detrius eaters

[jacksonpt]

I've got a pretty good clean up crew (good numbers, variety, etc), but the one thing I don't have is someone to take care of detrius.

 

What do you all recommend? It will be for my 12g AP.

 

Thanks.

[Uploadead]

queen conchs eat detritus and diatoms. think they can grow about 3 inches though.

 

check www.saltwaterfish.com and click on inverts, just scroll till you fund it

[a1rabbit]

I think queens can actually get up to 16" in the wild, in our tanks they die first.

 

I recently got a fighting conch and like it a lot, he keeps my sand bed really clean and mixed but I don't know if he eats detritus.

 

Fighting Conches need at least 2 square feet of algae growing area on the sand bed (and the bottom of rock/glass combined if you count how high their mouth reaches) because they don't climb and seldom ever leave the sand once their shell is over 1" long. This is because they move more or less by hopping, jumping or pushing (hence the name fighting conch, they don't really fight) it's hard for them to climb.

 

I did not know about the 2 square feet of algae growth when I got mine, others have had them in smaller tanks and they've done ok. I hope mine does too, he's one of my favorite inhabitants.

 

I do believe that Bristle worms do a good job on detritus, they creep me out though.

[FAC_WNY]

Detrivores?

 

Hmm..apart from bristle worms...there are also things like Bumblebee Snails, most crabs and shrimps species...and my favorite, the Nassarius snails. (The big Tongan ones...they do great..)

 

Cheers,

Fred

[rickjg]

I've got a pretty good clean up crew (good numbers, variety, etc), but the one thing I don't have is someone to take care of detrius.

What do you all recommend? It will be for my 12g AP.

Thanks.

If your “detritus” consists largely of the waste that falls out of active LR, I’m not sure anything will clean it up. You might be better off just siphoning it out.