Clean up crew question
- Thread starter Chadly
- Start date
RiverRat
Non-member
For my reef tank, I have a sand sifting starfish and a ton of snails (I don't have any crabs or shrimp in my cleanup crew). Nassarius take care of the waste and left over food. Dwarf ceriths and Florida Ceriths are good for various algaes and detritus. Nerites do a nice job of keeping my glass clean. I have also noticed a few limpets around my tank, I didn't put them in there, so they must have sneaked in, but they seem to be doing a good job.
Firereptile
Non-member
I've found that Astrea snails are very good at cleaning the walls of the tank.
People say that about brittle stars. Not serpent stars.
wpeterson
Well-Known Member
For eating detritus, Nassarius Vibex are great at keeping your sand clean and digging through the top layer of the substrate. Ruby brittle stars are fantastic at cleaning detritus off of the rocks.
For algae control, you can't beat a Tuxedo Urchin and some Astrea snails. I'd also supplement some banded Trochus snails.
For algae control, you can't beat a Tuxedo Urchin and some Astrea snails. I'd also supplement some banded Trochus snails.
EddieM
Well-Known Member
I like to use a wide variety and find that they each have their preference.
For the sand I use nassarius vibex, cortez cerith, and tonga nassarius. Tiger tail cucumbers are also great for the sand. For the rock I like Mexican Turbo, margarita, and banded throcus. I'd also add a couple of scarlet hermits and an emerald crab or two. Tuxedo urchins are also super efficient, if you don't mind them grazing on your corraline a bit.
My cerith, margarita, and throchus have all bred in the tank.
Mix it up and enjoy the variety!
For the sand I use nassarius vibex, cortez cerith, and tonga nassarius. Tiger tail cucumbers are also great for the sand. For the rock I like Mexican Turbo, margarita, and banded throcus. I'd also add a couple of scarlet hermits and an emerald crab or two. Tuxedo urchins are also super efficient, if you don't mind them grazing on your corraline a bit.
My cerith, margarita, and throchus have all bred in the tank.
Mix it up and enjoy the variety!
HERPER
Non-member
I thought that was for the green brittle stars as they were more carnivorous? I thought the black brittles were vegetarian
Like:
I love Astrea snails - they're super hardy and do a great job of keeping algae from amassing on the glass.
Green Emerald crabs are also very hardy and can go through prolongued drought periods. They'll also eat some nuissance algae that nothing else will touch and are generally very friendly to fish and coral.
If you can get some stomatella or colonista hitchhikers they do a great job of cleaning tough to reach places and will reproduce readily.
Anthropods and Copepods I haven't yet reached this state, but I strongly believe that a healthy, diverse population of antrhopods and copepods is really the best clean up crew you can have. Not only will they eat softer microalgae , detritus, and leftover food but they make great food and entertainment for the fish.
Conchs - I just love these guys. They tend to be pretty hardy and they eat leftover stuff on the botton of the tank
Neutral:
Hermits - many members complain about hermits eating their coral or being general nuissances. I haven't had this experience, but have found them to be less able to withstand drought than other cleanup members. I think they're entertaining, but over time your little ones may disappear and you'll be left with one or two larger crabs. At which point it may be time to "move them out".
Spaghetti and Bristle Worms They're great at eating crud and leftover food... but who likes a tank full of worms, really...Not my girlfriend, I'll tell you that.
Turbo Snails Not much to say about these guys. They're good at eating some very specific nuissance algae (red cotton candy, some hair) but I feel like they're not as "efficient" as astreas and are a bigger bio load than they're worth. Additionally they'll occasionally knock frags over as they're big and clumsy. That said, good grazers if you don't have a thriving population of smaller snails.
Astreas not to be confused with the snails these little stars reproduce readily and presumably eat stuff... *shrug* they're nice to look at and if you have a diverse CUC to compete with them they won't overrun the tank. If you don't, they may over-run the place. Some people have reported having issues with them irritating zoas / coral but I haven't witnessed this myself.
Do not like
Nassarius / Cerith Snails I have never had any luck with these. I find that spaghetti / bristle worms and crabs will out-compete these detrivores. Every time I've added a batch they've starved over the course of a few weeks.
Peppermint Shrimp Some reefers are all about peppermint shrimp. I enjoyed watching mine too, but I enjoy feeding my coral more. Unlike the slow crabs and snails that would likely not have the dexterity to snatch food away from LPS the peppermint is nimble and will. If you only have one they will probably be shy, but if you get three or more they'll form a gang. I had them breed in my tank and when carrying eggs they become rather aggressively ravenous and will stop at nothing to steal food from fish and coral.
I love Astrea snails - they're super hardy and do a great job of keeping algae from amassing on the glass.
Green Emerald crabs are also very hardy and can go through prolongued drought periods. They'll also eat some nuissance algae that nothing else will touch and are generally very friendly to fish and coral.
If you can get some stomatella or colonista hitchhikers they do a great job of cleaning tough to reach places and will reproduce readily.
Anthropods and Copepods I haven't yet reached this state, but I strongly believe that a healthy, diverse population of antrhopods and copepods is really the best clean up crew you can have. Not only will they eat softer microalgae , detritus, and leftover food but they make great food and entertainment for the fish.
Conchs - I just love these guys. They tend to be pretty hardy and they eat leftover stuff on the botton of the tank
Neutral:
Hermits - many members complain about hermits eating their coral or being general nuissances. I haven't had this experience, but have found them to be less able to withstand drought than other cleanup members. I think they're entertaining, but over time your little ones may disappear and you'll be left with one or two larger crabs. At which point it may be time to "move them out".
Spaghetti and Bristle Worms They're great at eating crud and leftover food... but who likes a tank full of worms, really...Not my girlfriend, I'll tell you that.
Turbo Snails Not much to say about these guys. They're good at eating some very specific nuissance algae (red cotton candy, some hair) but I feel like they're not as "efficient" as astreas and are a bigger bio load than they're worth. Additionally they'll occasionally knock frags over as they're big and clumsy. That said, good grazers if you don't have a thriving population of smaller snails.
Astreas not to be confused with the snails these little stars reproduce readily and presumably eat stuff... *shrug* they're nice to look at and if you have a diverse CUC to compete with them they won't overrun the tank. If you don't, they may over-run the place. Some people have reported having issues with them irritating zoas / coral but I haven't witnessed this myself.
Do not like
Nassarius / Cerith Snails I have never had any luck with these. I find that spaghetti / bristle worms and crabs will out-compete these detrivores. Every time I've added a batch they've starved over the course of a few weeks.
Peppermint Shrimp Some reefers are all about peppermint shrimp. I enjoyed watching mine too, but I enjoy feeding my coral more. Unlike the slow crabs and snails that would likely not have the dexterity to snatch food away from LPS the peppermint is nimble and will. If you only have one they will probably be shy, but if you get three or more they'll form a gang. I had them breed in my tank and when carrying eggs they become rather aggressively ravenous and will stop at nothing to steal food from fish and coral.
Last edited:
Similar threads
