Clean up crew advice.

[Clownfish25]

Hello, right now my tank is in the beginning stages of the nitrogen cycle. I am looking for advice on enlisting a good clean up crew. I am thinking, a peppermint shrimp, a skunk(doctor)shrimp, and a tiger striped conch should do the trick. Let me know what ya think and what kind of clean up crew you have. In my tank I plan on getting a Clownfish and possibly a Mandarin Goby.

 

[Sharklover]

You should get some hermits and snails

 

[bmdub]

I hope you plan on getting the mandarin well down the road? They are very difficult to keep and need lots of pods to eat (which will not be plentiful in a new tank). I agree with some snails and hermits too.

 

[Clownfish25]

I hope you plan on getting the mandarin well down the road? They are very difficult to keep and need lots of pods to eat (which will not be plentiful in a new tank). I agree with some snails and hermits too.

Yeah that is what I have heard. The mandarin is the fish my wife wants. What would be a great starter fish to go along with a clownfish.
Also about how many snails would u get for a 38 gallon tank?

 

[Clownfish25]

Yeah that is what I have heard. The mandarin is the fish my wife wants. What would be a great starter fish to go along with a clownfish.
Also about how many snails would u get for a 38 gallon tank?

Is a tiger striped conch a good clean up crew member?

 

[cmor1701d]

You might want to check with Reef Cleaners, one of our sponsor about a proper clean up crew.

IMO, mandarins don't belong in a 38 gallon aquarium due to their feeding requirements. However, in the past couple of years ORA has been selling captive raised Mandarins trained to eat prepared frozen food, so some folks are successfully keeping them in smaller tanks. They are still considered an expert-only fish.

Good luck with the tank.

 

[Clownfish25]

You might want to check with Reef Cleaners, one of our sponsor about a proper clean up crew.

IMO, mandarins don't belong in a 38 gallon aquarium due to their feeding requirements. However, in the past couple of years ORA has been selling captive raised Mandarins trained to eat prepared frozen food, so some folks are successfully keeping them in smaller tanks. They are still considered an expert-only fish.

Good luck with the tank.

Thanks, I checked that website they recommended

30 Dwarf Ceriths - small effective cleaners
11 Nassarius
12 Florida Ceriths
2 Assorted Smaller Conchs, (Bear, Tiger, etc..)
3 Banded Trochus
4 Large Nerite and 7 Small to medium Nerites

That seems like a lot do I really need that many?

 

[Nu-Nu the eel]

Way to much. They just want you to buy more, that is just a joke in my opinion. 30 g right? Somewhere around there? Anyways, get like 10-15 snails and 10-15 hermits and call it a day. Get crabs and shrimp if you want but they are more for looking at then they are for cleaning algea

 

[EriksFish315]

Yeah reef cleaners gave me a preposterous number for my 55g CUC it's a sales technique to get you to believe it and buy more.

 

[cmor1701d]

All packages from all retailers are meant for fully stocked tanks, not tanks just starting out. When I said to contact the site I meant that literally. Leave a message for John Maloney, or PM here with your tank details and what you are looking for. Though that package isn't bad for a 38 once it's stocked and running.

The problem is that you need to start small and build up as you add to the bioload. Shipping costs will get you going that way. So it may make sense to start with a larger than needed CUC knowing you will need to feed the CUC till the bioload increases.

Peppermint and other shrimp are great for clean up crews (left over food). They are about the only thing with claws that I allow in my tank these days.

 

[EriksFish315]

What eats the detritus?

 

[Clownfish25]

All packages from all retailers are meant for fully stocked tanks, not tanks just starting out. When I said to contact the site I meant that literally. Leave a message for John Maloney, or PM here with your tank details and what you are looking for. Though that package isn't bad for a 38 once it's stocked and running.

The problem is that you need to start small and build up as you add to the bioload. Shipping costs will get you going that way. So it may make sense to start with a larger than needed CUC knowing you will need to feed the CUC till the bioload increases.

Peppermint and other shrimp are great for clean up crews (left over food). They are about the only thing with claws that I allow in my tank these days.

Thanks I was just wondering . I will definitely have to PM him.

 

[fouldsy]

You should get some hermits and snails

From my understanding, this can become problematic when the hermits decide to up and move house and go hunting for a new shell, no? I have a CUC (from Reef Cleaners) that includes dwarf ceriths and nassaurius (I'm pretty sure hermit crabs wouldn't take on the nerites or ceriths, maybe they would...), but I'm cautious about mixing in some hermit crabs. Sure, you can throw in some empty shells, but how do the hermits know which ones are empty without poking around and deciding they've already found one, just needs to get this living snail out...? Blue and red legged hermit crabs do look pretty cool, but I thought you should have either/or - either a CUC of crabs or a CUC of snails.

 

[mr_X]

Hermits can and will kill most any snail. It doesn't matter if you have empty shells or not. They simply kill snails from instinct.

 

[fouldsy]

That's what I figured, thanks. I just wanted to get clarification so the OP is aware to stick to one CUC line-up or another. And to make sure I'm right in keeping hermits outta my tank

 

[Clownfish25]

Just started my clean up crew for my 38g , right now I have 6 asteras snails and a peppermint shrimp. Will I have to get empty shells for the snails? Do they grow out of them like hermits?

 

[EriksFish315]

No snails grow there shell