CUC help

[ndz98]

I have a 75 gallon tank that I’m needing to get a cuc for. I forget what the rule of thumb is for how many snails and hermits you’re supposed to have per gallon. I also think I remember it depends on what your bioload is like also. So right now I only have a couple clownfish and a few frags of coral in the new tank so far. I do plan on getting more fish soon as well as more soft corals and lps.

I want to order my cuc from reef cleaners because I think they have good quality stuff and reasonably priced. That being said, my options are dwarf Ceriths, nassarius, Florida ceriths, nerites, assorted hermit crabs, and emerald crabs.

Which ones should I get and how many?

 

[Big G]

Reef Cleaners has a calculator on their webpage. You may want to do a bit of research on hermit crabs. Some of the ones I have have killed some of the other snails in my tank. Watched them chase the snails down and eat them. Yikes!

 

[ndz98]

Reef Cleaners has a calculator on their webpage. You may want to do a bit of research on hermit crabs. Some of the ones I have have killed some of the other snails in my tank. Watched them chase the snails down and eat them. Yikes!

Do you think the snails are more beneficial than the hermits or vice versa?

 

[Big G]

Do you think the snails are more beneficial than the hermits or vice versa?

Lots of ceriths, and a few each of nerites, nassarius, star ninjas as my CUC gets the job done.

 

[lion king]

You should always start out slow, you don't want to have to feed them yourself or have them starve. The formula of number to gallons doesn't work, it's about the clean up job and available food. I always start with ceriths; they are great to start with because they attack the diatoms, usually the first to show up. Nerites are good with diatoms also, hermits and nasarrius are good for uneaten food. Nasarrius are aggressive and needs to have a good source of food; that's also what happens when you hear about rogue hermits. not enough food. I would only do emeralds if you have bubble algae or big clean up jobs, these guy's are known to go rogue as well. That tank looks pretty clean so I would go pretty light with cuc. I personnally don't keep hermits; I would usually start with about 30 snails for that size tank, ceriths and nerites, astreas are some of my favorites when the green algae comes. I would wait on the nasarrius until you are feeding the tank more.

 

[Idoc]

I initially bought a bunch of dwarf ceriths, florida ceriths, and about 10 Nerite from ReefCleaners for after my 75g tank cycled. The nerites seemed pretty useless...only 2 had any decent size and they are somewhat active... the others just sit above the water line! The ceriths are small and really don't seem to consume much, but they are always active. They weren't putting much of a dent in my green algae problem, so...

The other day, i went to AP Aquatics online and bought 5 ninja stars ( really cool looking in the tank), 15 Astraea Turbos, and 20 Nassarious (to start cleaning up the sand from excess food)... these all were the best purchases! I had a pretty good green algae outbreak and they are really going to work on it. I'm staying away from hermits... most seem not to like them in tanks.