If you are new to the saltwater hobby then no doubt, you have heard about the importance of having a clean up crew, otherwise known as CUC for short. A clean up crew is vitally important to any saltwater aquarium system. The reason you need one is for the same reason we need waste disposal; we want our environment to be clean. That is what a clean up crew does for a saltwater aquarium system, they help keep it clean. Of course, in a home based aquarium, we cant fully recreate the natural ecosytem of the actual ocean, but on a small scale, we can ensure that our systems are thriving and healthy.
A clean up crew is a select variety of snails, shrimp, starfish, crabs, and macro algea’s. The size and maturity of your tank will determine what you need and when. If your saltwater aquarium system is new, then your tank probably hasnt built enough detritus or waste to sustain a CUC. They will however, eat left over food, and so if you have already added a clean up crew to your tank and you are now smacking yourself on the forehead, then at least know, that there is a chance at thier survival; especially if you tend to overfeed. Be warned however, that excess food can create excess nutrients in your tank, creating a water quality problem.
The best time to add a clean up crew to your tank is after you have had your tank up and running with fish for long enough to create waste, perhaps a month, maybe two; depending on your bio load. when you do begin to add them, it is best to add half of what you will need first. This way, you dont run into the possibility that the clean up crew will do thier job too well and die off after a short time.
Another thing you have to be sure of, is that you add the right clean up crew to your tank. Some CUC can eat expensive corals, even fish. Emerald crabs, tend to be great at eating nuisance algeas, like green bubble algea, but they can also eat shrimp and corals and Sandsifting stars do a great job at sifting your sand bed, but can also eat slow moving hermit crabs and snails. You can avoid this problem by adding the CUC at the proper time, ensuring that your crew will have all the food they want without turning against your display creatures.
When your tank is mature enough for a clean up crew, try to get a variety at the same time, and not try to add all of one type of CUC at once. If you have a 55 gallon tank, you might add 5 red legged hermit crabs, 5 blue legged hermit crabs, 2 Turbo snails, 2 Peppermint Shrimp, 10 trochus snails, (which flip themselves upright if they get knocked over) 1 sandsifting star, and 5 nassarious snails. There are others to choose from, but these tend to be mostly reef safe and enjoy eating waste from rocks and sand. Each of your clean up crew has a purpose and you want to try to keep them as compatible as possible.
Farther up, we mentioned Macro Algeas. These are good plant-like water cleaners. Macro algea comes in many forms and has various names. cheotomorphia or “Kee-To” tends to be the most popular since it has less of an ability to go asexual which will put nutrients back into your water instead of removing them. This type of macro will help keep your phosphates and amonia down in your water, and also provide certain herbivore fish such as the Tang, happy.
The important thing to make sure your saltwater aquarium is ready for a clean up crew before you add one. If you add too soon, you run the risk of dying CUC which will only add to a build up of nutrients in your tank. If placed properly, a clean up crew will help ensure that your aquarium system remains clean and tidy; that means less hassle for you.
