cleaning crew ?

[Blossom112]

what should i have for a cleaning crew 90gl going to be reef.
IM thinking some sexy shrimp .
but other then that i havent a clue in what to choose.
Thanks
will be getting a crew or partial crew on weekend

[cav]

Snails. Ceriths, Turbos, Trochus, Nassarius. They are all good, especially certihs as they move your sand bed around. I'd give your tank a little while yet before adding shrimp though.

[cav]

Here is a link to the sticky about clean up crews:

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=84749

[Ace25]

Check out etropicals.com to get an idea of what is out there. I just placed an order from them last night, had some really good deals. $1 hermits, were as at any LFS around me it is 6 for $15.

I recommend cerith snails to clean the sand, turbo snails for the glass, skunk cleaner shrimp is a must in any tank I think, hermits to clean the rocks, and maybe a different type of crab for looks.. sally lightfoot, emerald, porcelain, etc. Brittle/serpent stars are an option as well (just not the green brittle star).

If it were me, I would start out with 5 cerith, 3 turbo, 10 hermits as the main workers to get you started. Anything else is optional at this point.. watch those and see what else you may need/want.

[Blossom112]

Thanks
Ilooked at the url and so wanted to order but no shipping to canada ...
i will get just that and see
i would like a porcelain and the blue star but i will wait about 4 to 6 month for those.

[WoodRight]

I don't know about your tank but I know ours and I can say that I think we might have gotten our first wave CUC to soon. There really wasn't/isn't that much algae in our tank. I was feeding them a bit to make sure they had enough to eat. Now that we just got some new rock they are all over it. So I don't know what shape your tank is in as far as algae blooms but I would wait if you don't have much algae, or maybe just a few hermits and the sexy shrimp. Just cause they are so cool. One of ours is pregnant. :O) She is a Fat A*& now. LOL we read how to breed them but can't this time. It's OK though we know they are a pair cause they were doing it in the bag when we floating it from the LFS. They were also in a breeding cube together at the store so that's cool.

[nycsicktank]

dont think too fast there buddy, there be more things to deal later on. this is the time when you need to focus little more, you will have to deal with diatom, green algae, probably red slim. good luck

[WoodRight]

Oh I know but thought that we would have had a least the diatoms by now not that I'm asking for it but am waiting for it.

[Ace25]

Ya, without fish it doesn't happen fast. As soon as you add the first fish though... that is when things start to get interesting. Once you get the diatoms started, if you don't stay on top of it quickly you then get green algae, hair algae, cyano (red slime)..

It really does come down to watching your tank yourself and adding the CUC accordingly and quickly.

[nycsicktank]

oh you will soon! it looks nasty and ugly. wait until you mess with red slime(PITA) too arghhhhhh

[rxdoc_85]

i have a banded sea serpent star, and i love him. i'd definitely recommend having one in your tank. he's pretty reclusive, but extremely peaceful and i love seeing him occasionally come out and scan the top of the sand bed for detritius/extra pieces of food. he's grown quite a bit since i got him, and they're reasonably priced on top of it all...i actually got him at petco:eek:, but he's worked out great and was only $7.99. oh yeah, and he's really good about eating any livestock that dies. saves me digging a corpse out of the tank...

[Blossom112]

well our tank is pretty grose , brown and now green is starting
The brown is everyehere ,and i think dead worms are littering our LR and sand (stick like things that dont move)
and something is laying eggs .
i think we will start with ace's recomendation ,and feed like woodright did a tad "just in case "
and of course 2 sexy shrimp too keep us happy for 4 to 6 months b4 we put anything else in .We just want something untill then

what is CUC?

[Ace25]

CUC = Clean Up Crew

[Blossom112]

DUH ...........thanks
I really trust your suggestions ......as you seem as smart as my hubby .and im gonna get hubby to build your invention ,moonlight :-)
i will get what u say but i really have to get the sexy shrimp lol
Which ones eat the diatoms ? we have that covering everything .
Thanks

[nycsicktank]

nass and cerith snails eats diatom, also flow can help.

[WoodRight]

We are getting some green algae but the CUC crew is getting it before it can grow. As far as Red Slim Algae goes, Ashlee has it in her other tank and i know how bad it looks. I just thought that the diatoms came at the end of the cycle? That's why I thought something was going on or wrong.

[Blossom112]

i will have to check your post out and see what you all got lol
going to head to bed thanks all
im excited finally in 4 days if everything goes well ......
and we will be doing our first water change on the weekend .....
That should be interesting lol

We got our tank used and i didnt clean the overflow ... so we got it from the other guy lol

[Ace25]

You know, I have read that Nas snails eat diatoms but from experience have never seen it. They come out when you feed, eat any food that lands near them, then bury themselves back in the sand. They really don't do much cleaning at all. That is the reason I didn't recommend them. I have some in my tank now.. and while they are cool to watch.. they are just not very helpful.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2341/2208496192_2be0075e4f.jpg

[nycsicktank]

honestly i didnt see mine eating too. only when they bury them self (cleans diatom)
for food and fish poop, they the best lol

[Grins]

I don't consider sexy shrimp of porcelain crab clean up crew at all. The porcelain is a filter feeder so unless it is a small particle in the water column it isn't going to be eating it. Not sure if you have seen how small that sexy shrimp are either but do know that there is a good chance you'll not see them very much in a 90g. Same is true for a porcelain.

I'd also avoid the blue linkia I risked one and it injured itself and never recovered and I regret ever putting such a beautiful creature in a tank that I may not have even had the right food source for. There are many sources that will tell you that they have no idea what the eat. Pretty darn difficult to make sure you can keep it healthy with that considered.

Some of the worms could be tube worms and could be alive.

For diatoms in a 90g I'd suggest ceriths and turbos. I'd get some nassiarus after a bit longer but not to eat what you see on top, but rather to eat what you don't see in the sand. I have a florida fighting conch as well, they are great for the sandbed and with a 90g you may really enjoy one as well.

I do agree with what others have said about not trying to stock all your clean up crew at once as well.

[Blossom112]

so my choice is
5 cerith,3 turbo,10 hermits,2 nasiarus
and maybe not sure yet
1 banded sea surpant star
1 florida fighting conch
2 sext shrimp

sound good ?

[Ace25]

Personally, I wouldn't get a conch. I tried one and it didn't last long.


Keep in mind that the Fighting Conch has a voracious appetite; as such, supplemental feeding is required in smaller systems and recommended in even the largest aquarium setups.

I didn't have enough food in my sand for it so it starved, even with seaweed and other food available. I think they are like the sandsifting stars, just not as bad. They need a lot of sand area and will clean the life out of the sand fairly quickly.

Sexy shimp is just for looks, they really won't do much for cleaning, and I have my doubts they will survive long in a big tank like yours. At first, without predators, ya, they will probably be fine, but once you add fish all bets are off. I am thinking of a pair myself for my 10G frag tank just because I love the looks of Woodrights sexy shrimp.

Cleaners you listed and star is fine.. and the sexys will be for a while. Your call on the conch, but I would wait a little bit until you really started to have diatom outbreaks going in your sand. Right now, the clean up crew you listed will take care of the small amount you may have now.

[Blossom112]

thanks ace .
I will note that on the SS ,but i really am not interested in fish yet ,but good to know

[7faces]

i thought all starts were bad?....
dont they devoure all life from the sand bed then die?
if not...wich ones are safe?

[Ace25]

Serpent/Brittle stars are safe, except for the green brittle star, it grows too big. Velvet/Linkia stars are very expert stars and usually die under mosts aquariest care.

Sandsifting stars are not safe as they need a huge area of sand to survive and will eat your sandbed clean. Chocolate chip stars are not reef safe, but ok in FOWLR. They do get big though so they require a big tank.

[Grins]

Really Ace? Mine eats up a storm and is one of my favorite things in the tank. I've heard lots of success stories. Maybe your tank was just too new at the time?

Blossom, I think that is a good list but no need to get it all at once. Just get something for the issues you encounter and slowly build the crew up.

[Ace25]

I have tried 2 in the last year. Neither one made it past a month. There could be any number of reasons they didn't make it.. not sure what caused them to die. Then again, I tried a horseshoe crab before that... made it about 4 months. I don't have enough sand area for the bigger types of sand cleaners in my tank.

For her tank though, a conch would probably be ok, later on. There probably isn't enough food in there yet, especially if she adds the other cleaners. In a few months I bet it would do good.

[salty420]

I don't consider sexy shrimp of porcelain crab clean up crew at all. The porcelain is a filter feeder so unless it is a small particle in the water column it isn't going to be eating it. Not sure if you have seen how small that sexy shrimp are either but do know that there is a good chance you'll not see them very much in a 90g. Same is true for a porcelain.

I'd also avoid the blue linkia I risked one and it injured itself and never recovered and I regret ever putting such a beautiful creature in a tank that I may not have even had the right food source for. There are many sources that will tell you that they have no idea what the eat. Pretty darn difficult to make sure you can keep it healthy with that considered.

Some of the worms could be tube worms and could be alive.

For diatoms in a 90g I'd suggest ceriths and turbos. I'd get some nassiarus after a bit longer but not to eat what you see on top, but rather to eat what you don't see in the sand. I have a florida fighting conch as well, they are great for the sandbed and with a 90g you may really enjoy one as well.

I do agree with what others have said about not trying to stock all your clean up crew at once as well.

i do not know anything about the conch but i pretty much agree with gins on everything else here. i also love sexy shrimp but i've always felt a trio would be better suited for a smaller reef, jmo tho. the blue linkia is so awesome but very difficult to keep alive, i just got a orange that is known to be much hardier. a good mix of snails is best for a CUC. but like the others said, you need to get it slowly. i also like to have hermit crabs for the rock, just have extra shells in the tank for them so they are less likely to dine on the snails.

[Grins]

Well true, with your size sandbed and everything else you have in there maybe it wasn't getting enough food. Mine, "Lelia" has been in the tank since last April and has probably doubled in size since. I did make sure there was food in there for her before adding her and have even seen her on the halmedia eating pods. She is fun to watch, can do a back flip, moves faster than you'd think and can kick some hermit crab bootie. :lipssealedsmilie:

[WoodRight]

I have to make a comment about Sexy Shrimp. I know there not much for cleaning but they are the best thing to watch in the tank so far. We don't have fish in there yet so I have no idea if they might get eaten or not. They are always out in the open on the rocks. They have even hosted with our Coco worm. I have to say that they have not made it to the other pile of rocks on the other end of the tank but I'm sure some day they will get there.

[Blossom112]

getting closer to put something in lol
amm 0ppm
rites0ppm
rates0ppm
im seeing jumping things on my glass and 3 more featherdusters .
i think maybe i have some barnicles, not sure yet

[nycsicktank]

see if it says like that for another 3 days and some flakes to see if you get ammonia spikes if theres none for another 3 days then your set to go.

[Blossom112]

yes have been adding food .....no amm
I have decided not to get a star just yet .
I did some reading and think i will wait a year or so as they tend to starve to death ,and i cant handle death good lol
so strike that from my list

[Blossom112]

I am so happy ,we finally got some stuff
3 TURBO
10 BLUE legged hermits
1 cleaner shrimp
Apink and white featherduster
and 5 small peices coral , one is a brain ,i havent a clue what the others are ,after we set our rock and get everything placed i will take pic's
i got these peices for practice as they were selling them cheap because damage during shipping .
Delivery of 90gl and daughters 16 gl coming tomorrow
we are excited .
omg i just checked my recipt to try and tell you what i got , 5 peices coral were to be 100 dollars and she only charged us 10 ............woohoooo lmao what a deal
hahaha the feather duster was free too lol dbl fan feather duster

[Ace25]

Sounds like an awesome deal. Watch those "damaged" corals carefully though because if something like the brain is dying, it can release some nasty toxic stuff into your water. If your not running carbon now, I highly suggest you start.

[Blossom112]

great thank you .
if they die it was free ...........lol

[Blossom112]

i have a coral i can not identify
it is tree like blue with beige tips any ideas ?
i think i got a pink cynarina
could you explain how the brain eats , it is brn with neon green .
also i got little green balls with it lol ...............arugg will my hermits eat these?
thanks

[Ace25]

Ummm, pics?

Brain, feed in the morning before lights or at night after the lights go out. Look for the tentacles to come out around the edge of the brain. That is when they will be feeding. You have to target feed them.

Little green balls?? No idea.

[Blossom112]

Thats what i was thinking ,we have a sterilized pop bottle and we are going to place that with a tube for pp,
i think its .........VALONIA AKA BUBBLE ALGAE and it is also on edge of the brain ,hubby and i will try to carefully get them out .
can we safely handle the brain to do this ?
will try and get some pics up tomorrow .

[Ace25]

Ah, I was thinking it was a coral you were asking about.. Ya, bubble algae makes sense now. I hate that stuff with a passion. It is one of the most difficult things to get rid of in a tank I think.

The brain shouldn't cause any problems as far as stinging/toxins unless you have an alergy to them you don't know about. I watched my brain kill a firefish within 10 minutes of putting the firefish in the tank. It was obviously a "special" firefish.. must have rode the short bus to the LFS because after a few minutes of checking the tank out it make a mad dash right for my scolymia with its tentacles fully out in feeding mode. Firefish ran right into the tentacles and immediately was a floater. Never tried another firefish since.

[Blossom112]

Thanks a bunch ace :-)..............
All these so called damaged corals look really good ,poly has 3 heads ,white stalk with beige stems and light green tips ,i like the look.
3 small hairy mushrooms look healthy too ,brn with green also.
The pink one looks kinda brn i will watch them closely but they all look happy .
Testing tonight was amm 0
rite 0
rates 0 , even after feeding .so im please to say day 1 was very stress free and we cant stop looking at the tank .
the best of all the 5 corals and the dbl headed feather duster was free lol.
Hey them turbo snails are awesome , our LR was nice looking when we put it in but looked like crap at the endof cycling. One turbo has almost cleaned a hole rock bringing back the pretty colors lol.
I was nervous getting them , thinking they would starve to death so b4 i let them go off we fed them seaweed delight ,and will give them some every few days just to be sure .
daughter loves them too !

[Ace25]

Ya, turbos are called that for a reason I think.. they turbo clean rocks and glass. They are just a little too big for my size tank. I still have one in my tank, but it still knocks over corals now and again. It is also very old now.. also around 3 years. I used to have 2 but one died last month. The one I have left moves very slowly and doesn't really clean much anymore. It must be about to kick the bucket as well. Still, 3 years of faithful cleaning I can't complain.

Your feather duster sounds more like a coco worm. I don't think I have ever seen a regular feather duster have 2 crown on it. It could be my inexperience with them though and I just haven't looked hard enough to find a dual crowned one.

Your mushrooms, no worry about those. Green hairy ones are nice looking, but get really big. It is almost impossible to kill a mushroom. Heck, some people put them in a blender to make them multiply, although I would never do such a thing. You can also cut them up like a pizza, making sure each piece has a small piece of the mouth on it, and it will regrow. I have never done anything to make my mushrooms spread though, they seem to do it on their own good enough for me.

Seaweed, ya, if you put in a piece when the lights go out, it will always be completely gone by the morning.. turbos will eat that up quick.

[Blossom112]

Funny thing about getting something for the tank .
the one i wanted was assorted and 130 but was beautiful assortment on a fair sized LR ,but someone has it on hold till thursday (awfull)
so i thaught i would get scraps till friday and hope they dont pick it up .
I asked the guy "whats that"? he said , "a brain".
We get home waited untill all were ready about 2 hrs then set them in .
My 6 year old said to me "so if the brain dies everything else will die"
"the tank cant live without the BRAIN "
Out oif the mouths of babes lol :-)
she will have a good story to share in grade 1 on monday i can just imagine !

[Blossom112]

i observed a hermit on the brain ,i was thinking he may have been cleaning it ,so i watched carefully ,no change in the brain ,i woke it was still there and the brain looked ok , after 2 hours tho i noticed the ridges were gone and decided that the brain was stressed and took the hermit off .
The hermit is now inches from the brain again ,looks like i will have to move it to the other side of the tank lol
Was i right to assume this ?
Thanks

[Grins]

It might have an area of receeding tissue and the hermit is cleaning it off.

[Blossom112]

thaanks grin .......i did the wrong thing then .
i kinda figured it was cleaning it but got worried when the brain changed,now i know
thanks

[Grins]

"might" was the key word in my post. Just observe it and if it looks to be doing more harm than good then act.

[Blossom112]

i did my night watching tonight and i think i have a ghost shrimp ,is this a good thing?
It is walking around ,i saw after i shut out the lights .
its really cool ........

[WoodRight]

I know people put them in there tanks so they most not be bad if that is what it is.

[Blossom112]

ty .... i wounder where it came from lol

[Ace25]

I see those in my tank from time to time, and like you, have no idea where they are coming from because they are very few and far between. Doesn't seem like enough to keep populating in the tank, but I guess I am wrong. Never heard of them being bad at all though. At most, they are food for a fish, at the minimum, they will help clean a little.

[Blossom112]

Im so nervous tomorrow is the BIG day ,around 8pm we go to pick up the final batch for some time to come ......
sun coral (yellow) baby heads growing on the side
Hairy tongue
Bubble Coral
Purple mushrooms 6 or 7 with a few polyps attached
1 hairy mushroom
Trumpet coral with about 8 heads.
clove coral
Tiny leather coral
Tiny Devils hand leather
1 blue tip SPS
1 Plate coral
1 LG feather duster on rock
1 XLG Anemone

16 gltank w/filter
nano skimmer
Coralife light
Clowns
we went and got a heater for the 16gl and just getting water ready for it now .
That one will only house the anemone and clowns as it is for my daughter .
she is trying to claim my corals , and is pannicky because her tank wont have a brain lol , guess we better get a brain for her tank b4 she looses sleep over it .
I hope everything goes smoothe tomorrow

[nycsicktank]

Im so nervous tomorrow is the BIG day ,around 8pm we go to pick up the final batch for some time to come ......
sun coral (yellow) baby heads growing on the side
Hairy tongue
Bubble Coral
Purple mushrooms 6 or 7 with a few polyps attached
1 hairy mushroom
Trumpet coral with about 8 heads.
clove coral
Tiny leather coral
Tiny Devils hand leather
1 blue tip SPS
1 Plate coral
1 LG feather duster on rock
1 XLG Anemone

16 gltank w/filter
nano skimmer
Coralife light
Clowns
we went and got a heater for the 16gl and just getting water ready for it now .
That one will only house the anemone and clowns as it is for my daughter .
she is trying to claim my corals , and is pannicky because her tank wont have a brain lol , guess we better get a brain for her tank b4 she looses sleep over it .
I hope everything goes smoothe tomorrow


green words-good luck :eek:

[Grins]

If you're not already planning to I'd run carbon when adding all that at once.

[Blossom112]

yes hubby and i have a list for a few things and i wrote it on the list as soon as ace said carbon ...........it was one thing i forgot saturday ,and tube for a target feeding contraption lol as i can not reach the bottom of my tank even on a chair lol
Thanks again for the reminder .
Im feeling anxiety over getting all this stuff tonight ,but im sure with the 3 of us working together everything will be fine .I forget a lot ,so everytime i get info here i write it in my book and then repeat to hubby .
And he said this site is GREAT and a good thing i have been getting help from everyone here ,you have made it so painless.............THANK YOU !
is everything on that list safe to handle? im guessing the anemone ,and bubble isnt ?
Is there anything that cant come in contact with air?

[Ace25]

Softies are usually ok to expose to air for a short time, like pulling out of the bag to put in your tank. I would not expose the plate to air just as a precaution. The anemone, I handled mine every time I stuck my hand in my tank whether I wanted to or not.. it always grabbed on to me and stuck. Odd feeling at first. They ship anemones in very little water, mostly air in the bag. The SPS and leather I would avoid exposing to air. SPS shouldn't be a problem, but better safe than sorry. Leathers I have read hate being exposed. Bubble corals, that is one that is very fragile. Be very gentle, don't expose it to air, don't cram it into a crevase in your tank, just set it in. Try to find the best place for it before you move it, those are one that don't like being moved around once placed. Both the sun coral and trumpet coral will require target feeding like your brain.

Be careful with the hairy tongue.. those are VERY VERY aggressive corals. Don't place anything within 4" of it.

As for the carbon.. look for Chemi-Pure. It is 100x better than the "cheap" carbon you find at places like PetCo/PetSmart.

[Blossom112]

ty i took notes :-)
heres what i got for free
http://i29.tinypic.com/21c5nad.jpg

[Blossom112]

http://i26.tinypic.com/mtmaon.jpg

[Blossom112]

http://i32.tinypic.com/qysrvp.jpg

[Blossom112]

http://i28.tinypic.com/2uic8t1.jpg

[Blossom112]

what is that last one ?

[Blossom112]

omg this is impossible lol i cant find the other things

[Blossom112]

http://i26.tinypic.com/ei5ov6.jpg

[Blossom112]

that last pic ... is neat when i started feeding , it has 3 mouth's ,i pannicked i thaught i tore it open lol
i will have to move it up higher for the cubed food as i cant reach the bottom of the tank ,it was amazing when it opened !

[Blossom112]

omg we got everything ,and yuck antipasta everywhere...............
the 16 gl needs a cleaning b4 i can set it up .
where to start omg

[7faces]

heh Goodluck!
your a riot!, i always look forward to your posts