So you think you need some clean up crew guys- Well here is a good rule of thumb:
Nature is amazing - If you want a clean tank without hours of cleaning - employ the professionals!!
Got Crabs?? You can reduce algae and waste by just keeping the number of crabs in your tank at the optimal level. What is the right amount? 1 crab per gallon!!
- 100 gallons Tank = 75 Blue Legs, 20 red legs, 5 emerald crabs - give some variation by using white legs, brown legs and scarletts also!!
Snails - they eat more than just algae!! When you think of snails you may forget that not all snails eat algae - Nassarius Vibex are the Queen Gems - they eat the YUCK that causes nitrates which feed the algae. So if you want less algae you MUST reduce the nitrates first.
- Nassarius can be kept at 1-2 snails per gallon. They eat left over food, dead stuff, waste from other animals - lots of yucky stuff- NATURALLY!
Starfish - the natural janitors! Starfish are also great cleaners because they spend most of the day hours hiding among the live rock - but they keep the hard to reach areas clean and void of debris.
- One Brittle or Serpent Starfish is recommended per 20 gallons.
- One Sand Sifting Starfish per 50 gallons - Tanks under 50 gallons should not employ these types of stars - they require more nutrients than the tank can provide to maintain these animals at an optimal level.
There are a ton of great shrimp and miscellaneous cleaners which will help out the system.
I like to envision it this way - If I went to a buffet by myself - I could only do so much damage - I only like "spagetti" - however if I took 20 of my closest friends - since each of us has a different "favorite" food - we could really make a dent in the buffet - so the moral of the story is to have a variety of eaters in your tank and no gaps in your food chain.
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