clean up crew?

[rainn626]

hey guys, i have a 29 gal tank with 2 clowns, a watchman goby, and a brittle starfish (planning on getting a coral banded shrimp) i dont have a lr cause i can't get it here in hawaii.
recently my 5 turbo snails died, not sure why...
what should i get for my new clean up crew and how much?
thanks

 

[emporer angel]

it depends on whether you like snails on your glass. i personally dont like the look of a snail crawling up the glass. so i get a bunch of hermits and maybe 5 snails. its up to you. in your tank maybe 15 hermits, 5 turbo, 5 nassarius. the nass stay under the sand most of the time. they look cool but i hardly ever see mine.
their is also shrimp. you could get a CB shrimp. maybe a mated pair. their is also cleaner, fire, and peppermint. cleaner shrimp clean your fish and will even clean ich. but they are quite expensive for a shrimp because of that reason.

 

[lacyqueen]

What is your temp. and SG?
I personally prefer snails to hermit crabs. Snails seem to do a better job of keeping the tank clean. If you have snails and hermits together, the hermits will kill the snails for their shells. I have even seen hermits pick on my Nassarius snails.
I think a good cleanup crew should include a couple of Emerald crabs, a few Super Tongan Nassarius snails, some Banded Trochus snails and a few Astrea turbo snails. Maybe a few Scarlet hermit crabs.

 

[aztec reef]

Originally Posted by rainn626
hey guys, i have a 29 gal tank with 2 clowns, a watchman goby, and a brittle starfish (planning on getting a coral banded shrimp) i dont have a lr cause i can't get it here in hawaii.
recently my 5 turbo snails died, not sure why...
what should i get for my new clean up crew and how much?
thanks
Before you decide what to get next, i would recomend to buy good testing kits(if you don't already have them) test parameters and salinity..snails are really sensitive when it comes to salinity fluctuations and they prefer an average of 1.024- 1.026...

 

[aquaguy24]

yeah u should figure out why ur 5 snails died then think about gettin a new clean up crew..i'd suggest 4 or 5 mex. turbo snails and 5 hermits..and 2 emarald crabs..but its up to you..add them slowly and if u need more then get more...i hear a lot of bad things about coral banded shrimp..especially if u already have some other kind of shrimp like a cleaner shrimp..they might fight..

 

[rainn626]

sorry it took so long to reply been busy lately...
thank all of you for your advice.

i recently did a water change then a couple days later tested the water, looks like my nitrates and nitrites are a little high. but also my water temp has been getting high sometimes during the days, around 86. my SG is at 1.023 and it was about that before the change too.
would a cleaner shrimp eat left over food that has fallen to the sand bed?
also what are the chances of not having enough food to eat for the snails, crabs...?
thanks

 

[aquaguy24]

yeah my cleaner shrimp eats the left over food but my hermits and emarald crabs do a better job at that...

 

[lexluethar]

I agree do not mix Hermit crabs and Nassarius snails - or any other snail. I just found out the hard way that the hermits will kill the snails and use their shells. I have a little hermit crab walking around now w/ a huge snail shell on its back.

 

[rainn626]

Originally Posted by LexLuethar
I agree do not mix Hermit crabs and Nassarius snails - or any other snail. I just found out the hard way that the hermits will kill the snails and use their shells. I have a little hermit crab walking around now w/ a huge snail shell on its back.
what if you put in empty snail shells? still think they will kill the snails for their shell?
will crabs bother starfish and bottom fish such as gobies?