Time for a CUC!

If your looking for algae eating/ cleaning purposes I would definitely lean towards the lawnmower blenny. My goby only cleans/eats the area right around his burrow and only occasionally drifts from there. My blenny on the other hand is everywhere sand, rocks, whole tank. I very little algae but you can see a difference in his belly from wake up time to lights out. By the end of the day he gets so fat he sits on his round belly & actually rocks on it when the current hits him. Plus he is entertaining when he sits just over the top of a rock and peaks out watching us watch him.

 

Dont forget to look at Blood Shrimp! They are very bright and stand out in a tank. They do tend to hide a little more then the Skunk cleaners, but will come out a lot more once they get used to the tank

Also for a goby, I had a Golden Sleeper Head Goby, similar to the Diamond Goby. He kept my sand bed VERY clean everywhere. However, this also caused sand to be everywhere on the rocks and skattered in the water column.

I would get a Cucumber, it keeps my sand so clean. Then you can still get a small goby or something that doesn't necessarily throw sand everywhere.

 

I had wanted a cucumber so bad (still do), but when the LFS got 5 in, 3 were dead on arrival and another was kinda just sitting there I got a little concerned & opted for an longspine urchin instead. With my current CuC (urchin, snails, sand star, and LM blenny), I am a little relucatant to add another additional member and start starving someone out. Many people dont care for the urchins since they eat coralline too, but thats just preference.

 

Yea I have a tuxedo urchin thats in the bio cube now.. I love him but I don't think Im going to transfer him over., I think Im going to get a blenny I'll think about a cucumber as well.. there is just so much fun stuff. I have a blood red fire shrimp already he never comes out tho.. Im planning on getting a another cleaner shrimp and maybe two emerald crabs.

 

If you go the cucumber route make sure you read up on the particular one your after. Basically the sand eater/pooping ones are cool, but any of the colorful ones can release toxins on death & can nuke a tank. From what I seen the general way to tell the difference is the colorful ones that stay up on the rockwork mostly are the ones to be concerned about.

 

yea I reas reading a thread about the cucumbers nuking tanks so I was scared. I will definitely get one that doesn't release toxins.. or a lower amount or something, I don't know if its risky or not... hmmm

 

I spent a fair amount of time looking into them (even called liveaquaria once) and the Holothuria variety are good to go. The only hazard they pose is on thier death bed they may turn inside out & hang thier guts out, which if eaten can be hazardous to fish. They usually start shrinking & for lack of a better term wilting looking before that happens so anybody that spends time with thier tank will see the signs before that.

 

Nice I will look into the Holothuria ones then if I decide to go that route. Im still unsure really of what I want.