CUC size for established tank

[fixedpoint]

After battling with algae recently, I am considering increasing my clean-up crew size. My tank has been up and running for nearly a year and a half. Currently, in my 29 gallon, I have 2 large blue legged hermit crabs (model citizens), 1 turbo snail, 2 astraea snails, 3 ceriths, 4 nerites, and 50+ nassarius snails (started with 3, they multiplied - most are very small), and a fighting conch. With the exception of the nassarius snails, most of my clean up crew is on the larger side.

I feel like I'm pretty good on detrivores (the nassarius snails), but I'm short on algae grazers. How many snails, hermit crabs, and others do you keep in your tank?

Also, I'm considering adding a small diadema urchin and keeping it until it outgrows the tank. It would be great to hear about people who kept a diadema urchin in a smaller tank <40g.

[stingeragent]

50 nassarius? That is a lot. Your sand must be real clean.

[fixedpoint]

They are very very small. I was surprised and a bit worried when they showed up 8 months ago. Worried that the tank wouldn't support them, but everything seems alright.

[whosurcaddie]

I would get about 6 trochus snails to add to what you have.

[fermentedhiker]

Are you sure they are baby nassarius and not stomatella snails? Stomatella are beneficial hitchhikers but are more grazers than detrivores. Your clean up crew sounds like it's about right as it is quantity wise. A couple trochus snails wouldn't hurt though. Rooting out the cause is more important IMO. If you've got excess nutrients etc... adding more grazers will just shift the problem to another type of algae that they don't like to eat.

[fixedpoint]

Thanks for the replies.

Re stomatella snails - I'm pretty sure they are nassarius snails because they rise like the living dead at feeding time but are otherwise absent. Also they look like nassarius snails.

[pyithar]

i had two black longspine urchins in my 150g mixed reef. they got pretty big and one of them started eating sps a few weeks ago so i gave it away. now i have an urchin and two cucumbers left. only 3 clean up crew is enough for my tank. i need to clean the front and side glass with magfloat every few days though.

[fermentedhiker]

Thanks for the replies.

Re stomatella snails - I'm pretty sure they are nassarius snails because they rise like the living dead at feeding time but are otherwise absent. Also they look like nassarius snails.

That's very cool then. I've had the same 5 in my 29 for nearly a year and haven't seen any babies. I did have one trochus survive to adulthood though. I'm starting to see stomatella showing up though. I asked about them because when I first spotted them I assumed they were baby nassarius because of their appearance, but they don't bury themselves in the sand(at least not in my experience) like nassarius do.