I am making a saltwater nano 10 gallon tank. I have had a lot of experience in freshwater tanks and want to try something new. I know it would be a challenge by not having a big tank but I don't have enough room for a 30 gallon. My stocking plan is 2 ocellaris clownfish and one yellow watchman goby and a cleaner shrimp . I will give away the two clown fish when they get big and then get juveniles all over again. But I want a clean up crew because I am interested in inverts as much as the fish and I also like my tank clean. So I wanted a cleaner crew. Which consists of crabs, shrimp, snails,feather dusters and stars. I also dont want bubble algae. And then I want a pistol shrimp to form a symboitc relationship with the goby but Im afraid it would kill my cleaner shrimp. Sorry for the dumb questions I am new to saltwater fish
Clean Up Crew Help
- Thread starter fishman5765
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twilliard
Tank pests..
Welcome to the R2R community!
Pistols can reach a good size. IME they are more afraid of everything else in the tank than being a hunter.
They are diggers for sure. I love my guy and has been happy for years now with his goby
Pistols can reach a good size. IME they are more afraid of everything else in the tank than being a hunter.
They are diggers for sure. I love my guy and has been happy for years now with his goby
Garrett W.
Active Member
go for some nassarius and nerite snails. You could do a turbo snail or two but they also can get pretty large. if you want hermits go for blue legs as they are algae eaters. I would recommend holding off on stars and featherdusters until your tank is established at least a few months or they could starve out.
Garrett W.
Active Member
might be a little tight in a ten gallon with three fish. especially cause the watchman can get over 3 inches. either that or you'll really need to be on top of cleaning.
Garrett W.
Active Member
All the clean up crew i mentioned is reef safe and on the smaller side to account for a smaller tank. (nerites, nassarius snails, margarita snails, blue leg hermits)
cheap beginner corals would be softies such as leathers, duncans, favias, hammers/torches, pagoda cups, etc.
I personally dont like emerald crabs because every time I've had one get big it'll start eating my snails, hermits, other crabs, and can even be predatory with fish (even with daily feedings)
cheap beginner corals would be softies such as leathers, duncans, favias, hammers/torches, pagoda cups, etc.
I personally dont like emerald crabs because every time I've had one get big it'll start eating my snails, hermits, other crabs, and can even be predatory with fish (even with daily feedings)
Sorry I didnt see that reply my computer had something wrong with the connection
Garrett W.
Active Member
I wouldn't suggest a clam for a 10 gallon tank. general starting size for them is around 3" and need very stable water parameters/high light and flow in a well established system. I attempted a maxima in a 20 gal when i first started and it failed spectacularly. it was a waste of $100.00 and very disheartening to watch it slowly die. But you live, learn, and do TONS of research.
NickNiz
Active Member
If you're looking for a good CUC search Reef cleaners.org . They have the lowest prices I've seen, descriptions of what each creature eats, and even serpent starfish (my personal favorite). I would not recommend having a starfish, cleaner, trigger, and goby in a 10 gal as space is very limited... I've got a 12 gal nano cube and the only invert I have aside from my CUC is a serpent star.
As far as corals, softies are probably the easiest in terms of care, like Kenya trees... LPS are my personal favorite and consist of Acans, frogspawn/torch/hammers, brain corals, blastos, plate corals, etc... Prices can be low depending on size and colors. I picked up a green Acan with 7 heads from my LFS yesterday for $25, but an orange one I got with 9 heads was $75...
Adding on, since this is your first saltwater aquarium... If you go the coral route, especially with LPS and SPS, I would highly recommend investing in Red Sea Coral Pro salt. Roughly 680g/5gallons, and with weekly water changes, it has everything your corals need and you'll be set (aside from coral food).
As far as corals, softies are probably the easiest in terms of care, like Kenya trees... LPS are my personal favorite and consist of Acans, frogspawn/torch/hammers, brain corals, blastos, plate corals, etc... Prices can be low depending on size and colors. I picked up a green Acan with 7 heads from my LFS yesterday for $25, but an orange one I got with 9 heads was $75...
Adding on, since this is your first saltwater aquarium... If you go the coral route, especially with LPS and SPS, I would highly recommend investing in Red Sea Coral Pro salt. Roughly 680g/5gallons, and with weekly water changes, it has everything your corals need and you'll be set (aside from coral food).
glb
7500 Club Member
I like snails for a cuc. Astreae and Trochus are my favorite. The only problem with snails is the crabs. They love to eat snails and then take over their shells. I have a 12g nano and only keep one clownfish in there. Weekly 10% water changes, a skimmer, carbon, and gfo help with the parameters. Keeping 3 fish in a tank that small means keeping a close eye on nitrates and phosphates. As far as number of cuc, don't overbuy. Lots of places will tell you you need way more than you do. I only 3 snails in my 12g. The problem with too many is that they will starve over time in a tank that small. Crabs get aggressive when they're hungry! You could always add a small shrimp or two like a sexy shrimp. As far as emeralds, I gave mine away. His nickname was "gangsta crab". Good luck!
I second the not getting a hermit. Mine would eat my snails.
I have a IM Fusion 10g.
Fish - I have two clowns and an anemone. They've been in for a year and will probably keep for another 6 months. Then trade them out. I've have high fin goby / shrimp combo for about 4 months. I loved them but they died.
I'm getting a green or yellow clown goby. They stay small and love to perch. Some people have a problem with them eating but most don't.
I have a IM Fusion 10g.
Fish - I have two clowns and an anemone. They've been in for a year and will probably keep for another 6 months. Then trade them out. I've have high fin goby / shrimp combo for about 4 months. I loved them but they died.
I'm getting a green or yellow clown goby. They stay small and love to perch. Some people have a problem with them eating but most don't.
ok so no goby as people suggested and so what would be a good sand sifter like a clown goby because I find the behavior interesting. And for my cleaner crew heres what Im thinking:
2 Micro brittle stars
1 cleaner shrimp
2 Dwarf blue legged hermit crabs, better keep the crabs on the low end
4 Trochus snails, same as Astrea but can flip over
3 Nassarius snails
1 turbo snail
1 Dwarf colored feather duster
Is there any invert that would eat bubble algae and do you know how to grow green hair algae to keep supply of food and how do you feed corals like do you need tweezers and do you have to feed them in the night and what light would be sufficient for a torch corals,kenya tree coral,Xenia coral,Duncan coral,Blastos coral, Plate coral. And what do these corals need to eat.
2 Micro brittle stars
1 cleaner shrimp
2 Dwarf blue legged hermit crabs, better keep the crabs on the low end
4 Trochus snails, same as Astrea but can flip over
3 Nassarius snails
1 turbo snail
1 Dwarf colored feather duster
Is there any invert that would eat bubble algae and do you know how to grow green hair algae to keep supply of food and how do you feed corals like do you need tweezers and do you have to feed them in the night and what light would be sufficient for a torch corals,kenya tree coral,Xenia coral,Duncan coral,Blastos coral, Plate coral. And what do these corals need to eat.
Chefbill
Active Member
The thing not mentioned yet is that the best member of your clean up crew is YOU. IMHO CUC are great for cleaning up corpses but meh on algae. Here is a CUC in action.
Pic shows my CUC lined up to feast on a dead black turbo.
Pic shows my CUC lined up to feast on a dead black turbo.
NickNiz
Active Member
+1 to the above.
LOVE the banded serpent. Just picked mine up yesterday.
A CUC is great at removing dead organisms or leftover food. There are some that are excellent at controlling algae, such as Chitons and Turbo Snails, but these types of animals should be used for maintenance of clean rocks, and not getting rid of an algae bloom that's already out of control...
What I find best when I have a bloom is turkey basting the affected areas and then siphoning out the algae from the water column while doing a water change.
LOVE the banded serpent.
Just picked mine up yesterday.A CUC is great at removing dead organisms or leftover food. There are some that are excellent at controlling algae, such as Chitons and Turbo Snails, but these types of animals should be used for maintenance of clean rocks, and not getting rid of an algae bloom that's already out of control...
What I find best when I have a bloom is turkey basting the affected areas and then siphoning out the algae from the water column while doing a water change.
