cleanup crew

[mr.flameangel]

i am planning on getting a cleanup crew. i have a damsel, neon goby, and a perc clown and 20lbs of lr in a 55gal. planning on adding a flame angle shortly. just wondering what kind of a crew i should get. i have coraline and some green grass growing all over. thanks for any help!!

 

[carrie1429]

For a 55g I would say about 25-30 snails, 30 hermit crabs, maybe peppermint shrimp and/or cleaner shrimp, and maybe a starfish, they are good a cleaning up stuff.
Also how long has your tank been setup for?

 

[mr.flameangel]

its been up for between 5 & 6 months

 

[ed r]

Have you measured your nitrate and phosphate levels? You would like them to be near zero. They are the most common reason for algae problems. Do you have a DSB? Do you plan to add corals? What type, wattage, and hours run is your lighting? My tank is a reef tank with a new DSB so I have removed the few crabs I had and would not add any more. If you have different goals, perhaps crabs can help. I happen to prefer snails. It takes only a small cleanup crew to maintain the algae level in a tank with good water parameters. A large crew may not be able to cope with all of the growth that occurs when nitrates and phosphates get out of control.

 

[sandy]

I've got a 50 long with 2 perc clowns, 1 royal gramma, 1 scooter blenny and a sleeper goby. I have 3" of ls and nearly 100lbs of LR (me thinks) def over 80.
My cleanup crew is: 3 turbos, 2 astralia (spell?), 3 bumble bee, 1 conch. About 7 hermits (using fewer hermits now). 3 Pepperment shrimp. 1 Cleaner Shrimp and a serpent star. (the sleeper goby is part of the clean-up crew as well).
Gotta pretty clean tank that's been up for 6 months now.