'Reef Packages' - best CU crew ?

[westwind77]

I was curious what the 'best' reef package is for a CU crew?
I have narrowed it down to 4:
1) Market Leader
2) Janitor
3) Big Boy
4) 55-100 Gallon
I do have a small hair algae problem if that info helps.
Also, I have heard that the hermits will eat the snails, how true is that? The 'Big Boy' has 100 or each, is it going to be a battle to the death one on one?
Appreciate any feedback! Thanks!

 

[nuro]

i know packages are easy and can ofer a discount over buying the same thing at full price, but sometime its overkill, especially for a new tank, and they can contain livestock that isnt very well suited for captivity. IME its best to build up your CUC as you go, start with a few hermits and snails, maybe a sepernt star and go from there. throwigng a whole lot in a new tank can cause issues.
as far as the hermit vs snail thing... theres people on both sides. u have to find the right balance. alot of the report of hermits eating snails is snails that fell off glass and couldnt right themselves, thus became dinner. remember the enviroments we create arent exactly "natural".

 

[louti]

Keeping extra shells in the tank should help. Sometimes the hermits will kill snails for their shells when new shells aren't available.

 

[westwind77]

The tank has been up and running for a little while. I had a CUC but most have died off and I need to replace them. 1st I am going to figure out why they died off. My params all seem to be in check, the hermits lasted a long time but the snails seems to die off quickly. I have had 3 tanks in the past and never seen anything like this. I bought the LR from a person who was breaking down their HUGE tank, said it was 'clean & good'. I question if they lied to me and used copper. I have to test for that before I make a purchase. If that is the case I am am going to start over.
I wonder if there is an easy way to test for copper besides the full test kit? Obviously I would only need 1 test, either positive or neg, no need to test again and again. Any suggestions?
Thanks!

 

[meowzer]

I don;t ever buy the cleaner pack because you get too many hermits, and in my experience....empty shells or not....they eat my snails.
OF course do your testing first, but then I would get some cerith, nassarius, astrea snails....a couple of emerald crabs and one sally light foot

 

[browniebuck]

I agree...create your own package, it may not be as cheap, but you will end up with only critters that you actually want and need (assuming you do your research).

 

[king_neptune]

Reef packages are pretty much a scam and over kill.Do a custom one.
What are your specs?
That makes a difference in choosing a CuC.
Oh and there are two really neat additions to my CuC that I added and love:
Sea hare
Sea apple
Sea hare is basically a pretty durable slug with moose antlers, and beady little eyes. Hes awesome! Eats algae all day long.Totally chows down! Really went to town on my 125DT. 2 months later I have no trace of long hair algae left. I love him so much I might get a second(he hasn't really done much progress on the short "Peach fuzz"). I really do recommend this guy! BUT(and there is always strings attached right?) They can ink if scared/Harassed. Mine moves around happy and nobody bothers him, but one time I did bump him while cleaning the glass...and he inked. I was quick to respond and stuck a pump in the tank and pulled about 15 gallons of water out. I got the majority of the ink cloud, and suffered no repercussions.
The Sea apple is a rainbow colored blob that latches onto a rock and doesn't move. Mine hasn't moved since I put him in 2 months ago, he just opens up to catch particles of food ect, so they make great filter feeders that produce minimal waste.
Caution though: they are fatal to your entire tank if they die, I mean the water will be so bad you shouldn't even put your hand in it to pull the corpse out...its just nasty stuff.
That said they are tough critters, and chances are they would be the last man standing anyways. So if it did die...it was because of something catastrophic that most likely killed everything else already.
Just remember you put one of these in at your own risk. I mulled it over for months before I made the commitment, and I love mine! Very very pretty to look at. About the size of a Grapefruit. But Ive seen them as small as golf balls. I just keep in mind that I got a grenade in the tank, and there fore I monitor him to see if hes showing any signs. But hes happy and healthy.

 

[gill again68]

Ok let the new guy in on this.
I bought one of the packages. I think it was the 30-90, but I see they have changed it some.
Anyway, to confirm what others are telling you and from my own recent experience. I started my tank with no CUC. I also put fish in for a few weeks, still with no CUC. I wanted to make sure my tank had enough bio load for a CUC to survive. Well then the algae looked like overnight it was gonna take over so panic took over and with a couple of clicks I had a CUC package on the way. Well within hours, something like 12hrs, I lost a snail and he was quickly eaten. Then I noticed that the red leg hermits like to fight with the blue leg hermits. The blue legs seem to win. Anyway I agree that you get to many hermits in these packages. The snails are going to do the most and probably the best work for you. The hermits are just fun to watch IMO. They have just about balanced themselves out now and the fighting seems to be over. I have noticed a blue legged hermit with a nice new turbo shell. I know he stole it because when I bought the package none had a turbo shell.
So I said all that to say this. Snail are going to die! You may lose one the first day or the 3rd day but your going to lose one so be ready for that. Thats where a few hermits can help clean up your clean up crew. I would concentrate mostly on snails and get a cleaner shrimp of your choice. You will be much happier. Listen to these people as they are giving you very good advice.
I hope I have used my stupidity for good here and not evil.

Good luck.

 

[browniebuck]

My clean up crew (and shrimp) for my 125 are as follows (a little overkill...both on purpose and accidental)
50 blue leg hermits
50 mexican red leg hermits (only meant to order 25)
12 nassarius snails
12 mexican turbo snails
4 skunk cleaner shrimp
3 red fire shrimp
I got them on Dec. 31 and have lost a couple mexican turbos and perhaps a couple nassarius (and maybe even a few hermits). When looking at my tank last night, I still was able to count at least 9 turbos, at least 10 nassarius, and my sand and rocks were crawling with hermits (I am NOT going to try to count them all). If you order a little heavy, when they take each other out, the remaining critters are there to clean up that mess as well as continue cleaning up the normal messes.

 

[cranberry]

But sometimes, just sometimes, when we grow a conscious and get an education, we buy the right amount and right mixture. Then they can ALL live in productive harmoney and none have to be treated like they are worth nothing and are disposable.
I stock light and add what is needed over time.
Snails live a long long time. I have some that are over 10 years old. One in particular in a little bumble bee snail. Be kind to the critters and they will live a long time for you.

 

[browniebuck]

Originally Posted by Cranberry
http:///forum/post/3214099
But sometimes, just sometimes, when we grow a conscious and get an education, we buy the right amount and right mixture. Then they can ALL live in productive harmoney and none have to be treated like they are worth nothing and are disposable.
I stock light and add what is needed over time.
Snails live a long long time. I have some that are over 10 years old. One in particular in a little bumble bee snail. Be kind to the critters and they will live a long time for you.
(let me preface this by saying that I am not trying to offend or be rude...)
I AM nice to the critters, it is those darned hermit crabs that are not nice to snails...no matter how many empty shells I have in my tanks, I always have a few hermits that prefer some nice escargot to go along with their shiny, new homes...

. For the longest time, I HATED hermits for this reason, but have since realized

that they do a better job of getting into the nooks and crannies of my LR than any snails that I have ever gotten...now I have just resigned myself to the fact that I will lose snails periodically in order to keep my tank as clean as I can.
If you have found hermits that are kind and polite to their snail brethren, please let me know what kind and where you got them...I would LOVE to have some like that!!! Heck, I would even consider sending my hermits to obedience school to teach them that killing snails is bad...

 

[saxman]

blue-legged hermits are some of the worst in terms of snail predation. all hermits are opportunistic omnivores and can and do eat snails simply because they're hungry. IME, scarlet reef hermits (yellow eye stalks) are the least likely to engage in this behavior.
however, i think you're missing the point. too many snails, hermits, whatever will compete for the available food in a tank, and if the CUC is overstocked, they will "starve back" to the level that the system can support.
rather using this method, which does work, it's more prudent to stock lightly and add to your CUC based on the individual tank's needs. after all, we don't toss lots of fish in a tank and say "it's OK, they'll die back to the proper stocking level".

 

[cranberry]

Greg.... get rid of your Christmas hat.

 

[king_neptune]

Ive found that my hermits tend to leave my Astrea snails alone. They evidently don't like the shells or something I guess. Anyways, they seem to have this highest survivability, in terms of not falling prey to hermits.
My Turbo's I sometimes lose.I found that Just getting them big is the way to go, the smaller ones don't seem to make it. And to date, Ive only lost one large one(size of a golf ball). He fell prey to Kong, my super sized Blue leg Hermit. But after Kong took his shell, hes kept it ever since.
The Cerith and Nass I would say have about a 75% loss rate(or more). They seem to be the favored of the Hermits. So as a result, I really don't buy them.
I think over all the Turbos are my favorite. Ive got half dozen large ones mixxed between my 125DT and 55Sump.