55 gallon Cuc...Need advice

[va reef walker]

Greetings everyone,

Our cycle is beginning to wind down, and we are beginning to think seriously on what CuC we want to introduce to our tank. It's going to be a FOWLR for at least the first year,so of course we want it to be able to work well with the Fish only set up, but also want to plan ahead for the future. With the wealth of differing information out there concerning CuC it can be a bit overwhelming, and so I figured I'd turn here for advice. We plan on adding only a few at first and then as time goes on adding more until we have proportionally what we need in conjunction with the load in the tank. My biggest problem right now is making sure we have all our bases covered in respect to what each of the cleaners will do. I've looked at Reefcleaners, but can't say I really like all the snails in there prebuilt packages, I know they offer a custom built service, but I don't really have any idea of what I would want in there, then too I've looked at TBS, and can't say that 55 blue legged hermit crabs is all that appealing either. Too what would I substitute for the Cucumbers they recommend in that package? I'd rather not deal with potential toxin releases if I don't have to? Also the difference in numbers from one site to another is greatly varied, and while we aren't obviously putting in all those at once, I still want an idea of what to plan for. So this is what we do know we want....

Some form of Hermit Crabs,
some Nass snails,
Sea stars,
Peppermint Shrimp,
and maybe another selection of snail

In all I just want to make sure our cleaning needs are well rounded, and need to know what numbers a 55 gallon tank will need.


Thanks for any suggestions, or advice

 

[wontonflip]

It's whatever you want in there :) I started off with 10 hermits, and 10 nass, and a couple of turbos. Now, I only have 2 crabs and 3 or 4 nass snails left (but I also upgraded from a 45g to a 125g). I haven't replenished them. But your initial list sounds fine. I'm not a sea star expert, but someone will chime in.

Are you in northern VA? What LFS do you frequent? There are a couple of us dc metro-ites here :)

P.S. Make sure to drip acclimate them slowly! The longer you take to acclimate, the better off they'll be. Plus if you are taking time to put fish in, don't forget to toss a bit of food for them to munch on.

 

[va reef walker]

Thanks Wontonflip,

When you put it that way it definitely makes the pressure of making the right decision a little bit lighter. :)

The acclimation aspect of the sea stars has me a little leery about them, it may end up they are introduced a bit later depending on what others have to say.

Sadly I'm not in NOVA, I'm about 2.5 hours south of there, and only have one LFS within a reasonable distance, and regrettably it's selection is low....

Thanks again

 

[wontonflip]

Yeah, when you first start in the hobby, you have this daunting trip ahead of you -- and just deciding on cuc alone seems huge!! I remember the feeling when I first started :) I went to my lfs with no clue what to get. So they explained each snail/crab and what they do. Nass snails are great for keeping the sand clean (they bury themselves in the sand and keep it turned over --- not too deep, though...if you want something that really churns the sandbed, starfish are the best ones...they're just sensitive to nitrates). Turbos are supposed to be great w/ algae, but I lost most of mine cuz they kept falling off rocks and getting stuck upside down LOL It was a PITA to keep flipping them!

The jury's out on hermits....you'll notice the "battle to save/decimate" hermits in people's signatures LOL. Some have learned to attack snails and eat them just to eat them, or to steal their shells, or both. I never had problems with mine....but like I said, i'm down to 2....I'm rather fond of my 1 large hermit...he's a big doofus but pretty.

I know one of the reefers here in my neck of the woods drives all the way to maryland for his fish stuff. I just posted a new LFS opening soon in June 1 -- they will be in Fredericksburg (King George County). Might be worth your drive to check them out when they open. In fact, shoot them an email, and they will give you a coupon for 10% off.

 

[va reef walker]

Wontonflip,

Thanks I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one that feels that way.

Checked out your thread on the new LFS, I may just have to make a trip up there to check it out. That 10% off coupon could come in handy here soon.

 

[BL1]

You can add brittle or serpent stars into your clean up crew, they extremely hardy and are a great member of your CuC. I'd stay away from stars like linkias or fromias as they do better in more established tanks. The cucumbers that TBS sells aren't toxic so you don't need to worry about them dying and releasing toxins into your tank (other than ammonia of course). I've got two cucumbers in each of my tanks (the ones in my nano have been there for over a year now).

 

[Piratefish]

If you have not look at reefcleaners.org you should. I learned a lot by just going to their website. Their prices seem very good too!