clean up crew ?

Ok I have had my 55 gallon tank setup for a month now. I now am getting a clean up crew. i have been to all these websites looking for them and they are all different. I dont want snails if I can help it. My wife doesnt want anything crawling out. So if anyone can help on which website is the best and any packages I can get with no snails in it.

Snails are you best member of your CUC because the will eat the algae every tank grows, but ive only once heard of snail crawling out a tank, so I wouldnt be concerned about that.

+1 lil fish...I've never had a snail escape, but I've found a crab or two under the bed and couches. It's not common tho.

+1 I havent havent seen any that did either .. a good place to get your cleanup crew is
ReefCleaners.org | Clean Up Crews and Macro Algae

No snails??? Eee gads! Craziness! :)
Do you have a lid on your tank? Promise her that they won't find their way into her bed.
And Smitty,you got crabs under your bed?? Totally just changed my opinion of you.

SarahSmile said:

And Smitty,you got crabs under your bed?? Totally just changed my opinion of you.

Click to expand...

Lol...no special shampoo and comb needed for these crabs. :mrgreen:
My son was under my bed looking for his toy, and thought we had giant roaches...I've never seen him run so fast. Hahaha

That's hilarious! I'm now going to have nightmares about my blue legged finding its' way upstairs and lurking under my bedskirt, just waiting to pinch my toes when I get up in the middle of the night to tinkle.
Thanks for that Smitty!

Hahaha...aye, I'd rather it be a small hermit instead of an escaped eel or an octopus...that would probably even freak me out. :) Sorry for the vision.

I just added a CUC for my new 75g from reefs2Go. All the advise I read is that you dont want to go too crazy in a new tank since there is not much in there yet ( food / waste ).

I went with:







(1)- 6 Pack Cleaner Crew Reefs2go.com Live Saltwater Algae Eating Crew

• 20 Nassarius Snails
• 20 Cerith Snails
• 10 XLG Cerith Snails
• 5 Turbo Snails
• 20 Blue Leg Hermit Crabs
• 5 Red Leg Hermit Crabs

(2)- Peppermint Shrimp ( its buy one get one free so I only paid for 1 )
Reefs2go.com Saltwater Aquarium Shrimp for Marine Reef Aquariums: Peppermint Shimp

(2) Emerald Crabs ( its buy one get one free so I only paid for 1 )
Reefs2go.com Saltwater Aquarium Crabs for Marine Aquariums: Emerald Crab

(2) Scarlett Leg Hermit Crab ( its buy one get one free so I only paid for 1 )
Reefs2go.com Live Saltwater Scarlett Leg Hermit Crab- Buy 1 Get 1 FREE

(50) spare shells

Since I ordered the 6-Pack cleaner crew, shipping was free for everything else. I ordered it on Tuesday and had everything by 10am Friday. I was very happy with the order, all the CUC was clean, water was clean, and it was packaged nicely. Just pay attention to the sizing ( everything was on the small side of the expected size, so when the blue legs are sized at .5in to 1inch... they are all .5inch ). Some of the snails became a buffet for the crabs so I went to my LFS and pick up 10 larger Nassarius snails... they are fun to watch ( and the Blue legs dont even think about messing with them )

The crew is awesome, they are picking the rocks clean. I am new, so I am sure I am overfeeding my clowns and there isnt a speck of food to be found anywhere. The peppermint found my apistia after 2 days and its all gone. the emeralds are fun to watch also.

I drip acclimated the CUC for about 3hrs, and I had no loss other than the blue legs eating a couple of snails.

I know that others on this board and other boards have had mixed success with reefs2Go. I would order from them again based on my personal experience.

hope this helps a little bit.

Good Luck!

Wow, my CUC seems small! I read all about these packaged deals when it came time. It just seemed like way too many. I added 6 Nass's first. I tried to acclimate them..... but, well, the bag fell into the water and so did the snails! They all did just fine and are still with me.

Next I got 6 more Nass's about two weeks later. I DID acclimate these guys properly. They too are still with me. All 12 did a great job in the new tank.

After my Diatom outbreak the tank looked awful. I went out, against the advise of everyone here, and picked up a sand sifting star fish. I returned him to the store a few weeks ago because I didn't want him to starve. He did a great job cleaning up the sand bed. I call him my Rent-A-Star! For $12 I feel like it was worth it. He is still at the store living in a frag tank.

The last member I added was a Mexican Turbo. I was getting some rather stringy looking growth and figured I try one. He is doing a great job of cleaning up the big stuff. The Nass's do a good job with the little stuff. I picked up a Sand Sifting Goby to keep the bed stirred up. Everything looks great and no body appears hungry.

I still want to add a cleaner shrimp to the tank, but really, right now, I don't have the need. I just feel 80 little critters is way too many in a small tank. Its just my opinion though. I have 2 Nass's in the sump that I moved from the DT. Good luck and enjoy!

I'm with you nonfamous, it's hard to think of adding all those critters to a new tank and expecting them to have enough to live. When I finally ordered a crew I got the one for a 20 gallon tank (I have a 60 gal) and it still seems like TONS o' snails! I do think you need a variety though, the OP with a 55 should be good to start out with 5-7 ceriths, 5-7 asteras, 10-12 nass and a hermit or 2. Just my opinion. I skip the turbos cause I don't want giant snails overturning rocks.

I've read about the turbos turning over stuff. I really didn't want one just for that reason. When I got this "Hair" algae stuff I figured I try one out. He/she/it has done a great job with the bigger spots. I couldn't be more happy. It hasn't moved anything around in the take either. Maybe a few of my shells in the front corners, but nothing serious. I'm thinking of getting one more just for good measure. I'm pretty sure I have enough for them to eat.

Well I told my wife what you all said and were now getting snails. I started small because just started the tank a month ago.
I got

Nassarius Snail -15
Cerith Snail -10
Brittle Sea Star -2
Sea Cucumber -2
Dwarf Blue Leg Hermit Crab -2
Scarlet Reef Hermit Crab -2
and just because I wanted one a Peppermint Shrimp

So far I have 3 fish now. I have a yellowtail damsel and two clown fish. I am wanting to get a dwarf flame angelfish next.