Clean Up Crew

[nanoreefer22]

Hey All,

I'm exploring my options for a clean up crew and wanted to see how many of you out there actually had a clean up crew appropriately sized for your tank.

If you have a crew, please say what it consists of and who you believe your hardest workers are.

Thanks,
Kris

 

[Mark2480]

I have a mix of hermit crabs, Florida Ceriths, Nerite snails and Nassarius snails and a few others that I have no clue where they came from. I hate the Nerite snails they love going in my over flows and ending up in the sump so that's where they live now. My favorite are the Nassarius snails even though they don't eat algae and once you put them in there gone, but the minute I feed the tank they pop out of the sand and find everything the fish miss. They do a great job at stirring the sand.

 

[Zuska]

i got 10-15 turbo snails and some hermits

 

[edd]

the only ones i see active are hermits and nassuris. the ones that supposed to clean the glass park themselves in one spot and don't move, i don't think they do anything besides dirtying the water. and ceriths and nerites as mentioned are always in my filter socks.
now i only buy hermits and nassuris.

 

[duromega]

I have 4 hermit crabs , 3 turbos and 4 nassarius and 1 serpent seastar

all of them are always active looking for food.

 

[jackson6745]

Kris I ordered a crazy package from Live Aquaria when I setup my tank. It was all snails though, no crabs. Later on I added a dozen emeralds when I had some bubble able pop up. IMO the only crew worthwhile is the trochus snails, emerald, and mex turbos. I have a bunch of nassaruis also but only see them when food settles somewhere.

 

[Paul B]

I keep this in my nano, is that bad?

 

[Skaters216]

I added 3 good size Blue legged Hermit crabs and they are always moving around, also added some turbe snails that are also very active. Good luck choosing

 

[rwells]

I have 6 nassarius, 4 turbos, 6 star snails, 4 Mexican turbos and 10 hermits different sizes in 180 gl. Most of the work is done but the hermits and mex turbos. Oh also have a algae blenny that do an excellent job.

 

[evoIX_Reefer]

Paul - that's a clean up crew for your fish. You'd find them all dead.

I hate snails because they always end up in the sump. I hate hermits because from my experience they eat the snails.

 

[cmantis]

Here's where I get mine...

 

[rookie07]

Just a little deeper....

 

[lrasser]

Hands down best addition I ever made was a fighting conch. I have 3 in my 6ft and they are amazing. I have a few hundred snails. maybe a dozen hermits (by accident and got huge), serpent star, and fighting conch. I have a full cleanup crew and they do there job perfect. I cuurently have no fish in the tank due to an ich issue (in QT right now) and i still pull tons of skim just from them.

A well balanced clean up crew is a must for a well balance reef.

 

[CleanYourTank11]

Always have trochus snails, turbos or Mexican turbos if they aren't those golf ball sized ones(great for algae in larger tanks), nassarius, and many assorted tiny hermits(blue, red, zebra legs). I find the trochus work the best and last the longest,sometimes multiply. Mexican turbos will finish off algae and crap out shortly after and I'm pretty sure the hermits end up taking out everything including each other. I have to replace 90% of my CUC every month or two. Anyone have a long term CUC?? Hope I'm not taking this of topic Nano

 

[lrasser]

I havent added anything to my clean up crew in almost a year. They keep multiplying on there own. You said it perfect. My hermits have killed alot of nice large snails just for there shells. Thats why i avoid them. Being 99% snails they kind of maintain there own numbers. if nutrients go down some die off if it gets high they multiply. My Nassarius snails have gotten huge. I think the key is just a good balance of the right kind.

 

[Trump]

nassarius snails, serpent stars, Mexican turbo, red hermits and blue hermits. Those all work well for me. reefs2go.com is a good and cheap place for cleanup crews. They have a lot of free shipping cleanup crews. How many?. Really all depends on the size of your tank. Don?t over stock on this stuff as when they run out of food they start to be destructive. reefs2go supplies you with physically small sized cleanup crew but don't worry they grow and multiply fast.

 

[mandown123]

good looks on this reef2go site for crews, just looking quick there's some nice deals going on. Forget LFS for crews.

Hardest working I want to say WORMS! The reef worms, bristleworms, whatever ya call em. Those things never give up, they multiply like crazy, so they eat well. Living in bottom of sand, eating detritus.

When my tank crashed after sandy, i scooped out POUNDS of the things from the bottom of the 75G sand. Stunk to high heaven that day, but boy they did their job when the tank was alive and well.

 

[wharris]

I got my crew from reefcleaners.org. fast shipping and great to deal with. everything was alive upon arrival and still is. they make it pretty simple. you just pick your size tank and then give their recommendation. Plus you can get crabless packs.

 

[jackson6745]

good looks on this reef2go site for crews

Do not deal with this site. They are a complete disaster with more negative feedback that I have ever seen, on several reef sites!!! I personally had a bad experience as well.

 

[wharris]

Do not deal with this site. They are a complete disaster with more negative feedback that I have ever seen, on several reef sites!!! I personally had a bad experience as well.

Now that you mention it I did see a thread on here about a Better Business Bureau report against them. Aparently most of their stuff arrives dead. I was going to order their clown fish anem package then I saw that and ran away.