What Are Some Cool Clean-up Crew Members?

bang guy

bang guy

Moderator
Pisces28 said:
im going to order it online along with some more inverts :cool:
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Take care to notice the nutritional value of fish food. For example in your picture (interesting nails there) you'll notice that protein is 4%. Compare that to an equivalently priced Mysis Shrimp which will normally be at least double that of Brine Shrimp.
 
jay0705

jay0705

Well-Known Member
Agreed. Mysis is much better. It just takes draggonets a bit longer to start eating it. Its good hes eating the brine, now its just a slow switch to better stuff
 
jay0705

jay0705

Well-Known Member
Hmm, I know nothing about the area lol but I do know there is an excellent fish store on long island.
 
wen tom

wen tom

Member
Bryce E said:
That's fine... If you actually see them eating it. My shrimp only eat fresh/frozen food like mysis, brine, blood worms, chopped fish etc..

What size tank is the sailfin currently in? Because they need a much larger tank than your 29 gallon... but anyways. Aside from all that... You definitely have a fair amount of rock... I'd say you're going to be able to add up to a dozen hermits to that tank... and yes Emerald crabs like Jay said are awesome too. Not only helpful but really fun to watch.

Now people on here may freak out and tell me that is way too many... but lately I've gone heavy on my hermits and it really helps to keep my tank really clean.

Your tank is new and you won't have much algae on your rocks yet so you'll likely have to supplement some food in the tank in order for them to thrive at first. as well as providing extra shells for them (Just watch your water quality and don't overfeed)

As far as water changes go... I recommend 10% to 15% changed weekly. You should start this now since your tank has just got done cycling you are going to want to remove the excess nitrates. I believe that the strict water changes... especially in a smaller tank has been my only reason for success.

And don't look at adding a Green Mandarin to that tank unless you have an established copepod population... unless you see one at a store eating frozen/prepared foods already. But even if you add them now It will also be unlikely that copepods are going to have an opportunity to establish themselves and take off in the tank with the current presence of the Scooter Blenny.
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That brings up a question for me. I have someone trying to off a 300 gallon tank. Told them I'm having enough time issues keeping up with my 75 gal. (doing well but it does absorb much time) They told me, "more water, less upkeep". Is this true?
Also just got some turbos last night, only one is up and moving. How many days do I keep them in there and when do say "uncle and toss them? thank you very much!
 
lmforbis

lmforbis

Well-Known Member
I'd say yes and no. Larger water volume is easier to keep stable. You certainly can have more, bigger fish in 300 vs 75. You have more flexiblity with timing. You can put things off a couple days with out the tank being impacted in a negative way. The down side is there is more to clean. Water changes are bigger, you need more RODI water, you need more salt. equiptment for a 300 needs to be bigger and is going to cost more and use more electricity. In both cases as the tank matures the upkeep decreases. You get know your tank and can pick up on signals.
I really don't put much time into my tank anymore. Things are going smoothly everybody in it is healthy and seem comfortable. I have come up with ways to do the maintainence faster. I realistically put less than hour each week into maintainence on my 125 with water changes and testing. I spend way more time just looking at it.
I think it has more to do with what you want your tank to be. If you want to be able to keep tangs and other big fish you are going to want a big tank if you want a reef with small fish a 75 is probably perfect.
 
pegasus

pegasus

Well-Known Member
wen tom said:
That brings up a question for me. I have someone trying to off a 300 gallon tank. Told them I'm having enough time issues keeping up with my 75 gal. (doing well but it does absorb much time) They told me, "more water, less upkeep". Is this true?
Also just got some turbos last night, only one is up and moving. How many days do I keep them in there and when do say "uncle and toss them? thank you very much!
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I'll take it... I'd love to have a 300 gallon tank! All new tanks require a lot of attention... and dedication. As the tank matures, and the hobbyist too, things start to slow down. Maintenance routines get streamlined, and once things become stabilized, it frees up a lot more time to actually enjoy the tank instead of working on it. It can be a long, slow process to get to that point, but one day you'll suddenly notice that things have gotten much easier. It's like any other hobby in that it takes awhile getting to the point where you know what to look for, and know how to respond to different circumstances.

As for your snails, the acclimation process can make a huge difference in how quickly they become active, as well as whether they live or die. Snails shipped in water need to be slow acclimated. Preferably by slow drip acclimation. Snails shipped in little water only need to be temp acclimated for 15-20 minutes, and released into the tank. It's not uncommon for snails to take a few days to become active. Typically, if a snail is dead, the operculum (flap over opening) will be gone. If the flap is still over the opening, then it's a waiting game...
 
wen tom

wen tom

Member
Thanks. Everyone is healthy and happy. I probably spend a bit more time than that because I aptasia hunt every week. (got some on a little coral and have not had any luck getting totally rid of it since. Yep, I've done peppermint shrimp galore!) I have noticed myself actually watching and enjoying without looking for a problem just recently. I'm a worrier. Just want everybody happy and thought, "wow, how they'd love to swim around in a tank that size!" Mines about 2 1/2 yrs old. Reef and fish. Are the water changes the same for 300 gal? (10% weekly)
 
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