My cleaners aren't working

by **reefer171** » Mon Mar 13, 2017 7:30 am

I've got a few each of hermit crabs, snails, and shrimp but they aren't cleaning the algae up very well. Is there any particular reason for this? I thought having a cleaning crew would prevent algae? They don't seem sick, I wouldn't say they're inactive, it's just like they're being lazy when it comes to feeding?

by **kate_kuhli** » Sun Mar 19, 2017 11:15 pm

It sounds as if it might be too big of a load for them. For now I'd help them out a bit by gently scrubbing the algae off of anything that's easily accessible and then the cleaners can take care of the places that are less easy for you to reach.

by **nea7** » Tue Mar 21, 2017 4:59 pm

Cleaners don't really completely substitute good old fashioned cleaning by hand

by **blenny** » Tue Mar 21, 2017 9:13 pm

Is the tank new? Because it could have some algae blooms being new but once it's older and balanced out this won't be a problem and the cleaners won't have their work cut out for them!

by **xxluckxx** » Fri Mar 24, 2017 3:29 pm

nea7 wrote:Cleaners don't really completely substitute good old fashioned cleaning by hand

Yeah if you use a toothbrush you can do some easy frequent spot cleaning on the algae.

by **reefer171** » Sun Mar 26, 2017 7:44 pm

blenny wrote:Is the tank new? Because it could have some algae blooms being new but once it's older and balanced out this won't be a problem and the cleaners won't have their work cut out for them!

It's about 4 months old?

This is good to know - so maybe in the future it may not have any algae issues. I'll start cleaning with a toothbrush too.

My cleaners aren't working

6 posts