Clean up crew

[Satxgal]

Hi All,

I'm new to this hobby. Took over a 55 gal tank from someone who didn't want to do anymore. What a shame. I have a lot to learn. Currently i only have a powder Blue Tang in my tank. hes a real trooper going thru all my learning and water extremes. im seeing alot of algae. I've been seeing folks refer to a clean up crew. Could someone explain?

[chicagoreefer20]

Clean up crew is comprised of different types of snails, hermit crabs, and other invertebrates that will help keep the tank in good shape. Check out reefcleaners for more insight.

[cloak]

Is your RO/DI mucked up? Algae and a new tank kind of go hand in hand. ((like vermetid snails) Once you figure it out, nuisance algae will probably go away. (snails too) Time... GL.

that powder blue is in jail btw.

[robotman]

Hi All,

I'm new to this hobby. Took over a 55 gal tank from someone who didn't want to do anymore. What a shame. I have a lot to learn. Currently i only have a powder Blue Tang in my tank. hes a real trooper going thru all my learning and water extremes. im seeing alot of algae. I've been seeing folks refer to a clean up crew. Could someone explain?

Is the algae brown? then its prob diatoms. astrea Cerite and nassarius snails are great, so are turbos but they can knock over stuff, my big ones knock over frags and my candy cane all the time lol.

[Satxgal]

Is your RO/DI mucked up? Algae and a new tank kind of go hand in hand. ((like vermetid snails) Once you figure it out, nuisance algae will probably go away. (snails too) Time... GL.

that powder blue is in jail btw.

Why is Blue in jail? And yes, the algae is brown. Not too bad but my nitrate is high. Could that be the reason?

[Satxgal]

Is your RO/DI mucked up? Algae and a new tank kind of go hand in hand. ((like vermetid snails) Once you figure it out, nuisance algae will probably go away. (snails too) Time... GL.

that powder blue is in jail btw.

Why is Blue in jail? And yes, the algae is brown. Not too bad but my nitrate is high. Could that be the reason?

[Satxgal]

By the y, I do have 4 small snails in there

[duperdave]

because that blue tangs 6 foot long hundred gallon tank minimum.the really need to have a lot of room to swim.

[Sun357]

Reefcleaners.org is great for CUC. John will also answer any questions you may have or help you customize your order.

[Reeferz412]

+1 on reefcleaners.org John has been fulfilling my CUC needs for almost 4 years now. Never disappointed with his livestock. My advice, order a step down from what he recommends. He gives so much (just in case of DOA's) it will be too much for your tank. There is such thing as too much sometimes lol!

[10sojs]

I also ordered from reefcleaners.org

[Spork3245]

Why is Blue in jail?

Because, unfortunately, you need a tank with a minimum length of 6 feet for a powder blue tang (125gallon), They grow to be 9-10 inches in length and are extremely active swimmers (ie: need a lot of room so they aren't constantly pacing back and forth).
Hopefully you quarantined him so he does not have ich, but I would highly recommend either returning him to wherever you purchased him from, finding him a new home by either trading with or selling to another marine aquarist or giving him to a local fish store so they can find him a new home.

For future purchases, there's a sticky at the top of this forum where an extremely knowledgeable user (snorvich) will tell you if your intended purchases are compatible with your tank size and set-up, as well as if the fish you are purchasing will get along with each other.

Unfortunately mistakes happen, especially in this hobby, the best thing to do is learn from them. I'm very sorry that a store sold you that Powder Blue Tang, especially if they knew your tank size was only 55gal.

[Satxgal]

Because, unfortunately, you need a tank with a minimum length of 6 feet for a powder blue tang (125gallon), They grow to be 9-10 inches in length and are extremely active swimmers (ie: need a lot of room so they aren't constantly pacing back and forth).
Hopefully you quarantined him so he does not have ich, but I would highly recommend either returning him to wherever you purchased him from, finding him a new home by either trading with or selling to another marine aquarist or giving him to a local fish store so they can find him a new home.

For future purchases, there's a sticky at the top of this forum where an extremely knowledgeable user (snorvich) will tell you if your intended purchases are compatible with your tank size and set-up, as well as if the fish you are purchasing will get along with each other.

Unfortunately mistakes happen, especially in this hobby, the best thing to do is learn from them. I'm very sorry that a store sold you that Powder Blue Tang, especially if they knew your tank size was only 55gal.

Oh my goodness. Is this true of all tangs? i just looked it up.. it is a Regal blue tang... I'm not sure how to insert a pic here (IPad) but he looks like Dorey. I've had this fish for at least 4 years. My tank is not new... I'm just new... I'm taking over the tank from my husband who has chosen to neglect the tank. :confused:
Anyway... We had a great tank , which I knew nothing about .. Then my hubby got sick and all fish got ich and died except this tang. He's prob 3.5 inches long

[Spork3245]

Oh my goodness. Is this true of all tangs? i just looked it up.. it is a Regal blue tang... I'm not sure how to insert a pic here (IPad) but he looks like Dorey. I've had this fish for at least 4 years. My tank is not new... I'm just new... I'm taking over the tank from my husband who has chosen to neglect the tank. :confused:
Anyway... We had a great tank , which I knew nothing about .. Then my hubby got sick and all fish got ich and died except this tang. He's prob 3.5 inches long

Sorry for your losses, hopefully you can get everything back on the right track :). Kind of surprising that the tang was the only survivor as they are usually ich magnets.
Unfortunately, Dory gets even bigger than a powder blue, a mature blue tang can be over a foot in length and most users here will recommend an 8 foot tank for one. At only 3-4 inches you're likely okay for now as it's still small, but it will out grow that tank fairly quickly.
There are some smaller and/or "less active" species of tang like the mimic tang and kole eye tang which can be in a smaller tank but a 55gallon is likely still too small for a mature one.

[Satxgal]

Sorry for your losses, hopefully you can get everything back on the right track :). Kind of surprising that the tang was the only survivor as they are usually ich magnets.
Unfortunately, Dory gets even bigger than a powder blue, a mature blue tang can be over a foot in length and most users here will recommend an 8 foot tank for one. At only 3-4 inches you're likely okay for now as it's still small, but it will out grow that tank fairly quickly.
There are some smaller and/or "less active" species of tang like the mimic tang and kole eye tang which can be in a smaller tank but a 55gallon is likely still too small for a mature one.

I've heard that before about tangs. So what is the ave life span of these type fish? I don't feel like he's grown all that much but maybe I've not noticed since I see everyday

[Dino]

Unfortunately the other posters are correct - not really your fault, but it'd be best if you could find another home for the tang as a 55 gal just isn't large enough for it. Hepatus tangs get both large and are very active. BrianD, another one of our moderators had one in his 550 gal. tank and it made that tank look small :). If it hasn't grown much that is a sign there is a problem.

[Spork3245]

I've heard that before about tangs. So what is the ave life span of these type fish? I don't feel like he's grown all that much but maybe I've not noticed since I see everyday

In the wild they are known to live up to ~20 years. In the home aquarium it's usually 10-12 years.