Nano 12 gal

How many crabs/clean up crews should I look for to get into my 12 gal nano? Should I get them right away or wait until after I've had fish for awhile?

 

I'm just a beginner as well, but from the advice that I have gotten, after your cycle, you will need to get the CUC first.

 

I love snails for cuc - maybe something like this... 2 - Ceriths 2 - Nassarius & 2 Trochus snails, I would add them before the fish so they can clean up any food the fish miss.

 

Re: Nano 12 gal - CUC

Would it be disastrous to add them at the same time? It's hard for me to drive an hour to the LFS. =( If so, I'll just make it work eventually. lol

 

Also, I know that crabs can kill snails in order to obtain the shells. However, is there a way to do both?

 

Scarlet leg crabs dont seem to be as bad on snails if you have extra shells for them. IMO

 

You can add them at the same time... no problem.

You can do hermits & snails too - crabs do eats snails - imo - just be prepared to add more snails as they eat them.

 

I ended up with a red leg and a blue leg hermit crap. No snails yet. All seems well. =)