Amount of CUC? Is my LFS blowing smoke?

[Dakwan]

I was looking at the website of one of my LFS's recommendations on CUC (Reef Custodians) and this is what i found in relevance to the tank size i have in the works.

70 - 90 Gallons
60 - Blue Legged Hermits
10 - Red Scarlet Hermit
20 - Astrea Snails
20 - Margarita Snails
20 - Cerith Snails

It's probably my ignorance speaking here but that seems like alot to me. Especially the amount of hermit crabs. everything i've read says that hermits can be pretty dang aggressive and with 70 of the little b*stards running around imagine they could inflict some serious damage.

Is this actually a reasonable # of critters for a cleanup crew? If it is a realistic number and i wanted to steer away from having a legion of hermit crabs routinely laying siege to all my snails, what would be a reasonable replacement in both numbers and species?

thanks!

 

[ggNoRe]

Although in the long run this may be a reasonable number you definitely don't want to purchase a CUC of that size right when you start off. I think its best to slowly add CUC members as you see they are needed. For example in my tank which is 29G and only about 2 months old I first waited 2-3 weeks when the cycle was finished and I started to see a little algae growth and then ordered 3 nassarius snails for sand cleaning, 3 nerite's for algae cleaning, and 1 cerith that does both. I too have read the nussaince that crabs can be so I decided to go w/o in my tank. A few weeks later my sand was looking dirty so I picked up 4 more nassarius snails. Now my sand is looking nice but I'm starting to get some algae growth and thus plan to pick up 4 more nerite's soon. This is only an example and with a bigger tank it might be better to get some bigger snails or other bigger cleaners but hopefully this info will still help u along.

 

[dcantucson]

+1 ggNoRe
Grow your CUC as you go.

 

[Dakwan]

That's certainly the plan :) just wanted to get a "feel" so to speak for the amount you would have in a tank.

I am learning a healthy distrust of LFS though. The two closest by list this under nassarius snails

One says:
"These tiny (1") snails are incredible detrivores."

The other says:
"Will not eat detritus or attack healthy animals."

:P

 

[dcantucson]

You'll learn to trust them less as time goes along. :lol:

 

[Dakwan]

Well atleast the hobby is really simple and there isn't much to know!:bounce: otherwise it could be troublesome having the "experts" be so contradictory and uninformed :mrgreen:

 

[ggNoRe]

Lmao! Yes most of the employees working at my LFS have given me more wrong info than correct info and thus is why LivingReefs and the rest of the interwebs are my best friends in the hobby. What astounds me is when I meet someone who owns and has owned a saltwater tank for years and knows absolutely dick about them.

 

[Jmck]

Hahaha im the only lucky one. So far, my LFS has told me everything correctly and it matches everything on here ;)

 

[Bifferwine]

ggNoRe is right -- build your CUC slowly. Add too many at once, and they'll starve to death, polluting your water. Add too few, and you'll be overrun by algae. It's a balancing act. It seems to me those giant packages are probably only good for tanks that are already established.

 

[dcantucson]

Hahaha im the only lucky one. So far, my LFS has told me everything correctly and it matches everything on here ;)

I do believe there are some good ones out there. I would hate to be a LFS owner and try to over come the bad press!

 

[d2mini]

Adding slow is good, but in the end those numbers do sound right for an established tank.
The little blue legged hermits are good guys and don't grow like the other hermits do (like scarlets).

And don't expect your snails and stuff to live forever anyway.
You're just going to have to replenish your cuc every once in a while.

 

[Hiker4twenty]

That sounds about right for the tank size. For example, I have a 29g tank and have about 30+ hermits and 30+ snials, plus other crabs and shrimp.

 

[reeffreak]

Really,those blue dwarf hermits are microscopic almost when you first ge them.Their shell and all is only the size of a rice grain.They will growup large enough for astrea shells so I agree about a hermit crab-less CUC.

The Margarita snail will be escargot with or without hermits.Our reef system is too warm for a cold water snail.

 

[dcantucson]

Ain't nothing wrong with little hermits! Don't let these reefers scare you.

:fechten2:Equal rights for hermits!:fechten2:

 

[Bluespace]

I didn't see an emerald on that list. I would add one or two.

 

[Dakwan]

Really? I heard that emeralds can sometimes go after snails when they get a bit bigger?

 

[Bluespace]

I have two in my tank. One the size of a quarter and the other a 50 cent piece. They don't bother anything but the algae.. If he eats a few snails (which I don't think he will) then so be it. Those damn snails are always making babies..

 

[Jmck]

Mmm it is hard, I doubted this guy at first. But so far, on his advice have had no tank issues :) nor have I killed any fish (except my dam overflow having a whole grrr)

speaking of CUC though, I need about 15 more small snails, got some nice green algae on the sand!

 

[OhNoNemo]

IMO,cuc are very over rated.I have a 125 with nothing.Granted i did at one point,but triggers think crabs and snails are potato chips....Its been a couple years since i had any hermits and my turbos were taken out a few months ago.I have a QT full of hermits which i then put in my DT every couple days for snack time....I'm not saying don't get anything,but i just don't believe there is some magic number ratio that you must have.You really don't NEED any.....JMO

 

[Dakwan]

What do you have for a substrate OhNoNemo?