How many Clean-up Crew Critters are on your reef?

[dabgood21]

I know it's hard to say how many hermits, snails, etc... you may need in your reef due to many variables such as tank size, bio load, feedings, and pounds of live rock. I'm restocking my 40 gallon breeder with 2 clowns, 1 bicolor blenny, 1 clown goby, 1 serpent starfish, and loaded w live rock.

However, I'm still curious to know what you do for your reef? Some people say 1 hermit per gallon (in my opinion is crazy). Others say no hermits and a lot of snails? What's your opinion per gallon or whatever?

Thanks

 

[jcs11236]

tagging along-- i have about 6 hermits, 5 nassius, 3 turbos, 2 mexican, 6 cerith snails, and one cleaner shrimp in my 28 gal

 

[Deep Dive Coral]

I would like tosee what people say because I have a bare bottom tank. I'm thinking just crabs. But I would love to add some more just seeing what people are recommending.

 

[Reeftanker3295]

I have a 90 gallon reef with a 2-3 1/2" sand bed and around 70 lb. of rock. I have 30 nerites (they lay eggs all over and the babies are all over at night), 20 cerith snails, 20 dwarf cerith snails, skunk cleaner shrimp and 30 nassarius snails. It may seem like a lot but they hide during the day and I have never even seen one tiny spot of algae in my tank even at the end of the cycle.
I feed 1 cube of mysis a day to 4 fish along with nori every day. I also only do water changes once every 2-4 weeks.

 

[TripleT]

75 gallon FOWLR.

A few trochus, a few astraea, a few nassarius.

2 skunk cleaner shrimp, 3 peppermint.

I'll probably add a couple more astraea soon, and a couple more nassarius.

1 per gallon rules are crazy.

1000's of copepods, and not quite as many amphipods, and a handful of bristleworms.

And fish-wise, a sleeper goby who keeps the top of the sandbed cultivated.

 

[Deep Dive Coral]

Anyone without a sandbed want to chime in

 

[noelskii]

i have a 34gallon solana with about 2 inches of sand.
- 4 nassarius snails
- 4 hermit crabs
- 2 turbo snails

just the right amount, so that they don't starve to death. they all do their job pretty good.