Clean Up Crew Selection

[KSReefing]

Hey guys/gals I'm about to start selecting a clean up crew for my 60 gallon cube. I will have a heavily stocked mixed reef tank with a good amount of fish.

I have always done blue leg crabs and mixture of different snails. Do people do clean up crews with just snails? Are hermit crabs really needed that much? I can't stand when the crabs kill snails for shells. I'm curious what people like for their clean up crew and what people would recommend for a 60 gallon cube. Like I said it will be a heavily stocked cube.

 

[Big G]

Beware of the predatory hermit crab. Those dudes are little murderers. Big fan of nerites, ceriths both dwarf and the larger Florida, but Ninja Star are my favorites. Cool looking and great workers.

 

[Raptor72]

Trochus snails have always seemed to be the hardest working ones for me. They easily right themselves back up, have a ferocious appetite for algae and don't wander out of the tank. I always look for them when visiting a new fs.

 

[Scotty Buttons]

Scarlet or red legged hermit crab ( Paguristes cadenati) are good for clean up crew and I've never had one eat my snails there pretty peaceful.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Just choose snails and crew that replace what crabs do. I have one crab in my 30 gal.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/choosing-cleanup-crew-critters.258695/

 

[AlexReef100]

I've never had an issue with hermits killing snails for their shells. I bought cheap packs of empty assorted shells from Michaels years ago and I scattered them all around the tank, now I have a discarded shell graveyard on one side of the tank, but it's worth it to avoid losing CUC members to shell fights.

I usually do an assortment of cerith, margarita, and turbo snails and then scarlet, blue leg, and zebra hermits.