Recommend Cleaning Crews

[Vinoth]

Any recommendations for Algae eater, sandbed shifter etc . Thanks.

[bwilly]

some gobby or starfish?

[Vinoth]

Is gobby a sandbed shifter? Also is there many varities of gobby? One of the thread i have read diamond watchman is good sand bed shifter? Is it difficult to maintain gobby?

Starfish eats algae?

[Terryz_]

Black sea cuke.. Dwarf hermit...

[Garlic]

I have 3 hermit crabs, 2 turbo snails and 1 cleaner shrimp.

Hermit crab are efficient cleaner. They will eat up left over food and dead fishes but they are also very active. They will move rocks if rock are not place securely and step over corals plus disturb anemone if it is place on the sand bed.

The turbo snails are not bad but they are slow cleaners.

As for the cleaner shrimp, I don't really see it working. I think

it is doing more important task like eating parasites from sick fishes.

I am going to shift my crabs to a small tank and buy a algae eater to replace them. Saw the algae eater working at the LFS. Wow, you must see how it work, fantastic.

[Dazza]

I have 5 medium to large hermits, 3 long spine sea urchins, one black cuke, 1 goat fish and they do a fantastic job of cleaning my sand.

[lightningstrike]

for algae eater, u can try kole yellow eye tang or algae blenny. both r very effective!!! but algae blenny damn ugly looking!!!!

for sand-shifter, u can try a sand shifter starfish or some gobies, for me, my golden head sleeper goby and spotted mandarin r constantly playing wif my sand bed.

[Atreef]

hermit, snails, black sea cucumber and algae blenny are not bad

[DrJekyl_MrHyde]

for my 2 footer ...i have 3 snail , 10 zebar hermit ,1 sailfin benny .........for the algae ......

[CKS]

hermit r destructive..not realy reef safe..as what ive read..

my favorite crew would consist of brittle worms / nassarius snails / long spined urchin and trochus snails

[nemesis]

when sea cucumber die, wont the whole tank be wipe out too?

[Daniel-K]

which LFS is selling hermit crabs ? ny sandbed is really bad hee..

[DrJekyl_MrHyde]

which LFS is selling hermit crabs ? ny sandbed is really bad hee..

i bought my tiny zebar hermit from ML ...at west coast .....

[DrJekyl_MrHyde]

long spined urchin ...beware sometime it might topper your LR......

[mAriNe_enthusiast]

hermit r destructive..not realy reef safe..as what ive read..

Small hermit are alrite. I have 1 with me for few mths liao. T^hey are rather okie with corals plus must feed them sometime.

[Vinoth]

Thanks for all your replies. I have read somewhere that the algae benny will starve to death if no algae is present?

[ervine]

Thanks for all your replies. I have read somewhere that the algae benny will starve to death if no algae is present?

Mine eats both algae (or rather it LOOKS like it's eating aglae) and flakes that I use to feed my clown...

[Dispar_Anthias]

Any recommendations for Algae eater, sandbed shifter etc . Thanks.

IMo shrimps and hermits(beware, lots of them are not reef safe) are very good scavenger and therefpre very good clean up crew. Other crews such as starfish(only linkias and fromia species are reef safe) are also very good for getting rid of algae.

[ReDDeviLs]

got a orange spotted goby

hope i got the name right,its working well.

[blacknails]

when sea cucumber die, wont the whole tank be wipe out too?

No I think we're talking about the black sea cuke here... A really good cleaner (Keeps my sand nice and white and very much free from algae) and it ain't poisonous at all unlike its more brightly coloured cousins..

[terryansimon]

I thought all cucumbers are poisonous if they die suddenly aka kamikaze?

[blacknails]

Hmm.. I'm pretty positive that sea cukes are mostly poisonous except for the black one... Correct me if I'm wrong.. Thanks...

[Dinosaur]

No I think we're talking about the black sea cuke here... A really good cleaner (Keeps my sand nice and white and very much free from algae) and it ain't poisonous at all unlike its more brightly coloured cousins..

Are you sure its does not release toxic when stress?

[Hecter]

doesn't goby need to have a mature enough sandbed to maintain?

[scarab]

IMO, sand sifting gobies are troublesome. They churned up a lot of sand when digging under LR to make a home. Some more they keep changing home. Had 2 golden head gobies that keep dumping sand on each other and as they move up the sand keep raining down. Everyday sand storm. got rid of them.

For sand, ithink black cube the best. Using one now. Does wonders.

For algae, get turbo snail and mithrax crab. Heard kole tang is good too. Algae blenny will probably starve to death if algae runs out.

For scavenging leftovers/dead fish etc., hermit crab is the best IMO. Just make sure corals and LR is secure. they can topple them especially at night.

Cleaner shrimps i have only clean the fish, from parasite etc. not sure whether they clean the rock although they always like doing so.

My 2 cents worth....