Clean Up Crew

[OgreMkV]

Interesting... I'm curious what others think of this article. I like it in principle, but I'm not sure how applicable it would be to me. If I put a 6 inch sand bed in my tank, I'll lose about 13% of my volume.

Do I want a true ecosystem... yes. Can it be done in my small tank... probably not.

However, I will keep the article in mind... especially how to identify useful snails and other inverts.

!??!? No shrimp but pistol shrimp!?!?

 

[lanimret]

Of all the mistakes I made getting started here with my 75g, I think i managed pretty well on the cleanup crew because I did it in phases.

Started with 6 mexican turbo's, 2 emerald mythrax crabs (mostly for entertainment value tbh), 2 cleaner shrimps, one peppermint.

Added 6 more snails as the algae increased. etc

At this point I think my CUC is complete and pretty much balanced with:

20 mexican turbo's
6 cone turbo's
15 astrea snails
4 nasarius snails
3 emerald mythrax
2 cleaner shrimp
2 peppermint shrimp
about 90 dwarf blue leg hermits ($.25 each!)

I also have a lettuce nudi, a banded coral shrimp, and a sally lightfoot crab, and all seem healthy and well fed.

That was probably about 6 phases or so of adding things over several week periods as algae and detritus looked uncontrolled.

 

[AnnetteG]

Interesting... I'm curious what others think of this article. I like it in principle, but I'm not sure how applicable it would be to me. If I put a 6 inch sand bed in my tank, I'll lose about 13% of my volume.

Do I want a true ecosystem... yes. Can it be done in my small tank... probably not.

However, I will keep the article in mind... especially how to identify useful snails and other inverts.

!??!? No shrimp but pistol shrimp!?!?

I read thru the article and I agree with the tank setup time line In Principle. I didn't stick to anything close to that in my current tank, but I am coming closer in the new tank. I like to buy established rock and sand from people locally breaking down their tanks, so that makes a difference, IMHO.

I would miss my hermits for their cuteness and entertainment value, but I don't plan on adding any to the new tank. That could change though. I do want a Hawaiian Strawberry crab though. I am almost as much of an invert lover as I am fish and corals though, so I have many of mine because I like them and I feed to feed them too, I don't expect them to live on algae alone. I don't have an algae problem though. I think something (Purple lobster probably) ate my emerald crabs as I haven't seen them in ages, but they weren't eating the bubble algae I do have anyway, so no great loss, IMO. I didn't buy them anyway, they came with rocks I bought from other people. My cleaner shrimp died after his last molt, he had also come with rocks I bought from someone else. I haven't replaced him yet because I haven't decided what I want, but I don't have shrimp for CUC anyway, they're for fun and because they're pretty. I do have a pistol shrimp or two, that hitchhiked in with my FL rocks. Never seen them, only hear them. The Purple "reef" lobster probably wouldn't be recommended by most either, but again, he's beautiful and a character - when I see him - so I love him. I mean, how anyone can resist owning a Purple & Orange LOBSTER, is beyond me. LOL

I also have 3 sand sifting gobies, which I won't do again. I love them and they're adorable, but it bugs me that I am limited as to coral placement because they drop sand all over everything or bury anything that is on the bottom of the tank.

 

[OgreMkV]

Would a cucumber do the same thing as your gobies or is that too much for a 46g?

 

[alpha123]

Definitely overkill. Start with 1/4 of what they are trying to sell.

 

[Almondsaz]

Cucumbers and sandsifting stars should never be added to a new system...they will starve and die. Also, need to be careful about adding a lettuce nudi becuase they are specific about what they eat and if there is no hair algae in the tank they too will starve. The best strategy is to start with a little and add as the specifics (algage growth and type) warrant.