Clean up Crew (55 gallon)

Hey all! I have a 55 gallon tank that currently has 2 clown fish and a yellow tail damsel in it. For clean up we have 3 astrea snails, 3 nassarius, 1 emerald crab and 2 blue/orange hermits. Tank is new it's been set up for about 6 weeks but it never got a cycle due to the live rock coming from an established tank to ours.

ANYWAY we have some brown gunk on the sand and our hermits are working overtime cleaning it but they aren't keeping up. Now we knew we would need more critters to clean up but we didn't add many at first because we got no diatom bloom or anything like that. I'm getting conflicting reports on what we should get to take care of this, one store says cerith snails another says no cerith won't help get more hermits and nassarius! Our nassiarius NEVER are on the sand they hang out on the rocks so....what is you guys advise to what we should add?? And how many of them, etc...

When I feed I watch the fish and they get a small amount at a time till its gone then a bit more IF they ate it really fast, however I have no doubts that at first I was overfeeding. Not adding anymore fish till this is under control, oh water parameters (did a 6 gallon water change two days ago just for weekly maint.)

Salinity 1.024
PH 8.3
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 15-20 (working on this it never goes above 20 but still working to lower it)

Thanks for the help in advance

 

I would say more crabs or possibly a sand sifting fish.

 

I'm curious to see the responses to your post...I have the same problem with my 90g - detritus on the sand that my hermits and snails aren't touching (they stay on the rocks). Sorry I can't answer your question myself.

 

Crabs over snails huh? We were thinking of a little goby but hate to add a fish to a tank to fix a problem, then have the problem go away and have a fish that has nothing to eat!

 

I can tell you what they are going to say........Your water params arnt right or there is some excess nutrients......what skimmer.....are you over feeding.....do you have sump?

 

Wise choice. Didnt see that your tank is new untill just now. I would add some more crabs. I like to add my clkeaners just a few at a time. At only six weeks old this may also just be a stage your tank is going to go through. As soon as all the excess nutrients are gone is should settle down.

 

http://www.3reef.com/forums/inverts/clean-up-crew-53007.html


15 Blue Leg Hermit Crab
60 Dwarf Cerith
18 Dwarf Planaxis
8 Empty Hermit Shells
15 Florida Cerith
15 Limpets (swapped out for about 20 nerites)
2 Nassarius Vibex (all they had)
3 Fuzzy Chiton


I highly recommend you go here and ask them

http://www.reefcleaners.org