Clean Up Crew

[Gilligan]

Could anyone suggest a clean up crew for a 46 gal tank? And what fish would go well with my two Clarkiis?

 

[goldy]

some starfish,hermit crabs,cleaner shrimp,emerald crab,horseshoe crab but they need open space to run because they are not good swimmers,sea cucmber.

 

[RogerMcAllen]

No horseshoe crab.

 

[steve-s]

Agreed on the horseshoe crab. I would also not suggest the cuke either. The tank still looks somewhat new and cukes as a rule do not do well in younger tanks. Other than water stability, there is rarely enough of a food source to sustain them as yet and would most likely starve.

Here are some good snail choices. Hermits can be beneficial as well but are not "needed" providing the right mix and amount of snails are chosen based on the needs of the tank. If you do opt for hermits, make sure there are plenty of larger empty shells for them to "upgrade" to.

Nassarius great for detritus and the sand bed.
Nerite especially good at film algaes..
Cerith cleans both the glass and the sand bed..
Bumblebees cleans up the uneaten food bits as well as detritus.
Margarita another excellent algae eater...

Cheers
Steve

 

[karma]

Hi - I have some "newbie" questions - why would you not suggest horseshoe crabs? and could any of these snails/crabs survive with a trigger in the tank?

Thanks!

 

[Hara]

horseshoe crabs grow too large to fast and they eat the good things you want growing in your sandbed.

 

[BillyZ]

The main reason Horseshoe crabs are not recomended is that they eat the critters that live in the DSB and after they have eaten everything in your DSB, they will eventually starve. This also destroys the benifits of having a DSB as without the critters your DSB doesn't do much for your tank. The other reason they are not recomended, if you manage to keep them alive, they get enourmus in size and become literal bull dozers. Hope that doesn't dissapoint you too much. as mentioned above, there are plenty of other good members for the clean-up crew.

 

[steve-s]

could any of these snails/crabs survive with a trigger in the tank?

Depends largely on the disposition and species of trigger. Some of the burrowing snails like cerith and nassarius may go unnoticed but it is very likely they would all become a snack sooner or later.

Cheers
Steve