I'm doing a 29g reef tank and just about ready to put the cleanup crew in the tank. I have been looking around for some good deals on packs. I found this one on ReefScavengers.Com | Saltwater Aquarium Supply | Cleaner Packages, Saltwater Fish, Corals & More!! and they have a Nano pack. It has in it
10 Juvenile Nerite Snails
10 Nassarius Snails
5 Juvenile Stocky Snails
5 Dwarf White Leg Hermits
5 Blue Leg Hermits
1 Juvenile Porcelain Crab
1 Juvenile Pencil Urchin
1 Juvenile Green Emerald Crab
1 Juvenile Lettuce Nudibranch
I was wondering if this would be a good pack to get or if I should just make up my own?
I would totally go with my own. The nerites are fine. 10 nassarius in a 29 is going to bowl over everything come supper time. You're tank is new, even if it HAS hair algae at this point, it isn't going to have and keep enough to sustain a lettuce and an urchin. Those guys eat alot. I don't like hermits personally, but everyone is different in that reguard. Just note that every single hermit is an omnivore... they are not 100% herbivorus no matter what the print says (and I haven't been to that site). At any rate, a couple of hermits will do it, 10 is just too many. I have no idea what a stocky snail is. And a porcelain crab is mainly a filter feeder and will do nothing for you clean up crew needs. Emeralds can be opportunistic when hungry... mine stole mysis from my tubastrea. He was starving in my 28 poor guy, so I starting hand feeding him.
Thumbs down for them offering margarita snails.... they are cold water species and will slowly cook in your tank. I can run in the water right now and get a bunch, I assure you the water is coooooooold. No they are not in the package you mentioned, but they are part of the sites CUC collection. Booooo!
That what I'll do then. I think I'll just go to my LFS and hope I can get some good snails off of them and was thinking of get only 2 Hermit Crabs. But before I go out and buy some when the tank is ready. I'll double check the forums on snails. I know I saw a thread on what kinda snails are the best.
I'm only going to get a few stuff from my LFS. Cause there tanks ain't that good looking. But when I go to order my coral then I'll get some more snails etc.. to add to the tank then.
What a fantastic site! That was some great information on CUC.
Question to hermit crab lovers.....do you keep extra empty shells around your tank for these crabs as a preventive measure? I have heard that they tend to evict snails from there shells ( or worse eat them
Renee Hix's article is nearly spot on, except I think that the 1 snail per gallon rule may be too excessive for some tanks. I would also add Urchins to Renee's list of organisms that should not be casually lumped into the CUC category.
The suggestion to avoid Bumblebee and Margarita snails, as well as the preference of Trochus over Astraea is also useful information. The article makes me want to diversify my snail population..
These sentiments coincide with Ron Shimek's recommendations in his PocketExpert Guide to Marine Invertebrates when he writes that many SW hobbyists tend to overstock snails and add them too quickly, which often results in starvation and death. The more responsible approach is to add them gradually, as needed, up to an appropriate stocking level that is commensurate to your tank's needs..
I keep extra shells for my hermits. If they evict a snail from its shell the snail will die. I think they sometimes may be falsely accused of killing snails for their shells when all they were doing was cleaning up a dying snail.
except I think that the 1 snail per gallon rule may be too excessive for some tanks.
Ummm.. you'll note that is said it was a loose general guideline recommended by many. The suggestion was for HALF that number. Specifically, it said as an example, 50 snails for a 100g with special considerations for certain ones included in the description... like astraea and nassarius.
One of my Nassarius had taken ill after a extended power outage (fortunately, my only loss). One of my dwarf zebra hermits quickly assumed his shell, and I swear that hermit had doubled in size since taking the new ownership. He is not so dwarf anymore. Does the shell significantly inhibit hermit crab growth if it is too small? Ultimately, I would assume so, but this hermit seemed to grow rapidly.
That was the first time I saw a hermit change shells in my tanks. I will be getting extra shells soon, since I an easily see these zebra hermits taking advantage of upside-down Astraea.
On the flip side, I had a zebra hermit lose its shell, possibly to another more dominant hermit, and I found it scrabbling its way uneasily at the front of my display. Out of nowhere, a Nassarius plowed forward, making a bee-line toward the vulnerable hermit. I tried twice to discourage the Nassarius, but he was quite intent on getting a hold of the fleshy hermit. In the end, I allowed the Nassarius to have its way, figuring that it is just another aspect of competition in a reef tank, if not a deserved act of revenge.
Ummm.. you'll note that is said it was a loose general guideline recommended by many. The suggestion was for HALF that number. Specifically, it said as an example, 50 snails for a 100g with special considerations for certain ones included in the description... like astraea and nassarius.
Sorry, I didn't mean to sound critical. All I was suggesting is that the maximum stocking level guideline may be 1 snail for every 1-2 gallons, with initial stocking at half of that. So, for a 100 gallon tank, you might want to start out with as little as 25 critters, and add in increments until the tanks needs are met.
Some snails are more industrious than others, so it is possible that a 100 gallon tank, with a diverse snail population, may be somewhere in the middle of 25-50 for initial stocking levels, and then gradually adding to that as the tank matures.
Ok Thanks 
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