits with my reef hermits with no problems.

 

[Patrick G.]

So that would be 2 conches for my 75, right?

 

[Anonymous]

So that would be 2 conches for my 75, right?

Yeah pretty much. I've got 2 in my 72g.

 

[Syris]

Aside from snails and hermits I'd like to throw my .02 in for a tiger tail cuke.
I have had one for at least 2 years now and it has done an excellent job of turning over the top layer and cleaning my sand bed. My sand always looks nice white and clean. It happens to be SouthDown sand too, but the cuke doesn't seem to mind :wink:

HTH

 

[Anonymous]

Personally, I like all snails, no hermits. Get as many different snail species as you can for the rocks and glass. Nassarius and conchs for the sandbed. Cukes are great too, but conchs do a really super job on keeping things tidy and are now my choice for that.