My possible Clean up Crew, does this look good?

[roka64]

Current inhabitants in "my info" button.

Does anyone see any problems/issues with these folks?

Abalone 2
Chestnut Cowre 1
Keyhole limpet Snail 1
Bumble Bee Snail 10
Nassarius Snail 15
Nerite Snail 15
Cerith Snail 15
Sand sifting star 1

Later to remove damsels, add Tiger Pistol Shrimp/hi-fin red banded goby

Would the sand sifters bother the shrimp/goby's borough?

Also, after acclimating the sea star, how do I get it in my tank without exposing it to the air?

Thanks!

[Marc118]

Id get 2 sand stars, I have 2 in my 30g and they usually cover opposite sides of the tank.

Bumble bee's and Nassarius eat the same so are you just looking for some diversity in color? From what I gather turbo snails will work faster than Nerites but they will also grow extremely fast. I think that with the other snails the Cerith will be left with no food, unless you have a hair algea problem.

[roka64]

you have a hair algea problem

Yup, my two urchins munch this pretty well. I was thinking of possibly adding a long spined urchin.

you just looking for some diversity in color?

Yes (color+little miss=YES) LOL!!

I could reduse the numbers if need be. I would like a nice balance, so no one starves.

[austinsdad]

Nver had much luck with sand sifter stars. They seem to deplete their food source rather quickly and die fast. The nassarius snails will be just fine for the sand.

[Marc118]

As long as there is hair algea I think the cerith will be good, they scavange when there is none to eat but I was just thinking with all the other snails they might not get food.

The only thing about turbo snails I dislike is they sometimes leave swirl marks on the glass. Not a big deal if you clean your glass often like me. They are very fast and keep my rock sparkling clean. Just make sure your rock is secure as when some of these snails get large they tend to push things over.

[roka64]

clean your glass often like me.

LOL! Yep, that's me. I clean about once a week. I'm starting to like it.

So I should reduce the total of all my snails?

[Marc118]

Nope.

If you look at cleaner packs you will find that they are sending out a lot more than you plan on having. I think its a good place to start and if you end up needing more you can always order them.

[roka64]

Cool, I just didn't want snails crawling all over the place!

[Marc118]

Here is the 50g cleaner crew from marinedepot

20 - Cerith Snails
10 - Nassarius Snails
10 - Nerite Snails
01 - Sand Sifting Starfish
01 - Brittle Starfish
15 - Mexican Turbo Snails
35 - Mexican Red Leg Hermits
01 - Cleaner Shrimp
01 - Common Cleaner Wrasse

Here is the LiveAquaria 55g crew

Reef
15 - Trochus Snail
11 - Super Tongan Nassarius Snail
22 - Cerith Snail
18 - Scarlet Reef Hermit Crab

Algea
10 - Scarlet Hermit Crabs
20 - Mexican Turbo Snails
35 - Dwarf Red Tip Hermit
2 - Abalone
1 - Court Jester Goby

Good reference, seeing how they all differ from the companies.

[roka64]

Yeah, I was looking at those and trying to mix and match for color and effeciency, with little overlap to prevent starving.