Clean Up Crew Opinions... do's and dont's

[MN_ReeferKev]

Hey everyone,

Starting to put thought into the CUC as I move forward and I am wondering if people could give me thoughts/opinions:

-Must have's:

-Regrets/dont do:

-General thoughts and things to keep in mind-interested in hearing everything:

Tank will end up being mixed reef, 100g

Thank you!

 

[DeniseAndy]

Will there be sand?

 

[NoahLikesFish]

get reefcleaners pack, cheap & set and forget.

 

[MN_ReeferKev]

Will there be sand?

Yes, apologies, forgot to include that!

 

[DeniseAndy]

Alrighty then. Here is my experience and recommendations...

New tank, use cerith and nerite snails. There will not be enough to feed the trochus or turbo type snails.

As the tank matures, Astrea snails, more cerith and nerite, scarlet hermit, trochus/turbo if needed for algae.

Sand cleaners: nassarius snails, cucumber (Holothuria spp), conch (fighting)

Urchins are great to have. I have had the pencil, varigated, tuxedo, black rock urchin (Arbacia spp- hitchhiker on live rock from Caribbean), and large halloween. My favorite and in most tanks I own is the tuxedo. Then varigated, last is this cool hitchhiker the black rock urchin.

I am not a crab person, but if needed I will add a emerald for bubble algae. Only if needed.

Shrimp are great for many reasons. Just not always thought of as cuc. I only have peppermint currently for any aiptasia. I am getting my new Harlequin tomorrow! Should clear out some of these asterina stars.

I also love limpets (usually get on live rock), and all the other little guys that come in like stomata snails, pods.

 

[MN_ReeferKev]

Alrighty then. Here is my experience and recommendations...

New tank, use cerith and nerite snails. There will not be enough to feed the trochus or turbo type snails.

As the tank matures, Astrea snails, more cerith and nerite, scarlet hermit, trochus/turbo if needed for algae.

Sand cleaners: nassarius snails, cucumber (Holothuria spp), conch (fighting)

Urchins are great to have. I have had the pencil, varigated, tuxedo, black rock urchin (Arbacia spp- hitchhiker on live rock from Caribbean), and large halloween. My favorite and in most tanks I own is the tuxedo. Then varigated, last is this cool hitchhiker the black rock urchin.

I am not a crab person, but if needed I will add a emerald for bubble algae. Only if needed.

Shrimp are great for many reasons. Just not always thought of as cuc. I only have peppermint currently for any aiptasia. I am getting my new Harlequin tomorrow! Should clear out some of these asterina stars.

I also love limpets (usually get on live rock), and all the other little guys that come in like stomata snails, pods.

Lots to digest here, thank you for all of this - I appreciate it!

 

[Snoopy 67]

Crabs end up eating snails, just so you know.

 

[fryman]

Must Have's: none

Regrets: don't add cuc before needed or they will starve.

Algae eaters are useful when algae starts growing but don't jump the gun. My favs are urchins and trochus snails. Other types of snails are interesting so feel free to add them but most just don't do much actual cleaning ime. Urchins in particalar will actually clean an area as they go but note they eat coraline too.

Probably not a common opinion but I've found that you do not need to buy cuc for uneaten food. Once you have a decent population of grammarid amphipods they will grow to whatever level is needed and eat any available leftovers in the sand or rocks. Things like nassarius snails and crabs are more interesting but just competing with the amphipods so really not necessary.

I still like nassarius and hermit crabs because they are fun but you really don't "need" them.

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

I really like this thread!

 

[BoralBandit]

Regret: Getting big snails/hermits they walk over everything and will knock stuff over almost nightly.

 

[Fishfreak2009]

I love having a biodiverse tank and cleaner crew. I aim for a very diverse yet reef safe crew. My 75 gallon has:

1 Pencil Urchin (Eucidaris tribuloides) in sump eats corals...
30 Blue Leg Hermit Crab (Clibanarius tricolor)
1 Halloween Hermit Crab (Ciliopagurus strigatus)
5 Scarlet Reef Hermit Crab (Paguristes cadenati)
1 Curlique Pistol Shrimp (Alpheus armatus)
1 Candy Pistol Shrimp (Alpheus randalli)
35 Astraea Snail (Astraea tecta)
3 Mexican Turbo Snail (Turbo fluctuosa)
40 Dwarf Cerith Snail (Cerithium sp)
5 Black Ribbed Limpets (Lottia leucopleura)
2 Fuzzy Chiton (Acanthopleura granulata)
3 Ox Tongue Nerite Snail (Nerita albicilla)
30 Nassarius Snail (Nassarius sp.)
1 Florida Fighting Conch (Strombus spp.)
2 Tongan Fighting Conch (Strombus spp.)

I still plan on adding a couple shrimp (cleaner and blood), some other nerite snail species, as well as a couple different cucumbers (yellow pygmy, black, and tiger tail) a few red or black brittle stars, a tiger serpent star, and a Fromia star of some type. Maybe a halloween urchin once all my frags are mounted and secure. And if I can find them, I'd get a few Urocaridella antonbruunii

 

[Geebs19]

I would just get a pack from @reefcleaners. So much easier buying one of their packs rather than piecing it together.

 

[Fishfreak2009]

I would just get a pack from @reefcleaners. So much easier buying one of their packs rather than piecing it together.

I'd much rather piece my own together. They ship more than you need, and don't have the biodiversity that I like in my tank. If I buy from ReefCleaners, I build my own pack of oddball things, and get the astraeas/blue leg hermits elsewhere (normally from Reeftopia as they are half the price).

 

[Smoke-Town]

I agree with the above about the larger snails particularly being very annoying at knocking down glued frags.

I like my trochus and turbo snails but they drive me crazy when they're near new coral that hasn't encrusted to the rockwork yet. And their suction strength is ridiculous so you can't just move them. I'd get baby trochus snails if reef cleaners has them in stock. Also the dwarf Corinths and nesarious snails are great.

Urchins are also notorious for knocking things down or relocating them entirely... only get an urchin if you have hair algae issue imo.

Hermit crabs I have no issue with. Sure they'll occasionally eat a snail if they have no other food nearby or if they need to steal a larger shell... but they don't have the bulldozer effect of a big snail and they can easily be knocked off of a delicate area of the tank.

 

[New&no clue]

I personally love inverts and have tons in my tank. However, my piece of advice is slow and steady. Adding too many all at once will lead to them starving. Add as you need, replenish every 6month to a year, depending on how the tank looks. Also, take the time to read what each thing does. I see several people have already mentioned Reef Cleaners. What I like is their description of what each invert does in a tank. I like his packages, but I always downsize my tank when ordering. For example, for my 180-gallon tank, I will order a 90-gallon package.

My must-haves that I think everyone should have in their tank are:
Ceriths
Nassarius
Turbo
Nerites
Urchins (tuxedo or pincushion)
Conch (fighting or tiger)
Again add slowly, starting with some Ceriths, Nassarius, and Nerites, and then add in an Urchin and Conchs as needed.

Favorite CUC/Inverts in my tank
Shrimp (peppermint, cleaners, pistol)
Crabs (emeralds, arrow)
Brittle starfish

 

[SlugSnorter]

Hey everyone,

Starting to put thought into the CUC as I move forward and I am wondering if people could give me thoughts/opinions:

-Must have's:

-Regrets/dont do:

-General thoughts and things to keep in mind-interested in hearing everything:

Tank will end up being mixed reef, 100g

Thank you!

-Must have's:

Nassarius: stirs sand and eats poop and leftovers

cerith: often slow and lazy, even for a snail, but do turn the sandbed, eat most stubborn sand algae and scaps.

Trochus: an all rounder that can right itself somewhat.

Astrea: all rounder that chows down on GHA but cannot right itself

-decorative CUC (those that aren't super efficient, but are cool):

cleaner shrimp: cleans fish and tank, rarely nips at corals

Pom Pom crabs: eats scraps, very small and fairly pricey

-Regrets/dont do:

Hermits: they will kill your snails and their bretheren

Sea hares: eat a massive, massive amount

Nudibranchs: most are to specialized to keep for all but the most expert reefers, the rest are all extremely hard to feed.

cucumbers: better for more experienced hobbyists, Can realese toxins and kill the tank

sea stars/sand sifting stars/brittle stars: depending the star can eat corals or fish or inverts or just all available food and then starve

harlequin shrimp: only eat starfish, and lots of them