Curated top 10

Top 10 Saltwater Cleanup Crew Species

Best CUC species for marine + reef tanks.

The list

1

Trochus snail

Best all-around algae snail. Eats film + GHA. Will not reproduce out of control.

2

Nassarius snail

Sand-bed worker. Surfaces at feeding time. Eats detritus + uneaten food.

3

Cerith snail

Small + active. Sand + glass cleaner.

4

Astraea snail

Cone-shaped. Algae eater. Falls off rockwork - need to be flipped.

5

Blue-leg hermit crab

Affordable, peaceful, eats detritus + algae. Minor coral threat.

6

Scarlet hermit crab

Larger than blue-leg, more peaceful. Best hermit for reef.

7

Cleaner shrimp (Lysmata amboinensis)

Reef-safe, eats parasites off fish. Pair-bonds. Boldly visible.

8

Peppermint shrimp

Eats aiptasia (true peppermint = Lysmata wurdemanni). Reef-safe.

9

Emerald crab

Eats bubble algae + bryopsis. Add only if you have a bubble algae problem.

10

Sand-sifting starfish

Cleans deep sand bed. Needs established sand for survival; not for tanks under 75g.

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