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View Full Version : Pick your detritus critters.

Bent
11/05/2015, 02:03 PM
Just curious as to what you guys would choose for detritus eating animals.

And yes, I know that a siphon is the best detritus clean up crew member, cuc members are not what I'm looking for here. The Google can answer that. I'm wondering what cool animals are out there that survive off detritus. Not just for cleaning it up.

So far I like:
serpent star
brittle star
Fighting conchs


How bout it? Anything unique and interesting out there?
cloak
11/05/2015, 02:06 PM
A sea cucumber is about the only thing I know of that might make a pile of detritus on the sand bed disappear. Then again, what goes in must come out.

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-03/rs/
Bent
11/05/2015, 02:09 PM
A sea cucumber is about the only thing I know of that might make a pile of detritus on the sand bed disappear. Then again, what goes in must come out.

Yeah forgot about cucs. They are neat.

Again, I'm not worried about how much the animal eats or how well they "clean up". Just looking for cool animals.
nuttyd
11/05/2015, 02:15 PM
if you have fish only tank the orange decorator crabs are neat. They are the brightest orange and love to put all kinds of stuff on them. Will have algae, anemones and corals all packed onto their back. Drawback is they try take everything with them so corals end up getting moved.
MondoBongo
11/05/2015, 03:37 PM
if you have fish only tank the orange decorator crabs are neat. They are the brightest orange and love to put all kinds of stuff on them. Will have algae, anemones and corals all packed onto their back. Drawback is they try take everything with them so corals end up getting moved.

the last time i was at Mote Marine in Florida, their decorator crab in the top down tank decided that it fancied sea urchin spines.

he had given half the urchins in the tank a rather significant hair cut, and was looking quite dapper with his new do.

bent,

i like a mix of micro brittle stars, hermits, snails, bristle worms, and nassarius snails (technically a whelk).

combined with siphoning and blasting rocks with a turkey baster.

some fish like lawnmower blennies (Salarias fasciatus) are rumored to be detrivores as well. i keep one of those, and he is almost always fat.