clean up crew for a 38 gallon nano cube

[ddouglass1577]

I currently have a 38 gallon nano from innovative marine. The tank has been cycled and has 2 clown fish, 2 firefish, and 1 cardinal. My lighting is a Gen 3 radion pro with 2 MP10's for water movement. I have 2 media reactors running (innovative marine's 150ml media reactors) one is carbon and the other GFO. I also have a Custom caddy on one side of the overflow with micro algae and live rock and a tunze 9004 skimmer on the other side. I am using Red Sea Pro Salt mixed with RO/DI water. My PO4 is still a little high for my liking at 0.91ppm and wont be adding anything else until the PO4 is under control. I do have diatoms on the live rocks, but I understand that is to be expected. I plan on making this a mixed reef tank in the future. I haven't added a cuc yet and plan on it in a few weeks or maybe longer. My question is what should my clean up crew consist of? I've been reading the pros and cons of each type of inverts and are leaning more to snails than crabs, but maybe in the end it might be what works for your tank or what you are willing to take in. Any suggestions would be great thank you.

[ddouglass1577]

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Edit: unsure why it attached the pictures twice.

[ddouglass1577]

After some more reading i was thinking to start off with:

Snails:
Nassarius Snail x2
Trochus Snail x3
Astrea Snail x3

Hermit Crab:
Scarlet Reef Hermit Crab x2

Shrimp:
Cleaner Shrimp x2

Starfish:
Red Linckia Starfish x1

I have been reading mixed reviews on any kind of starfish unless you count the serpent starfish. Any thoughts? or do I need more or less?

[Microcosmos]

Hermits have been known to kill snails, but some people swear by them. I vote snails. The linckia starfish is incredibly difficult to keep alive. Again, I vote snails. The snails you picked are a good mix; I'd add one or two to each kind.

[Microcosmos]

Oh cleaner shrimp are okay at scavenging, but they may not do as well unless you spot feed them until you are feeding fish regularly; neat-looking little critters though. (I still vote snails.)

[Microcosmos]

Oh wait I see you already have fish duh so the shrimps should be fine in there since you are already feeding... Cute tank!!

[ddouglass1577]

Hermits have been known to kill snails, but some people swear by them. I vote snails. The linckia starfish is incredibly difficult to keep alive. Again, I vote snails. The snails you picked are a good mix; I'd add one or two to each kind.

I heard about that as well, but I was reading that if you place some empty shells in the tank it might help them not eat your snails. I have 7 kids and they all want a starfish, is there a hardy kind of starfish that would ok to place in the tank?

[ddouglass1577]

I also went to reef cleaners website and sent him an email to see what kind of custom cuc i should get and this is what he suggested to me:


30 Dwarf Ceriths
9 Nassarius
12 Florida Ceriths
11 Nerites
1 Serpent Starfish

I feel this might be a little too much for the tank just starting out, but I could be wrong...any thoughts?

[ericsch333]

I got the same tank and the same package from reefcleaners and I thought the same thing but If you have have sump it not to much and my tank is spotless.

[rfgonzo]

I personally like Blue leg hermit crabs, but they are definitely Little killers. They will try to kill your snails for their shell even if you have empty shells laying around. Sometimes they will kill and not even use the shell. But they also do a great job of cleaning.

[ddouglass1577]

I personally like Blue leg hermit crabs, but they are definitely Little killers. They will try to kill your snails for their shell even if you have empty shells laying around. Sometimes they will kill and not even use the shell. But they also do a great job of cleaning.

What about the red hermits that are said to be less aggressive?

[ddouglass1577]

I got the same tank and the same package from reefcleaners and I thought the same thing but If you have have sump it not to much and my tank is spotless.

wow it just seems like a lot too me O.o. Is this a good starting point and add more at a different time? or this should what my tank should keep in it here on out?

[ericsch333]

The get in the sand and the rocks and what algae I had is gone and now they clean the glass. When you put the in you think you might need more. It is worth it

[ddouglass1577]

I would also like to add a pistol Shrimp to go with a pink spotting Gobby. Would they cause problems with the hermits or cleaner shrimp?

[ddouglass1577]

I ended up getting the package from reef cleaners with 2 cleaner shrimp and 2 scarlet hermits. Hopefully this should be enough and not too much. I'm also holding off on the starfish, one because they aren't hardy, two my tank is too young, and three I haven't done enough research on them to be comfortable in taking care of them.

[Microcosmos]

Smart move on the linckia!! I do recommend brittle/serpent stars (well really one or the other) they are fun to watch and they are easy to care for. Some get pretty big, but they are not aggressive. I have a brittle star in my tank that basically hides out unless it's feeding time, then it scoots to the front of the tank to catch the wafer that I feed it and occasionally some of the fishes' food. I've never kept the pistol/goby combo though I've heard they are very neat to watch as well. No idea what they will do to shrimps or crabs, but I wouldn't worry about any type of CUC doing harm to them.

[ddouglass1577]

Good to know, ill look into thoughs starfish. Thank you for the information. :)

[Microcosmos]

You bet!

[ericsch333]

Let's use know when you get them