CuC: The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly.

[flydan]

Hey,
Let's see if we can all agree on the best Clean-up Crew! (I need one so I wanna know! )
The Good: Hermits, True Scarlett/Red/Left-handed.
Crabs, Emerald.
Starfish, Blue Star ("Linckea Laevigata", "Fromia Minilis" or "Fromia Elgans")
Urchins, Blue/Tuxedo "Mespilia Globulus"
Brittle Stars: Red
Snails: Turbo, Astraea,Haliotis
Shrimp: Cleaner
The Bad: Hermits, Blue Leg
Crabs, Arrowfoot, Sallyfoot
Shrimp, Camel Shrimp,Peppermint
The Ugly: I just through that in 'cause it sounded good! Beauty is in the eye of the beholder!
This is for a Reef tank only, so we're talking about reef safe only!
Thanks,
Dan'l

 

[flydan]

Hey!
Let's not jump in at once! Geesh.
So, is there a such thing as a reef-safe crab, or a "good" brittle star?
Inquiring minds want to know!
Thanks, I think,
Dan'l

 

[fat_ed]

Based on my experience, here's what I can tell you:
Scarlet Reefs -- They are pretty peaceful and clean most everything, but I've found them to be rather lazy. They sit around as much as they clean. I've also had a few of them die.
Micro Blue Legs -- I really like these guys, others don't. They are very active, eat everything, and I have not found them to be terribly aggressive. Occasionally they will wrestle with eachother, but that's about it. So long as you have plenty of spare shells available, they seem to be relatively peaceful.
Turbo/Astrea snails -- SWF sent me some of each, and they are hands-down the best cleaners commonly available in the SWF packages. I have not had to use the algae magnet since the critters arrived a month ago.
Cleaner Shrimp -- nice cleaner, lots of personality.
Emerald crabs -- excellent cleaners with some personality, but the larger of the two occasionally acts aggressively towards the shrimp and my firefish. No real damage, just some posturing.
Brittle Stars -- I hardly ever see them.
I will be purchasing a blue linkia and some peppermint shrimp to take care of an aiptasia colony in the near future.
I stayed away from CB shrimp, nudibranches, arrow crabs, and sally lightfoots based on what I read on this board.

 

[mantis]

What harm can a peppermint shrimp cause???

 

[fender]

Just as a note about the urchins, I have one that just loves corraline algae, and it is a bulldozer. As a side note - I have no hair alae at all- ever - anywhere.
Peppermints are considered reef safe and do mine keeps the aiptasia in check. I have heard some will eat polyps if there is no other food source - in a decently fed tank this should not be an issue.
Left handed hermits are bad - they get big, aggressive. The blues in my tank are harmless (mine are pretty big) and I agree the reds don't get around much.
Crabs
My sally was also trouble free and a real work horse at cleaning - spent almost all of its time eating debris in the Power head sponges. I think it depends on individuals.

 

[burnnspy]

My 1 left handed crab is harmless and has character.
My brown brittle star is harmless.
I like scarlet hermits and trocheus snails.
BurnNSpy

 

[flydan]

Hey,
Thanks for all the input folks! If anybody has specific info on the brittle stars I would appreciate it. They look pretty cool.
Take Care,
Dan'l

 

[indy1]

I now have a brittle star, that vseems harmless. I did have a green serpent star for a while. He got too big (12") and too agressive so i traded for the brittle at my lfs