Crabless CUC suggestions?

[bob115]

Well title more or less says it all. I'm looking for CUC suggestions for my 20g thats in the works. In my current 5g I've had one blue legged dwarf hermit, and I despise it with the undying passion of a thousand burning suns. I've seen the thing digging inside of coral for food. Past that it constantly knocks shit over, and is a general nuisance.

 

So that leaves me with snails and shrimp basically. I figured a few of a few different species of snails. And maybe sexy shrimp? I like the two that I have, but they're already hard to find in a 5, so I can only imagine what it'd be like in a 20. Not a huge fan of the skunk cleaners as far as aesthetics go.

 

I've also had a though about adding a brittle star down the line.

 

If crabs are a uniquely valuable part of the CUC, I guess I could always sump them most of the time with the new set up to make them tolerable.

[Cameron6796]

Shrimp are cool, cleaner shrimps are so fun looking, I know peoples who will eat and pick (not painful) at their hands when in tank

[Arkayology]

Banded Trochus snails are awesome.

[jedimasterben]

Be as versatile as possible. Nassarius snails, Florida/mexican cerith snails, dwarf ceriths, zig zag periwinkles, Strombus cleaner snails, money cowries, astrea snails, serpent stars, brittle stars, lettuce sea slugs, bumblebee snails, babylonia snails, as many as you can find

[Arkayology]

Be as versatile as possible. Nassarius snails, Florida/mexican cerith snails, dwarf ceriths, zig zag periwinkles, Strombus cleaner snails, money cowries, astrea snails, serpent stars, brittle stars, lettuce sea slugs, bumblebee snails, babylonia snails, as many as you can find

Well, ya... You forgot to mention the kitchen sink.

[joy13]

Limpets, Banded Trochus, Nassarius, stomatella snail, small turbos and tuxedo urchin are my favorites. Depending on your coral choices I would say peppermint shrimp but I have had a few that ate my frogspawn. There is several nice types of shrimp but do your research I got a golden coral banded shrimp that just about wiped out my bristleworms.

 

Here is a bad snail list http://www.reefcleaners.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=48&Itemid=66

[Nocturnal]

Banded Trochus snails are awesome.

I love those guys.

 

Also but Ben said, more variety the better. My favs are the trochus and turbos though (turbos work a little harder but aren't as nice looking). Nassarius are great for eating waste and are fun to watch.

[bob115]

I've heard that brittle stars can be predatory, would it be safe with a slower swimmer like a dragonet? Or would a serpent star be better? Or perhaps a fromia?

 

I briefly looked into lettuce sea slugs, and I think a blue or purple one would be an amazing tank mate, but I've only found one site that has a purple one, and I couldn't find any review of the site. I'm somewhat concerned as the information for the animal's page doesn't always seem to be 100% correct, and that I can't find anything about the site. Thoughts?

[jedimasterben]

There is one species of brittle star that is uncommon in the hobby that is predatory. They are a greenish color. All others are fine unless your fish is already dead.

 

Elysiidae become the color of what they eat, as they use the chlorophyll in their body to perform photosynthesis. They eat algae, so they'll be green 99.99% of the time, in varying shades and patterns that can include pinks and purples and yellows. There aren't any that I've seen that are purple.

[gogo]

burgundy sea star.... they need to be fed though...

[bob115]

burgundy sea star.... they need to be fed though...

 

Honestly I'm totally ok with that. That means if I have something else that eats the same thing it does, I can potentially keep both if I give the star supplemental feeding.

 

 

There is one species of brittle star that is uncommon in the hobby that is predatory. They are a greenish color. All others are fine unless your fish is already dead.

 

Elysiidae become the color of what they eat, as they use the chlorophyll in their body to perform photosynthesis. They eat algae, so they'll be green 99.99% of the time, in varying shades and patterns that can include pinks and purples and yellows. There aren't any that I've seen that are purple.

 

Hmm. So then what do the blue ones eat? lol. Either way a green one would still be a really cool tankmate.

[jedimasterben]

Blue ones what?

Honestly I'm totally ok with that. That means if I have something else that eats the same thing it does, I can potentially keep both if I give the star supplemental feeding.

If they were talking about the feather starfish species, then I would highly suggest to keep away from those until you've got some experience in the hobby AND a dedicated dosing setup solely for food. They only filter feed, need lots of food, and need absolutely pristine water quality.

[bob115]

Blue ones what?

 

If they were talking about the feather starfish species, then I would highly suggest to keep away from those until you've got some experience in the hobby AND a dedicated dosing setup solely for food. They only filter feed, need lots of food, and need absolutely pristine water quality.

 

Oh god no! No way in hell would I try a feather star. I was talking about the tile starfish.

 

As for blue ones, I was reading about them, and this article from advanced aquarist says:

 

Elysia crispata is one of the most variably colored sea slugs in the world, ranging from dull green, to bright blue, to almost white, to red, yellow and blue banding on a green background, and virtually every combination in between. There remains debate among the experts about whether the diversity of colors seen in this slug is a consequence of extreme individual variability or poorly understood taxonomy.

 

Elysia crispata is one of the desired species of sea slugs that can do well in aquariums, and are probably the species you're thinking of with the green/brown.

 

Just thought a blue one would be really cool to have around; they're pretty spectacular looking.

[Legendary Corals]

Banded Trochus snails are awesome.

Yup. My favorite type of snails!

[Arkayology]

Yup. My favorite type of snails!

And the reproduce in our tanks! I have about 8-10 baby banded trochus snails that I know of.

[hypostatic]

Bristleworms. They'll stay hidden most of the time, and 100 will pop out to eat any stray strand of food that goes uneaten

[bob115]

Bristleworms. They'll stay hidden most of the time, and 100 will pop out to eat any stray strand of food that goes uneaten

 

Since I'm starting from dry rock, where might I procure bristleworms?

[frankdontsurf]

Talk to John from reefcleaners order a 20g cleaner package add some zig zags and see if he can nab a bristle or four for you. I have a ton but I'd have to send you a piece of my rock I wouldn't have a slightest clue on how to catch em.

[hypostatic]

If you buy uncured live rock from a LFS, it most probably will contain some.

 

The only downside is that they're ugly as SIN. Oh and they might prickle you if you brush up against one by accident. I don't think I've felt any real pain from it, but it unsettles me when I have to pull those fiberglass needles from my skin.

[Lawnman]

Tronchus snails are my favorite.

[Arkayology]

Bristleworms. They'll stay hidden most of the time, and 100 will pop out to eat any stray strand of food that goes uneaten

Yes! I know people don't like these, but they are quite possibly the best part of a CUC. They reproduce fast and they eat a lot. If you get a monster one, just get rid of it. They are not that scary.

[Tamberav]

Oh god no! No way in hell would I try a feather star. I was talking about the tile starfish.

 

As for blue ones, I was reading about them, and this article from advanced aquarist says:

 

 

Elysia crispata is one of the desired species of sea slugs that can do well in aquariums, and are probably the species you're thinking of with the green/brown.

 

Just thought a blue one would be really cool to have around; they're pretty spectacular looking.

 

Ahh.. a fromia would starve to death in a 5g. I would get some micro brittle starfish if you are after CUC members. Many people don't use crabs so I wouldn't worry about that. A variety of snails, worms, and micro brittle starfish will get the job done.

[bob115]

Ahh.. a fromia would starve to death in a 5g. I would get some micro brittle starfish if you are after CUC members. Many people don't use crabs so I wouldn't worry about that. A variety of snails, worms, and micro brittle starfish will get the job done.

 

This wouldn't be for my 5g. In fact its probably going down as soon as my 20g goes up. This would be for the 20g.

[jedimasterben]

A fromia star would starve in a 20g, as well. They eat microfauna growing on the surfaces of the tank.

[Tamberav]

This wouldn't be for my 5g. In fact its probably going down as soon as my 20g goes up. This would be for the 20g.

 

Same issue. They take awhile to starve (months) but its inevitable. They need a lot of mature live rock in a large tank to feed off of. They won't take prepared foods and are not considered nano compatible.

 

A tuxedo urchin in a 20g would work though if you want some odd inverts. Just make sure the rock is mature with plenty of Coraline algae (they eat it). They will also eat most macro algae's and nori if you put some down in its path.