cleanup crew

[Cheech]

Hello...


So after the crash, I've been working on a plan to set up my tank again, from scratch, and I don't want to make any mistakes whatsoever...


what are your oppinions on a very good and sufficient cleanup crew for a 90 gallon reef?



Thanks for any ideas/suggestions...

[kreblak]

Clean up crew for a 90, huh? I love inverts, so I would get the following:

10 blue legged hermits
10 red legged hermits
10 astrea snails
5 turbo snails
10 combination of cerith and nerite
1 Emerald crab
1 or 2 cleaner shrimp (I prefer candy stripe cleaners)


That combination will give you excellent cleaning power on a variety of pest organisms. If you want to stick to the 1 cleaner per gallon guideline, then double the numbers I put up. Personally, I feel that 40-50 cleaners is sufficient for a 90.

[Cheech]

Thank you very much... :)

Is that all I need? how come those 90 gallon packages that you see on any web site have so much more stuff in them ??


Shouldn't I also need a starfish or two?
And a sea cucumber?
I was also told that urchins help a lot too....


Thanks again.. :)

[Guy W]

I think the size of your cleanup crew is really dictated by the requirement so of your system. I would start off small and play it by ear. If it appears that you need more then get some more. But the worst thing you can do is get more than your system can handle, and watch them die off from starvation.

Guy

[mogurnda]

You might also think about a serpent star or two. They are cool creatures, and are good scavengers for stuff under and between the rocks.
You might think about getting a package, but sized to a smaller tank. They tend to have too many animals. As Guy said, some will starve or eat things you don't want them to if they are hungry. Also, they are animals and will add bioload, working against your efforts to keep nitrate and phosphate down.

[kreblak]

The critters I suggested are all hardy and able to thrive in an unmature tank. Urchins have specific dietary needs that a new tank simply cannot meet. Some starfish will do well, provided you have enough live rock and they can scavenge. Like Guy and Dave said, often times those invert packages have WAY too many critters in them. The best thing to do is play it by ear, and if you need more, get more. I would definitely wait on the starfish or urchins, though.

[Cheech]

Cool....


thanks for all the suggestions.. I'll do as was suggested, and go slowly... Play it by ear... I'll start off with the hardier stuff, and take it from there./...



thanks again... :)

[widdledink]

I just got a Lawnmower blennie and he is amazing. You may want to add one to your clean up crew. Mine has been pigging out on the hair algea as well as the other kinds of algea on my rocks. A must IMHO plus he is the wildest looking fish in the tank.

[mogurnda]

So your blenny is better now? Good to hear it!