HELP! Clean up Crew recommendation ?

Crazy Bunny

New Member
Hello all the expert out there,

is there any CUC that won't shift rocks ?
I have a 20 gallons and the way I put rocks are not really solidly nailed in.

I mainly will use this Nano to stock corals and invert.

Please advise
 

Uncle99

Well-Known Member
Snails
Astrea for the glass and rocks, nassarius if you have substrate of at least 1 inch.
I never use crabs of any kind
Keep in mind that CUC may help to control but you have to put in your part too.
 

Crazy Bunny

New Member
Snails
Astrea for the glass and rocks, nassarius if you have substrate of at least 1 inch.
I never use crabs of any kind
Keep in mind that CUC may help to control but you have to put in your part too.

Thank you so much to your input Uncle,
Yeah I know that nothing beat my pair of hands and all those fingers. lol.
I don't mind to have Snails. But aren't they will shift my rock work ?

I heard something about Bittle star ?
any advise of that Uncle ?

Thanks as always
Bunny
 

Uncle99

Well-Known Member
I doubt they could move a rock. If your is so unbalanced this is a danger that if they fall, they break the glass. Be careful
Brittle star, aka serpent star, usually hide all the time and can get quite large. I guess so but will likely take out the snails and other slow movers.
Had one, and not no more.
 

Uncle99

Well-Known Member
Sorry, I have never been very successful with CUC.
They usually did a poor job so I fired them, except the snails. Sometimes like crabs did more damage than they were worth.
So I spend all my time working with water quality and very very small feed amounts.
 

Crazy Bunny

New Member
no not at all Uncle.
I mean a lot of time, elbow grease are way better and can fix thing right away with no aftermath effect of any sort. ;-)

Bunny
 

nanoreefing4fun

Well-Known Member
RS STAFF
I love snails for cuc ! Mine keep my tank 99.5% algae free... around one per gallon is what I like

Asterea, Trochus, Cerith, Nerites, Margarita, Nassarius and Mexican Turbos

You can start off a new tank 1/2 this many, than add more in a month or two.

Checkout RS sponsor Reef Cleaners CUC with free shipping - below one example - owner John a great guy !

https://www.reefcleaners.org/aquarium-store/quick-crew-10-gallon
 

DaveK

Well-Known Member
The first thing you want to do is to redo the rock work so any livestock you add, including the clean up crew, can't shift the rocks. This may mean constructing an internal structure or gluing the rocks together with super glue gel.

As for adding the CUC, since you have a smaller tank, you should be able to get enough from your LFS at a reasonable price.

I usually prefer snails, but also add red leg hermit crabs. Crabs do work, but you do need to be careful as they sometimes go after snails.

I like the list of snails posted by @nanoreefing4fun but I'd avoid the Mexican Turbos in your tank since they get very large.

The one snail per gallon is not a bad rule, but it's fine to start with less and add to them as needed. Mix the snail species as much as you can.
 

Uncle99

Well-Known Member
Yup, the cleaner shrimp is an excellent addition as suggested by nanoreefing4fun, these can smell food fast and move quickly to eat it.

I support DaveK as his answers are always very good. If possible, always go a bit slow in adds, so you can see who does what and how good they do. Then the additions are easier.

So there you go Bunny, lots of solid advice. Good luck from your friends!
 

Crazy Bunny

New Member
Thank you SO MUCH for all the great input.
I am sure that I will have some red or blue legs hemit in. as for snails, I might just go for maybe 2 on it since I have tons on my planted tank. lol.
am just grow tired to look at them. But am sure when the Hemit need new house will fun to see... lol.
I will also go slow.
Thanks again for all the expertise !
I will post pic later. ;-)

Bunny the crazy one.
 

subsea

Member
oh man !! I have learned a ton from this site !!
Thanks a million !!!!!!!!!!!

Reef cleaners has much information. For macro algae info, I recommend Russ Kronwetter at Gulf Coast EcoSystem. At his website, click on free info for the most pragmatic comprehensive coverage of macro algae available anywhere. I think his site is live-plants.com
 
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