Who here has a clean up crew?

[boosted306]

How many of you have a clean up crew in your tank? What does your crew consist of? Do clean up crews have a large bio-load? Benefits? Ect ect.

 

[SeattlesDarko]

I only have Astraea snails and Emerald Crabs. I am getting more I am pretty soon still new to this. Anyways someone had told me about this site on another forum and they are great prices.

http://reefcleaners.org/

 

[Myteemouse]

I think EVERYONE has a clean up crew in there tank?
Mine in my 29 is a red mathrix (spelling) crab
about 15 hermits of different types!
about 20+ astrea snails I think I need to re up to 30 or so!
one cleaner shrimp one peppermint shrimp and all kind of little starfish!
plus I have "sand sifting" snails in my fuge (bare bottom tank with DSB in fuge)
and a coral banded shrimp in the fuge also!!

EVERYTHING alive in your tank has some type of waste "bio-load"
But the "clean up crew" is VERY IMPORTANT to a saltwater system!
SOme packaged "clean up crew" from some places come with fish!
Be carefull on what your stock list wanterd befor getting any pre packaged clean up crews with fish and or coral banded shrimp as they may cause you problems in the future!!

 

[charlesr1958]

Most of us think of a "clean up crew" in very limited terms, well, that could be said of entire aquariums as well which leads me to wish that we can step back and look at the clean up crew in a much bigger picture. While snails and other very common herbivores are standard fare, a tank/system with a good diversity of other life forms creates a much more functional ecosystem which is in itself, a clean up crew. Everything from algae, microscopic infauna, zooplankton (pods and such), worms, snails, sponges, and on and on all function as part of the nutrient cycle and loops (recycle). Of course as an ecosystem, we can not just dump in such diversity and expect it all to survive each others presence, distinct habitats / refugiums must be incorporated to allow sanctuary while fine tuning each habitat to exclude those species that are destructive to all others, most crabs come to mind as one example.
Thankfully there are now a number of online sources that provide a greater diversity of life that is labeled as "clean up" crews, and it is one of my goals per my location (blessings) to bring a few more species into the hobby while trying to determine specific diets of a number of animals so that we can better tailor our "crew" to meet our system's needs. As such, the following link highlights most of what I consider to be my "clean up" crew.

My Inverts

Oh, and almost forgot this one : A Reef Aquarium Clean Up Crew

Chuck

 

[boosted306]

Thanks for the post above. I am reading now.

 

[burning2nd]

this is a touchy subject with me.. cause until resonantly i realized. that most people treat there clean up crew light garbage. (nofx "clams have feelings 2") <---song

most people over stock there CUC leading to starvation and death, in a attempt to combat there negligent.... I dont know what the rule is really.. i know this

i have 1 snail per gal or so and 1 hermit per 15g it took me years to find the balance and its depended on your bio load...

i have 2 scralets (better then blue legs)
10 ceiths
5 astreas
5 touchus (meny 3years+old)
1 bumble bee 5 years (nocturnal)
1 sexy shrimp
1 large brown brittle star fish..... aka BROWN BOB (the soul cycle survivor) "he eats twice a year
eh... who else is in there .

oh i just found a peppermint baby that i added months months back.. i though for a long time that my GTA ate him... but he has just bin hideing.... strange he doenst show the same aggressiveness that his predecessors shown.


adding a large amount of CUC isnt gonna fix things.. they are ment to assist not control. the food souce will dry up then will die off.. and you will be back where you where... prior..

 

[delemi]

most people over stock there CUC leading to starvation and death, in a attempt to combat there negligent.... I dont know what the rule is really.. i know this

Agreed!! And you will find if you do overstock is that all your critters are starving at the same rate, so one day you will look into your tank and ask "where did all my XXX go?" Likely they all progressively starved to death at the same rate, and when others died the survivors weren't strong enough to continue to thrive.

My advice - Add your crew here and there over time - and add a variety of different types. Each critter will serve its own unique purpose and be aware that some critters (crabs & shrimps) require meaty foods in their diets so you will want to "feed" them as well as allowing them to graze.

 

[boosted306]

I just want enough to be stable. Right now I have 7 red hermit crabs. Oh, a snail that I never knew was there. He is tiny so I am assuming born in the tank or a hitchhiker.

 

[Mustang Boy]

i have a 6 gallon eclipse with ~10 blue legged hermits, and one astrea snail but the only reason i have so many is cause they will be food for my mantis shrimp that is in the tank

 

[ULTAQUARIUMSVCS]

Hi all in my 600gal all i have are 4 giant mexican turbos snails , 2 snad sifting starts and like 4-6 olive snails but i also have bout 8 tangs no angae and it also helps that i have a 50gal refugium. Thanks all

 

[burning2nd]

well stang... thats diffrent the hermits are the food for the mantis...

 

[Mustang Boy]

well stang... thats diffrent the hermits are the food for the mantis...

yea i know but they are still cleaning until the inevitable day and surprisingly atleast half of them have been in there for over a month but that may be because i throw some ghost shrimp in there every once in awhile

 

[Myteemouse]

OK that all being said And after reading the prior posted link!!
I'm setting up a 125 gallon REEF tank in a month or so!
How many of what should I get!!??