Choosing Cleanup Crew Critters.

Lionfish Lair · Dec 11, 2016

Can you flip one over on its back and see if it can right itself?

kenny80 · Dec 11, 2016

No they can't, they are like a turtle on it's back lol.

scoopsthedog · Dec 11, 2016

Lionfish Lair said:
Do you tyhink it kindda looks like this guy?

Pic didn't come thru

glb · Dec 12, 2016

acer said:
How about green emerald
crabs?

Females are less aggressive than males. I had a male emerald once we called "gangsta crab". He ate all the other cuc's so I had to find him a new home.

scoopsthedog · Dec 12, 2016

Lionfish Lair said:
Can you flip one over on its back and see if it can right itself?

Got a few more pics don't know if these are any better

scoopsthedog · Dec 12, 2016

Anyone know what these hitchhikers are on this rock?

tyler1503 · Dec 13, 2016

scoopsthedog said:
Anyone know what these hitchhikers are on this rock?

I I can see fan worms, mushrooms and algae? Not sure if there's something else I'm not seeing properly

scoopsthedog · Dec 18, 2016

Lionfish Lair said:
Can you flip one over on its back and see if it can right itself?

So these guys are multiplying (and growing) like crazy and come out mostly at night. Any ideas

saltyfilmfolks · Jan 6, 2017

@Lionfish Lair
Renee, so you know I've linked this article about 25 times in two days. even more this week.

Lionfish Lair · Jan 6, 2017

Glad it's helpful!

Lionfish Lair · Jan 6, 2017

@scoopsthedog , sorry I didn't see your post. Did you get snails from a Florida vendor? Forgive me if you said this before, I'm on an iPad and can't easily see the past conversations that well.

reeftilldie · Jan 6, 2017

this is what i need

fermentedhiker · Apr 18, 2017

Great write up. I'm setting up a 90ish gallone acrylic dwarf lionfish tank and trying to research suitable CUC. I figure having predators will mean lots of scraps to clean up as well as algae from the waste. Does anyone have any experience with tropical abalone? Fuzzy chitons? in acrylic?

So far I'm leaning towards Trochus, Cerith, single fighting conch, serpent star, nassarius, tiger tail cuke, tuxedo urchin(not sure if I want to risk it with acrylic though), chestnut turbos. Also considered a strawberry crab(not sure if the lions would just end up making a lunch of him even if he was full grown.

Daniel@R2R · May 2, 2017

Bumping this for those who may not have seen it before. Great info!

Hogan · May 2, 2017

I have a turbo snail in a BBT that's been in there for almost 5 years. It's really big now.

hart24601 · May 2, 2017

Great article! Not sure how I missed it before.

I run my tanks BB and have only been using trochus for past several years. Love them!

rtparty · May 2, 2017

Fantastic article and help! I'll be adding some snails to my 50g in the next few days. This helped me remember a lot of things I had forgotten.

BigRedSpecial · May 3, 2017

Excellent thread, thanks Renee!

I really miss the live rock that was available 10 years ago. I've lost all my stomatella and colonista snails over the years and can't find any more. I do have a (small) population of limpets, but not nearly enough to make a difference.

I will add this though:
The Case for Emerald Crabs: I know people love to hate them, but I have found a use for them. My tanks and equipment were all becoming completely overrun with red bobble macroalgae; repeated vinegar/bleach soakings for the equipment would free it up for about a week. A single small emerald and manual removal had it 95% eradicated in a month, and I haven't seen a single trace in three months now.