Cleaner Package

[jon770]

I have a 75 gallon and had an ick wipeout and this time around I want to make sure I have enough cleaners to take care of any problems. I also got a UV Sterilizer for when there is an outbreak or when I get new fish (I realize after reading past posts that people are 50-50 when it comes to UVs in a reef tank...but I got it anyway and won't run it 24/7).
So right now I have a cleaner shrimp and wanted to get 1 more. I also wanted to get 2 blood red fire shrimp. Will all 4 of these be ok in the tank together? I'm not sure what the limit on shrimp is - or their compability...
A guy who works at my lfs says he has like 15 cleaner shrimp in his 55 gallon, which I thought was WAY excessive. But I don't know what else he has in there...maybe it's an all shrimp tank, who knows

 

[marineman]

the cleaner shrimp will help with ick control but maintaining excellent water quality and the use of a q-tank are even more important factors. I think 4-5 shrimp will be fine if there are lots of rock crevices for them to hide in! you will need to give them extra food and add iodine to your water to assist with proper molting of their exoskeleton as they grow.

 

[jon770]

ok.
When shopping for shrimp, do the bigger ones do better jobs of cleaning? For the money - I always try to get the biggest ones, but then I'm afraid it will get a little stuffy in the tank with all their huge antennas.
Should I just go for the smaller ones (1 inch), or get the larger ones (2 inch+)?

 

[guineawhop]

they grow pretty fast so it's fine if you want to get the smaller ones. if they are cheaper i would definitely go for them. if they are same price go for the bigger ones.