Clean up crew for a 13.5 gallon tank

[Aseifert]

I am new to salt water aquariums. I recently got a 13 gallon tank and plan to start with some clown fish. I was wondering if I have enough room for a clean up crew and what to get if I do? I was thinking about a cleaner shrimp. Also any tips y’all have would be greatly appreciated! I’m about to start the cycling process, I just want to be prepared for when the tank is ready for fish! 

[jservedio]

Yes, you definitely have room for a clean up crew and your life would be significantly harder without one. I personally like a mixed clean up crew with some nassarius snails for cleaning up dead stuff, turbo and margarita or trochus snails for dealing with algae, ceriths for getting into small areas, and dwarf hermits for everything.

 

A cleaner shrimp is just an ornamental shrimp and you'll be feeding it like you would a fish - they aren't going to be making your life easier and aren't part of your CUC. They can also be a pain in the ass, but if you like them you live with it!

 

If you started with live rock, you can start with a full CUC and will likely get bonus clean up crew you can't buy in a store like stomatellas, limpets, etc. If you started with dry rock, I'd add them slowly over that next 6 months since you don't have a lot of micro life to support them.

 

For my 20g, I went with 2 nassarius, 2 turbo, 4 small margarita, 6-8 ceriths, and 2-3 dwarf hermits and kept it roughly the same level for 10 years without too many changes. Many people go a bit larger, a few go a little smaller.

[Kindanewtothis]

2 hours ago, jservedio said:

They can also be a pain in the ass,

Just out of curiosity, why?

[jservedio]

1 hour ago, Kindanewtothis said:

Just out of curiosity, why?

Because just like crabs, shrimp are opportunists. Only they are bigger than than the crabs we keep and way faster. Many are also quite a bit faster than the nano sized fishes we keep (at least over nano tank sized distances in short bursts) and can be extremely aggressive when going for food.

 

Not to mention the fact that if they are very hungry or happen to be in a bad mood, they can pry open the mouth of a coral, jam their little shrimpy claws inside, and steal whatever food the coral is trying to digest. Corals tend not to like that very much.

[less than bread]

My favorite CUC member is the conch. They spend tons of time picking up little bits of whatever. If they aren't sleeping, they're eating. Plus they are entertaining to watch and they help turn your sand as they bury themselves for nap time.

 

Nassarius snails are cool too because if you get a few of them they will all start popping out of the sand at feeding time like a horde of zombies.

[Arthur11]

There are different ways to clean a fish tank, including removing the fish from outside the aquarium. But this method can immediately affect the fish once you remove them from their habitat. I want to share with you a method for cleaning a fish tank with fish in it. It makes cleaning your aquarium easier without harming your fish.

[SF Reef]

I'd stay away from turbos and margarita snails personally. Turbos get BIG (depending on species, up to softball size), and margarita snails are not true tropical snails, they prefer temperate water and won't last long at reef tank temps. Trochus snails are the all around best IMO, they are true tropical reef snails, stay relatively small, and will reproduce within the aquarium. Astrea snails are also good, though can fall prey to hermits when they fall. Ceriths are fine, but move slowly and don't do a whole lot of cleaning. Nassarius for the sandbed.

 

Ideal CUC for your tank would look something like this IMO:

 

4 Trouchus snails

3 Astrea snails

4-5 ceriths

4 Nassarius Snails (if the larger tongan variety, 6-7 if the smaller nassarius vibex)

 

Cleaner shrimp and hermits can also be added, though they are more for entertainment than providing value.