cleaning crew for DSB

[dreams]

could i get a critter list for 6" DSB (110g high)?...my stocking plan is as follows:

2 pearly jawfish
2 percs
green clown goby
3/5 spotted cardinals,
1 scott's fairy wrasse
2 firefish
1 blenny, yet to be determined

and eventually, 1 spotted mandarin

recomendations on types of critters & how many?

(no crabs allowed in my tank;) )

[Rob]

nauss snails
turbo snails
scarlet hermits
serpent stars
tiger tail
blue legged hermits (can be mean)
red legged hermits
cleaner shrimp
camel shrimp
saron shrimp
peppermint shrimp

well there's a start.. hope that helps.. :)

[dreams]

thanks....i have 2 skunk shimp....will that cover the shrimp?

and can i go without the hermits?...i really dislike those little buggers.....i put one one my tank after my cycle was finished and he ate a coral that had survived....he was banished back to the LFS

[gwen_o_lyn]

Yes you don't have to have crabs- snails work just as good :)

Welcome to TR !!

[Rob]

yes, you can live without the crabs.. but most of them aren't bad.. usually its the blue legged ones that are bad.

In a tank that big i would look at a few peppermint shrimp also.. :)

[gwen_o_lyn]

Be nice to the blue-legged crabs!! The ones in my tank- all 100 or so of them all behave very nicely!! :mrgreen: I just don't want blue-legged crabs getting a bad reputation, ya know!?!? :)

[dreams]

lol!....thanks guys....so lets say 3 serpent stars, 3 tiger tails, 2 peppermint, and a mix of 100 snails...yes?

one more question...i just love those little sexy shrimp....will those be okay w/ the rest of my choices?....my skunks are pretty big.....they pulled my feather dusters out of their tubes and ate them:mad:

[Rob]

oh.. no.. i have a bunch of them too..
but of all the common one, they are most known for bad things.. specifically eating snails...lol

[dreams]

okay, i am assuming the blue-legged crabs eat the snails, not the sexy shrimp

[christensonjes]

No camel shrimp. They are not reef safe. Trust me I know.

[dreams]

thanks for the heads-up, christen

[Rob]

No camel shrimp. They are not reef safe. Trust me I know.
yes, good point, sorry about that.
those are one of those "use caution" shrimp

[dreams]

i am beginning to think about my cleaning crew...my biggest concern is the critters starving to death...i see that the serpent stars will eat chopped meats & i know the shrimps will eat just about anything.....but, the snails are another story, can i add just a couple at a time, like on an as needed basis?

also, can i substitute a pincushion urchin for a couple of the turbos?

[wildeone]

If I could add my 2 cents, I would highly recommend some Trochus snails. Those guys mow through any algae that crops up on my rock. They are such good cleaners that they clean each other, take a look!

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i233/wildeone/P1010037-1.jpg

My Trochus spend most of there time on the rock, while the Turbos like to roam the glass.

In addition, I have emerald crabs that I would not part with. I had a buch of bubble algae and they chewed it right up!

[dreams]

wildone, i have a list of about 5 or 6 different ones that i want...i will add them to my list.... i have one turbo in my 40 and he keeps everything clean for me:-)

my problem is that i have to order them.....haven't been able to find anything locally, but turbos.....$35 to ship $10 worth of snails is crazy

[fat walrus]

blackfoot trochus snails are the best in my experience, way better than turbos. i avoid serpent stars because they get big and knock things over. urchins are tricky, they seem to eat my calcaerus algae,besides if you decide to put in any macro-algae into the tank, they'll mow it down in no time.

[dreams]

yea, i read that will eat coraline, but i really want a pink one....badly!

and i am going w/ serpent stars, cause brittle stars are semi-aggressive.....every citizen on my list is peaceful...aggressiveness not allowed in my tank:-)

[wildeone]

I am no expert, but I thought I read that urchins could crash the tank if they die due to the toxicity.

[fat walrus]

I am no expert, but I thought I read that urchins could crash the tank if they die due to the toxicity.
i'm no expert either, but i think i was told it was the coral eater types that retain the toxins from the corals within their system and the toxins are released when the urchin release their own contents when stressed.

[dreams]

walrus, that is what i read as well

i know some of the cucumbers are toxic when they die, but haven't read that about urchins...

[Reefbaby]

My serpent star is one of the most docile creatures in my tank. He's remained the same size since I bought him. The brittle stars, however, are much bigger, but I still think they're pretty interesting creatures. - they like to move around quite a bit and come out when you're feeding. I would like to get some for my new set up.

I have astrea and turbos and I think it's nice to have a mix of different snails. They kind of hang out in different areas and clean different stuff...

[fat walrus]

Reefbaby, some brittles will hunt for snails and crabs.

[dreams]

here are the snail i have picked out:

Nassarius Snail 6
Bumble Bee Snail 6
Astraea Turbo Snail 6
Jumbo Mexican Turbo Snail 3
Cerith Snail 6

i am thinking, maybe 3-6 of each, depending on which one it is....like i said, my biggest issue is that they will starve to death in a newly established tank....thoughts on this?