unusual clean up crew

[hobogato]

lets hear about some of your unusual cleanup crew - im not talkin about the run of the mill turbos and ceriths (not that they arent cool too)

ill go first

not overly unusual first, red inkia and pink/orange fromia. the linkia is almost always on the glass or sand, while the fromia really prefers cleaning algae off of the rocks




next is the monster i found earlier in the week, Dendrodoris nigra. eats specific types of sponge and algae


then there is this abalone. he motors around the rock gobbling up hair algae


we also have a black spiny urchin that will have to find a new home when the cuttles are ready to go in the tank, a really active sea hare and some normal snails

so whatcha got cool in your cleanup crew?

[Europhyllia]

I wouldn't have thought of the starfish as cleanup crew since I read:
"its main sustenance consists of microorganisms and film algae that is invisible to the naked eye. Fromia Starfish are not considered to be good candidates for algae control problems and will likely perish in an aquarium with excessive algae problems. The algae they consume usually grows in only established and seasoned aquariums."

And I figure if I can't see the bacteria/algae/dirt I won't worry about it being cleaned off. ;)

Why does the urchin have to find a new home?
I really like mine. I have three. Two Tuxedos and one long spine.

I don't have anything really unusual but I do have huge numbers of collonista snails that are multiplying like crazy in my tank.

I also like my fighting conchs (got 2) but again not all that unusual.

Can I count my spiny oyster as water cleaner? ;) (yep I held out as long as I could and eventually got one after all)

[hobogato]

maybe what you read doesnt apply to all species of fromia, the rocks seem visibly cleaner after it crawls over? we had one last year in the classroom that looked just like this one and it lived from october to the end of the school year - i dont remember who bought it from the students.

i just dont think the longspine urchin will be safe for the cuttles if they get startled and jet into or around the rocks. i will likely get a tuxedo or two instead. this one will go to my dad's tank.

the real algae cleaner is the sea hair.

as far as the oyster, i guess any filter feeder could be considered as a part of the cleanup crew...

[Europhyllia]

Ace how is it going with the starfish and sponges?
I would love to have a starfish but all of the reef safe ones appear to eat sponges and I would like to get some blue photosynthetic Haliclona sponges eventually.
I am torn between being relieved the starfish would have a source of food and being worried about how fast a starfish can chow through a 60 dollar sponge...
Thoughts?

[hobogato]

as far as i can tell, they have not touched the sponges. in fact, i have watched the fromia crawl right by the base of the orange tree sponge