cleanup crew for a 12

[gharner]

what would be the best clean up crew for a 12 gallon? i need critters that love algea, haha.

 

[bruder]

I've got 3 zebra hermits, 3 scarlet hermits, 1 nas. snail in my tank right now (14 gal). Hermits did a number on my algae! I am probably going to get a few more snails soon to keep the sand stirred up.
I've heard nothing but great things about sally lightfoots for algae removal...

 

[jacksonpt]

I've got the following:
- 5 zebra hermits
- 3 scarlet hermits
- 1 emerald crab
- 5 nassarius (these are more scavengers than algae eaters though)
- 3 turbos
- 5 ceriths (these are the best for algae, IMO)
will soon be adding a lettuce nudi as well.

 

[nudilove]

I find that Astraea snails are the very best for algae, and can tolerate higher water temperatures. The other snails are highly sensative to anything over 80.
Depending on what tank size you have I would HIGHLY recommend not getting a Lettuce Nudi....They are very fragile and eat more hair algae than most tanks are simply capable of producing. As soon as they finish with what is there it takes a very short time for them to simply starve to death, and they usually do poorly with dried sea weeds.

 

[jacksonpt]

Originally Posted by NudiLove
Depending on what tank size you have I would HIGHLY recommend not getting a Lettuce Nudi....They are very fragile and eat more hair algae than most tanks are simply capable of producing. As soon as they finish with what is there it takes a very short time for them to simply starve to death, and they usually do poorly with dried sea weeds.
ah, that's good to know, thanks. I do have some hair algae in my tank, maybe I'll see if I can "rent" a lettuce nudi from my LFS (I have a pretty good relationship with them).

 

[debbie]

Just make sure to not overstock your tank with critters. If you don't have enought food for them all they won't last long (from experience).

 

[dboehme]

I have lots of green algae in my 12 gal Eclipse tank (on the rocks and I clean the tank walls 1 every 2 weeks), mostly velvety looking. I assume that the Astraea or Cerith snails will take care of that? Currently, I have 2 clown fish, a cleaner shrimp and 4 hermit crabs. Roughly how many snails should I get? Obviously, this will take time to clean up so I don't expect overnight results. As for water values and salinity, everything looks fine.
Thanks,
Doug

 

[demartini]

I have an emerald crab, 2 turbo snails, 3 nass snails, 1 scarlet crab, and a bunch of little hermits. They get the job done in my 14 gallon!

 

[dboehme]

Will the hermit crabs eat the green algae on the rocks then? I have several of them and am deathly afraid of not feeding them enough so I put in algae wafers (probably too often).
Sorry for the noob questions. This is my first salt tank and I followed all the rules on this forum for cycling the live rock, using live sand, etc. but the algae has me stumped.

 

[demartini]

you don't need the algae wafers... you don't need to feed the clean up crew, because they are scavengers, and will find their own food. I suggest buying maybe 2 turbo snails, and an emerald crab to eat the algae off of the rocks.

 

[dboehme]

Awesome, thank you very much!
Last question - does the cleaner shrimp need to be fed too or will he do ok on his own?

 

[demartini]

The cleaner will eat when you feed your fish.

 

[bojik]

If you have a minor hair algae problem and do not have much for fish a small docile blenny can help with it. What type of hermit is best for algae consumption? I have heard somewhat mixed answers.

 

[metalhead]

if u have 6 hermits, 1 snail, a crab nd a shirmp. and 2-3 small fish, would that be adiquite for a clean up crew /// display, or is that overstalking, i know 2 fish is best, but if i looked after the tank well would 3 fish work, as long as they were small