Best Cleanup Crew?

[Blocker620]

So I have a 13 gallon tank with a Mocha Clownfish and 2 corals, but the algae is taking over the liverock in the tank. I have 2 margarita snails and 2 Nassarius snails. Anyone know of what the best cleanup crew addition would be? I was looking at hermit crabs but figured that they would be too much of a problem in the tank. Please let me know of what I should do or add to the tank.

 

[Saltyreef]

So I have a 13 gallon tank with a Mocha Clownfish and 2 corals, but the algae is taking over the liverock in the tank. I have 2 margarita snails and 2 Nassarius snails. Anyone know of what the best cleanup crew addition would be? I was looking at hermit crabs but figured that they would be too much of a problem in the tank. Please let me know of what I should do or add to the tank.

1 large mexican turbo or 2 astraea turbos

 

[TriggersAmuck]

I have had amazing success with a Purple Pincushion Urchin and just 5 Chestnut Turbo Snails. (Mine is a 14 gallon cube, see my build thread).

 

[Sharkbait19]

I had a horrible algae problem in my fluval 13.5. I added 5 astreas to add to my astrea and trochus, and they have left it nearly spotless. Algae has been much less of a problem since. I plan to pick up even more.
Emerald crabs are typically good for algae on rocks but (if it’s mine) may turn on corals and other inverts.

 

[Jekyl]

The best CuC is a diverse one.

 

[40g Nano]

My experience:
Snails and urchins stay on the glass
Hermits kill snails
Tangs are awesome
But... tank way to small for a tang

 

[Saltyreef]

My experience:
Snails and urchins stay on the glass
Hermits kill snails
Tangs are awesome
But... tank way to small for a tang

Lol just saw your edit....

They were comin fer ya.......

 

[40g Nano]

Lol just saw your edit....

They were comin fer ya.......

Lol yes
I have a 2” tomini in my 40 gallon-doing great

but I have a 90 gallon

 

[HB AL]

If i had this problem the 1st thing I would do is figure out what type of algae it is and then you can figure out what is causing it to grow. If its long enough, pull as much as you can by hand, then scrub the rocks cleaning off a good percentage of what's left. A pic of the tank and the algae would be helpful. For a cuc I would get some small red legged hermits and a variety of snails. An urchin would be very effective at eating all that remains then once cleared you either feed the urchin or rehome to someone who's in the same boat.

 

[TriggersAmuck]

My experience:
Snails and urchins stay on the glass
Hermits kill snails
Tangs are awesome
But... tank way to small for a tang

I can say that the ones I mentioned above spend as much time if not more on the rock than on the glass. I'm sure what you mentioned is true for some species, but not all.

 

[40g Nano]

I can say that the ones I mentioned above spend as much time if not more on the rock than on the glass. I'm sure what you mentioned is true for some species, but not all.

I had astrea snails, blue leg hermits, and a pincushion urchin

 

[mdb_talon]

I am a big fan of turbo snaile and emerald crabs(especially for turf algae). In my experience many of the snails completely ignore turf algae one it is thick and established.

 

[thatmanMIKEson]

So I have a 13 gallon tank with a Mocha Clownfish and 2 corals, but the algae is taking over the liverock in the tank. I have 2 margarita snails and 2 Nassarius snails. Anyone know of what the best cleanup crew addition would be? I was looking at hermit crabs but figured that they would be too much of a problem in the tank. Please let me know of what I should do or add to the tank.

A toothbrush will work faster scrub during water changes

 

[Sharkbait19]

Brittle stars are also good on getting detritus out of the rocks where you could otherwise not reach. Mine was great at cleaning up and looking cool while he did it. It’s unfortunate then that my emerald crab decided to kill him....

 

[Blocker620]

Thanks everyone for the replies, I think the most suggested was an urchin. Would I be able to put that in a 13 gallon tank or would it outgrow it? Thanks!

 

[thatmanMIKEson]

Thanks everyone for the replies, I think the most suggested was an urchin. Would I be able to put that in a 13 gallon tank or would it outgrow it? Thanks!

Urchin you glade it wasn't bananas ....it could outgrow your tank possibly but you could enjoy it for a while and then bring him back to you lfs maybe to trade/donate him. Sometimes its fun to trade around and keep things new in your aquarium jmt's

 

[CrimsonTide]

Get a trochus snail and some astrea snails and put them on your rocks. Depending on the algae they should eat it if it isn't really long. If its really long toothbrush and turkey bacteria and suck it out during waterchange. I like snails.