Good Clean up Crew

[fishnoob~noclue]

Hi Folks,

Got myself a Halloween Crab as the first member of a clean up crew, I am aware there is not much for him to clean up. But generally asking what would be a good mix of inverts to make a solid clean up crew, or does this depend on the number of fish in the tank? 250 litre red sea Reefer.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

personally I add them as needed.

Honestly I would suggest to invest in more rock and another power head before adding more livestock. It’s a good start, But not yet suitable for too much livestock.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

personally I add them as needed.

Honestly I would suggest to invest in more rock and another power head before adding more livestock. It’s a good start, But not yet suitable for too much livestock.

I'll second the more rock as well, for a 250 liter tank you can add more rock in there and it would be alright for a tank that size.

 

[Sophie"s mom]

Hi Folks,

Got myself a Halloween Crab as the first member of a clean up crew, I am aware there is not much for him to clean up. But generally asking what would be a good mix of inverts to make a solid clean up crew, or does this depend on the number of fish in the tank? 250 litre red sea Reefer.

Ditto on more rock! Probably a lot more. I would try for a balance of half base rock, and half live rock. Is that live sand?

 

[Tired]

Make sure to feed your hermit (and I hope you meant Halloween hermit crab, as regular Halloween crabs don't do well in reef tanks) regularly until he has more to eat. Hermits are mostly a novelty animal that can also clean up some scraps of food, though ideally you don't want to have a lot of scraps that need to be cleaned up.

You absolutely need more rock. Ocean live rock would be an excellent pickup. If the price is intimidating, you can go with mostly dry rock and either a 10-lb live rock package from KP Aquatics or a Treasure Chest box from Tampa Bay Saltwater, as those will bring in a fair bit of biodiversity at a much lower price.

I like cerith snails as an all-round algae/detritus eater. Can't go wrong with a bunch of ceriths, once you actually have algae for them to eat. A tuxedo urchin is a good algae-eater, and entertaining to watch, though he will move very small frags around.

 

[fishnoob~noclue]

personally I add them as needed.

Honestly I would suggest to invest in more rock and another power head before adding more livestock. It’s a good start, But not yet suitable for too much livestock.

Thanks Mr Mojo.

Regarding the rock morw is ready to enter the tank.

What wave maker would be best two provide 2 lots of flow and if so any recommendations?

 

[fishnoob~noclue]

Make sure to feed your hermit (and I hope you meant Halloween hermit crab, as regular Halloween crabs don't do well in reef tanks) regularly until he has more to eat. Hermits are mostly a novelty animal that can also clean up some scraps of food, though ideally you don't want to have a lot of scraps that need to be cleaned up.

You absolutely need more rock. Ocean live rock would be an excellent pickup. If the price is intimidating, you can go with mostly dry rock and either a 10-lb live rock package from KP Aquatics or a Treasure Chest box from Tampa Bay Saltwater, as those will bring in a fair bit of biodiversity at a much lower price.

I like cerith snails as an all-round algae/detritus eater. Can't go wrong with a bunch of ceriths, once you actually have algae for them to eat. A tuxedo urchin is a good algae-eater, and entertaining to watch, though he will move very small frags around.

Thanks Tired, do you reckon hermit crab would kill a Cerith Snail for their shell?

 

[fishnoob~noclue]

Ditto on more rock! Probably a lot more. I would try for a balance of half base rock, and half live rock. Is that live sand?

Yeah that's live sand in there

 

[Mhamilton0911]

The Halloween hermit will only prefer one type of shell, and will usually only kill a snail for the shell, so basically only strawberry/Fighting conch snails would be at risk.

Your tank is brand spanking new. Nothing for any clean up crew to eat. I'd wait until there is a need before stocking your cuc. Add them for what you see a need for. If you see a type of algea, identify it, and research the snail/hermit that likes it. Go from there.

 

[fishnoob~noclue]

The Halloween hermit will only prefer one type of shell, and will usually only kill a snail for the shell, so basically only strawberry/Fighting conch snails would be at risk.

Your tank is brand spanking new. Nothing for any clean up crew to eat. I'd wait until there is a need before stocking your cuc. Add them for what you see a need for. If you see a type of algea, identify it, and research the snail/hermit that likes it. Go from there.

Thanks bud that's a great idea, really appreciate the comment.

 

[Sophie"s mom]

Yeah that's live sand in there

once you get your rocks squared away, there is a website called Reef Cleaners, check them out, they have several different packages based on tank size, etc. They will be MUCH cheaper than trying to go in and purchase individually. I asked about the lived sand because that will supply you with some good bacteria, but you really need some live rock as well.

 

[Tired]

Halloween hermits only target cone snails and conchs for their shells, yeah. Also, they get much larger than ceriths. Make sure you have plenty of empty shells available for yours.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Thanks Mr Mojo.

Regarding the rock morw is ready to enter the tank.

What wave maker would be best two provide 2 lots of flow and if so any recommendations?

Your rocks should be close to a pound per gallon. For example if you have a 40 gallon tank, should be about 35-45 pounds of rock on the tank.

Most important, when you finally add the rocks, the tank will cycle again. So don’t add livestock until you add the rocks and they cycle. Or else any living thing will suffer and possibly die.