Clean up crew questions/help....

[brady816]

Im trying to figure out the amount of critters i will need to get my tank ready. Here is a list of what i was thinking. This is for the 55 gal tank if my numbers are off please give me the correct numbers for the clean up crew. Thanks again my fellow reefers..

1. Blueleg Hermit Crab 20

2. Cerith Snail 5

3. Nassarius Snail 10

4. Brittle Starfish 1

5. Turbo/Astrea Snail 10

6. Fighting Conch 1 May wait a few months before adding dont want to starve.

 

[brady816]

anyone????????

 

[SaltyTemple]

what do you intend to use the Nassarius for? I don't find them that helpful... I would keep more hermits personally - I find them a) more resilient and b) more useful

I've also never had good functionality with stars, they can get agressive, I had a serpent who ate my gobies, anyone have thoughts on brittles?

Otherwise I think your selections are great!

 

[MarineDreamer]

I think that Nassarius are carnivorous. So if you have carnivorous fish or inverts, they can be useful for cleaning up the missed pieces. I love the way mine crawl out of the sand when I feed.

I’m currently running a 55 gallon with some turbo, Nassarius, one brittle star, and one serpent star.

I would skip the crab… They are too much of an opportunist. And a 55 gallon would be too small for any conch, IMHO.

Other than that, just remember to feed them!

 

[treehugger]

I personally love the nassarius snails. They do a great job cleaning up the waste from when I feed my lps heavily. When they're combined with the cerith they also do a good job of stirring your sand up. I have about 50 cerith and 75 nassarius in my 240g. I have a combination of the tonga nassarius and the vibex. Make sure you don't order those really cheap ones with the black shells. They come from like north carolina and they die in the higher temps of the reef tanks. As for crabs ...the blue legs and hawaiian zebras do a great job of cleaning things up. I'd stay away from stars. Just my 2cents. reeftopia.com has some good prices and I've never had issues with ordering through them. (stay away from their peppermint shrimp though...they eat corals...haha...hence my avatar)

 

[trido]

I currently keep about 10 cerith snails in my 120.

 

[brady816]

thanks everyone for the imput.....