True value of a "Cleanup Crew" Worth it?

[Anonymous]

Is a cleanup crew really worth it.

Do you need allot of snails and crabs?

I have yet to see a snail or crab eat hair algae.

If there is value in a cleanup crew, what are the good creatures?

I have read mixed reviews od turbo snails, astrea snails. Blue legs, red legs, etc.
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Mercedes Vito

 

[Richison]

Well I guess it depends on how much algae you have. I recently bought about 46 various hermits and snails for my 100 gal, and they are all quite busy cleaning. I use to have to brush my rock every 5 days or so, but I don't think I will have that problem now. They don't really keep up with all the algae on the glass at this point but my tank is only 4 months old. I'm hoping the algae level drops off a little as it gets more mature.

 

[Jolieve]

Most snails and crabs don't eat hair algae from what I have read. My nerite snails do pick at the hair algae, but for the most part, they like the filmy stuff. Personally, I love my snails, but I'm fascinated by snails in general. They also serve a purpose. I rarely have to wipe down the tank sides, if I weren't concerned about coralline growth all over the tank, I wouldn't bother. I have seen mithrax crabs eat bubble algae, and for this use, I would employ them as part of your clean up crew, just be wary of the specimens you select. I had one that liked to eat cleaner shrimp.

I wouldn't keep hermits and snails in the same tank. Unless you can come up with a ready supply of shells for the hermits, you'll end up losing a lot of snails that way. Some people will argue to the contrary on this one.

For clean up crews, I like ceriths, nassarius, a handful of nerite snails (these guys are actually faster than the ceriths, but they have the downside that some species are intertidal and will crawl out of your tank, careful selection and research is required here) and conchs. All of these snails can turn themselves over if they fall onto their backs, so you don't need to babysit them. They also keep the tank neat. The rule of thumb for these snails is one snail per gallon of water.

Hope this helps!

 

[Anonymous]

I used to have allot of snails and craps. Most of them are dead or missing. I have allot of tiny snails that show up on the glass late night after the lights go off.

The LFS's around me dont carry or know the name of most snails. They call them all turbo snails.

I am affraid to order online due to the cold weather now. ANy ideas?
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history of us recession

 

[Richison]

I just got mine from http://www.liveaquaria.com/ And I couldn't have been happier with the livestock and the packing. They even have a 10 day guarantee on the livestock incase they die during shipment or 10 days after. Great service. Check them out.

I ordered 46 various snails and hermits and only about 7 died or were dead on arrival. liveaquaria.com just credited me those that died.

 

[Jolieve]

See if your LFS can special order in the snails you want. I know that my lfs will special order anything, you just have to ask them. Failing that, I would consider waiting until spring and then mail order the snails you are interested in. I dislike the idea of mail order all together, but in your case, it sounds like a necessary evil.

 

[diver0077]

I just got a clean up crew from saltwaterfish.com and everything was in good shape when I received them. I put my order in on Tuesday A.M. and they were at FedEx by 12:30 the next day for me to pick up.

 

[rachyl756]

I don't know exactly what kind of snails I have, but I have alot of them. I Think right now I have about 60 snails in there, many of them getting pretty big as they grow. I also have alot of hermits, scarlets and the little blues. Occasionally I also find baby snails in there, both the type that have the snails the small blue hermits normally come with and some other various creamier colored snails. The rest of the cleaning guys are 2 cleaner shrimp and a peppermint and a sally light foot crab and Marvin the pathetic brittle star.

This is in a 90 gallon tank with a 29 gal sump. I don't know if this all is 'book' right and occasionally I have to throw in a few more of something or another when it looks a little low, but its done alot of good.

While I don't think my tank is photogenic enough to post brag pics of how its doing, its not horrible looking, and I haven't had the energy for six months to do any cleaning at all of it. Sure there is some algea on the glass and it has snail marks where they've been eating it diligently, and there is a little hair algea and some various, man I should get up and clean it, but it is more than good enough and the cleaning guys are going more than good enough of a job that I can not worry about it and promise to clean it -after- the baby gets here in February. I've seen dirtier tanks by far in fish stores where they have people clean them everyday.

Seriously my clean up crew is like having a tank maid and I am greatful I got them every day. And yes, I occasionally lose a snail to a hermit attack but I also occaisonally lose a hermit to the hawk fish. I just pick up more of each about over 2-3 months, or just one or the other, its a good excuse to drive to the fish store But the slow attrition of cleaners is hardly noticable. I do find the blue hermits less snail agressive than the reds, the blue's seem more content to pick up the misc shells that came in the arognite sand stuff.

Rachel