Imagine hiring a service for just a few dollars that not only cleans your tank 24/7, but also helps to keep your nitrate and phosphate levels in check. Sound too good to be true? It's not. Reef Safe Hermit Crabs do all that and more. If you want to keep your aquarium glass and Live Rock free of algae, a few of the Reef Safe Rock & Glass Cleaners will get the job done for you.
More: Sand Sifting Gobies are another great investment for your tank. Sand Sifting Gobies plow through the tank substrate, sifting/straining algae, detritus and uneaten food from the sand. This not only removes unwanted nitrate producing substances, it also stirs and aerates the sand (very important for Deep Sand Beds), releasing toxic gases.
Comments
Great Tip. When it comes to the cleaning crew most hobbyist to try and keep 1 hermit crab or snail per gallon of water. Happy Reefing.
We have never had good luck with hermit crabs. They have eaten any coral we have put in the tank, they eat my snails, especially the cerith ones that are cleaning my sand. I currently have a hair algae problem, and the slugs we purchased to help with that were being eaten within 24 hrs. Any ideas? In my tank now, I have a brittle star, 2 cleaner shrimp, Bengai Cardinal and a Clown Fish. A handful of cerinth snails and one traditional snail.
What would happen to my tank if I start taking out the rock and scrubbing in fresh water to kill the hair algae?
Staci – Taking out live rock and cleaning it may remove the algae, but it also kills all the beneficial bacteria on it.
I have had tremendous luck with Algae blennies on multiple types of algae. I used to get hair algae in previous tank setups, but with my current tank and a happy algae blenny, i have had ZERO hair algae….it might be luck or it might be the blenny.
good luck
I have zebra hermits, scarlet hermits, blue leg hermits, and red leg hermits. I have numerous corals and they clean all around the corals and the rest of the live rock. They have been very good inhabitants and haven’t caused any problems.