Cuc

[TDB]

I have a 40 gallon all in one. That is getting close to the end of the cycle and I would like to know what should use for my CUC and how many of each . Thanks

[Chief Reef]

Depends on what you like, what you plan to keep, and how big your bioload is.

For example some people dont like hermit crabs because they kill snails for shells, Fight with eachother over shells, Knock over corals when bigger, and some people dont like having a bunch of shells in their sand, or dont trust crabs at all.Snails are great too, But some people dont like that they generally can't flip themselves over(some buy species that can to circumvent this.) Theres also different kinds that have different feeding behaviors. Nasarius snails for example, shift your sandbed around and eat Detritus thats in it. Whereas turbo snails generally clean the rockwork and glass.

Thats without even getting into Different Shrimp, Starfish,Brittle Stars, Conch's,Emerald crabs etc. Plent and of variety just make sure you do your research and don't overstock as many people's recommend stocking levels (1 snail per gallon etc.) are outright ridiculous and will lead to die off as they run out of food and slowsly starve.

for a 40 gallon i recommend Starting with a a handful(3-4) Astrea snails,Nasarius snails, and red legged or Scarlett legged Hermit crabs. and seeing whether you need more from there.

[TDB]

Thank you for the input. My tank will be a reef with only a couple of fish . I will have softies and LPS as the tank matures. The 1 per gallon always seemed like over kill but wanted to ask the question.