Cleaning Crew

[Eversurf]

I have a 55G tank, it is almost done cycling i'm thinking that by Friday the Nitrate and Nitrite will be close to non-existent.

I want to buy a cleaning crew and I have been looking at a whole bunch them.

I came across this one

Scarlet Hermit Crab: 20
Blueleg Hermit Crab: 20
Nasssarius Snail: 10
Emerald Crab: 5
Coral Banded Shrimp: 1
Sally Lightfoot Crab: 1
Turbo/Astrea Snail: 20
Cleaner Clam - Limit is 2: 2

Remind you I have no fish yet and only 30LBS of live rock in my tank. Is this a good package to start with and while the tank be able to support them food wise or will I need to throw some sort of food in there.

Thanx

 

[callum_parsons]

the rule of thumb is 1 clean up crew per 1 gallon

shrimps and larger crustacsions can count as a few more

 

[Eversurf]

So this might be too big for the tank.

 

[SkiFletch]

I'd remove bluelegs and lower your scarlet count to 10. Hermits are not where its at IMO. And bluelegs, zebra, and other common cheapy hermits are way too aggressive for my tastes. Scarlets are OK though. I'd add say 10 Cerith snails and maybe add some Margarita or Trochus snails to the mix. Also, drop your astrea count to 10. And I'd pick a different shrimp than coral banded. In their old age, some will nip at fleshy corals. Skunk cleaners or my personal favorite blood shrimp would be a better choice.

 

[Eversurf]

What's nice is these are pre-made packages. This is the other one they offer.
Scarlet Hermit Crab: 10
Blueleg Hermit Crab: 10
Nasssarius Snail: 10
Brittle Starfish: 2
Coral Banded Shrimp: 1
Emerald Crab: 3
Turbo/Astrea Snail: 20
Cleaner Clam - Limit is 2: 2

 

[SkiFletch]

Where are you getting those packages from? I've always found packages to be a little over priced to be honest, but thats just me. Also, i cant stop you from putting bluelegs in your tank, but they haven't worked out well fo rme at all

 

[Eversurf]

They are from Saltwaterfish.com

I'm gonna check and see what it would come out too to build my own package.

So the package should look like this

Scarlet 10
Cerith 10
Margarita/Trochus 10
Astrea 10
Emerald Crab 3
Blood Shrimp 1
Cleaner Clams 2
Brittle Star Fish 1

How this sounds?

 

[Eversurf]

It's about 20$ more than the package to mix and match all these invertebrates

 

[SkiFletch]

ah yes, should have recognized the saltwaterfish.com packages. If you really want to talk packages, I think this one from liveaquaria or this one from marinedepot live are better than the saltwaterfish.com ones. If it were my tank I'd put the following in it:

10 - Cerith
10 - Nassarius
10 - Astrea
10 - Scarlet hermits
3 - Emerald
1 - Mexican Turbo
1 - Cleaner Shrimp

Bout $100 I think for all those seperate. You could also try calling saltwaterfish.com and asking them to do a package and switch out blueleg hermits and replace them with cerith snails in one of their smaller packages (like the 20-55 one). Again, cant stop you from ordering a package with bluelegs, but I know I'd never put them in my tank

 

[Donya]

And I'd pick a different shrimp than coral banded. In their old age, some will nip at fleshy corals.

Not to mention ripping other crustaceans limb from limb and going after fish that are small enough to catch...when theyr'e in a battle mood, not much stops them

Margarita/Trochus 10

Not sure what the package deal is, but go for the Trochus if you can. They are much better cleaners than Margarites species plus there's much less issue with higher temperatures for Trochus species IME and from what I have read elsewhere.

 

[Lynden]

The Hermit Crabs I plan to get are the Dwarf Zebras. I think they are wonderful, and the only aggression they ever give out are toward Nerites (and occasionally eachother if the tank lacks real estate).

The reason I don't like Blue Legs is because they never move. They are not very aggressive at all, especially towards unrelated species.

I am a crustacean lover, and I could never do a tank without Hermit Crabs (I guess so, since I risk my fish by keeping a large-apple-sized Carribean Red Hermit Crab ). But Nassarius and Trochus snails are just as active as any Dwarf Hermit Crab. Not as colourful, though, but that doesn't matter too much to some people, including myself. Nassarius are also extremly beneficial to an aquarium, because they sift sand and eat anything.

I suppose it's just a matter of preference

-Lynden

 

[Donya]

and the only aggression they ever give out are toward Nerites

Err...they go after anything of the right size with a vaguely globose shell, not just Nerites. It differs between individual crabs of course, but I've has/seen quite a few that wanted to tear into every snail that was small enough to be attacked. To be safe from crab-attacks, the snail has to be significantly bigger than the crab or so weirdly shaped that it's not really recognized.

(Edited to fix a bonehead tags error)

 

[Eversurf]

Hey guys thanx for the input. I really appreciate it. It was my b-day last night and my g/f bought a little book on Marine aquarium.

I will look into those packages. I tought I was clear with the water, but the Nitrate is still high. I'm just going to wait to buy the cleaning crew and I will take your recommendation in consideration.



Can I add the whole cleaning crew at once or will it make my water get all screwie?

 

[SkiFletch]

cleanup crew poses very little biological impact, so you can just go buy them all at once