Clean Up Crews

[penguinpimp1990]

what are the best cleaners for reefs? Is there any rule of thumb for clean up crews? (ie 1 cleaner per 10 gallons) Any other advice on cleaners is appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Donya]

The "rule" I have heard and read here is 1 cleaner-upper per gallon, but I have way more than that and I've read that others have as well. That's for hermits and snails at any rate (be careful mixing species there--I had a zebra hermit go on a snail-killing spree). I don't know if that applies to larger inverts like shrimp...since some can be territorial. One cleaner per 10 gallons would likely not make a dent in algae, detritus buildup, etc.

 

[Aquascaper]

1 cleaner per gallon is recommended but more is better

Cleanup crew consists of snails, shrimps and crabs. There should be a balance in the tank with varied types of each cleaner type. More snails than crabs and more crabs than shrimps.

Search the 'net and you'll find loads of info on different types of snails, shrimps and crabs. Different types have different roles doing different jobs so that's where the balance needs to be to ensure that all areas of the tank gets attention.

 

[drag]

i had this type of question a couple of weeks ago becasuse i have more than the 1 to one gallon rule. but seems like if you have at a minimum of 1 per gallon your on the right track.

 

[penguinpimp1990]

Wow, 1 per gallon. Thats alot more than what I imagined. I didnt know reefs produced some much algae and detrius.

 

[Navarre]

Reefs dont but our galss worlds are cages where freshwater cannot be flushed through with every passing wave. Therefore we need to have a nigher degree of them )

 

[JJ1234567]

I am a firm believer that hermits, while cool, are evil. I will be avoiding them in my new tank. Lots of snails, and shrimp, and even a mithrax crab or three. But no hermits. Also, the more cleaners u have the better. Start off with a bunch and they will either stabilize or die off or reproduce based on food. A tank should be able to support at least 1 per gallon, if not more.

 

[fish_keeper2]

yes the "rule of thumb" is 1 per gal but there are a few exceptions. basicly all inverts except corals, anemones, jellies, octopie etc are part of the cleaning crew. usually you want snails, hermits, shrimp, and small crabs as your cleaning crew. and you'll want an asortment that will cover algea, uneaten food, and detris(SP). they produce very little waste unlike FW inverts. in my 10 gal nano my cleaning crew is 1 turbo snail(good for algea on glass), 3 astraea snails(good for algea on rocks), 3 nassarious snails(good for shifting sand and eating detris and uneaten food), 3 hermits(good for uneaten food and some detris), and 1 arrow/spider crab(will eat uneaten food and some detris but not really much of a cleaner). i love the arrow/spider crab though. mine is very spider like. he hangs out in the top conners of my tank(gripping the silicon) sometimes and looks like he would strike at my fish and eat em. hes very cool. oddly though he only has 7 legs, dont know if he was born that way or got injured before i got him.

 

[penguinpimp1990]

Reefs dont but our galss worlds are cages where freshwater cannot be flushed through with every passing wave. Therefore we need to have a nigher degree of them

lol I meant reef tanks, not reefs in nature

EDIT: forgot to mention, fishkeeper2 what fish are you keeping with your arrow crab, I was told a while ago that they will eat fish and crusteceans smaller than themselves. Even feather dusters. I really like them myself but I was persuaded to pass on them because of their aggression.

 

[fish_keeper2]

all the livestock in my tank include 1 true perc clown, 1 yellow clown goby, 1 arrow/spider crab, 3 astraea snails, 3 nasarious snails, 1 turbo snail, 3 hermits, 1 arrow/spider crab 1 hawaiian feather duster(along with a couple small ones that were hitchhikers), and 1 colony of zoo polyps. my crab leaves every one alone except he sometimes tries to get at my snails(usually the nassarious cuzz they dont go into there shell right away). yesterday though i thought the crab ate my hermits. i couldnt find any of em and there was a hermit body in my crabs claws but then all three hermits were there an hr later. so either i had a 4th hermit i didnt know about or it was the skin from one of my hermits sheding.

 

[Opcn]

I'm going to stand out in oposition to the others, I don't think that you should use the rule of thumb, for snails anyways, for hermits 1 for every 1-4 gallons is fine, but for snails you can't really go by that, every different tank has different perameters, I have a snail and a half for every gallon and by the evening there are swirls of algea left on my glass,but my friend Colin has one snail per four gallons but his glass is clean as can be and I'm sure his snails are staving.

Also pay attention to the type of snail, margarita snails are awesome snails, they work hard, they rarely knock frags over, and they can right themselves if they fall, however if the tank temo is over 72 then they die sooner than they have to, astreas like cooler water aswell and are unable to right themselves half the time, a good rule of thumb is that a snail with a boney trap door won't be able to right itself, but if it has a horny trap door then it will be able to. I personally love my nerite snails, they are hard working, never knock frags over and stay small, I'm actually going to order 5 more for my 24 gallon in two or three weeks.