Please post a reply to this. Cleaner crews.

[S._Hispidus]

Are cleaner crews designed to make your tank look cleaner or are they a waste of money?

[mogurnda]

In short, cleaner crews can be a very good idea. The long answer is that there are lots of permutations, some are better than others.
In theory, you should be able to keep algae growth low by limiting nutrients (NO3, PO4), but cleaners help take care of the algae, uneaten food and crud that inevitably appear.
Things that work well in my hands:
-Astrea snails (diatoms, turf)
-Nassarius snails (debris)
-strombus maculatus (not sure, but they're cute)
-scarlet hermits (nice for cyano and hair algae)
-emerald crabs (although I don't trust them 100%, they eat bubble and hair algae)

Some people are crazy about trochus snails as grazers. Nerites are also supposed to be good, but you have to get a species that will stay in your tank. I didn't and ultimately lost all of them.

Hermits are a subject for endless debate. Some call them murderous and evil, some swear by them. I am in the middle: a few are good. Blue legs tend to go after small snails, but I have found them to be OK as long as they are provided with extra shells, like a mixed bag from Premium Aquatics.

Others may chime in with different opinions, but it seems like most of the cleaner crew packages tend to have too many animals, and I like to pick and choose my livestock.

It would help to know what you have (size, reef or not, age of the tank), and what you're thinking about.

[Boogiechillin]

Yes, most pre-assembled cleanup crew packages contain densities that are inappropriate - go for www.etropicals.com or www.justphish.com and make your own, with an emphasis on snail diversity and reduced #s of hermits. I'm definitely a trochus snail fan versus astrea - trochus tend to ship better, live longer, and are less likely to flip over and die due to an inability to right themselves.

[OrionGirl]

Keep in mind that cleaner crews are not appropriate for all fish--many fish will make a snack of a cleaner crew. And, inverts shouldn't be added to a tank that has existing problems--some are sensitive to water parameters.

[kreblak]

Cleanup crews definitely have a place in most tanks. I have found my snails to be invaluable in clearing nuisence algae, and my hermits do a wonderful job of nailing any leftover food before it begins to rot. If you have any lionfish or triggers, though, you might want to be careful, as these fish (and others) may make a meal out of your inverts.