Reef "house cleaning" top list: Please add to the list

[Montreal Ray]

Please help add to this list of reef inhabitants that will help out our tanks....

Snails: Graze on algae
Hermit Crabs: Graze an algae and leftovers
Brittle Stars: Great sand cleaners
Sand sifting gobies: Great sand cleaners
Peppermint shrimp: Eating aiptasia
Emerald crabs: Graze on algae

Any more to add to the list?

[ChadTheSpike]

I think the list itself is good for some tanks, however, I think it should be slightly more specific (and the list should be modified slighty for what you plan on keeping in the tank, for example I do not trust crabs with my SHs):

Snails: Turbos, nerite, asteria snails are good for algae; nassarius are good for detritus
Hermits: usually the blue legged and red legged micro crabs are ok
Brittle stars: the light olive green ones (genus Ophiarachna) will eat small fish at night. The red/black brittle stars are usually ok.
Peppermint shrimp: Lysmata wurdemanni is ok, although they may tear feeding coral polyps open to get the food out (constant battle between me and the peppermints over the sun coral)

Just my .02

[Montreal Ray]

Thanks for the reply and input ChadTheSpike!

If anyone with more knowledge than me would like to add specifics please do so.

Ray

[luther1200]

Blennies, Tangs and other algae eating fish.

[theyammieguy]

Im gonna catch hell for this but bristle worms.

[ChadTheSpike]

Im gonna catch hell for this but bristle worms.

Thats actually a really good one... I think they are absolutely necessary!

[Montreal Ray]

awesome, keep em coming plz!

[theyammieguy]

A few snails and a ton of bristle worms are my only CUC. My LS is clean as heck. When the lights go out they go to work.

[Felix T Cat]

I'll second fighting the peps when I target feed the LPS but at the same time I love having them in the tank.

[iwishtofish]

Sand sifting gobies are extremely entertaining and do a wonderful job keeping the sand stirred, but I've read they can deplete your sandbed of microfauna. With them it's all or nothing!

Some people have had good luck with urchins (bulldozers that they are) eating algae that's unappealing to many other critters. I think some of them also have an appetite for coralline algae, though.

[Chiefsurfer]

for a sand-sifter, I would suggest a sea cucumber. They plow through sand like none other. They LOVE detritus.

[MrineLfRlz]

dont leave out the mexican turbos-algae
and fighting conch- detritus