Building a Reef Tank Clean-Up Crew: Snails, Hermit Crabs, and Shrimp

A “clean-up crew” of hardy invertebrates is standard practice in reef keeping, helping control algae and process leftover food and detritus that would otherwise degrade water quality.

Snails

Turbo and Astrea snails are excellent at grazing algae from glass and rock, while nassarius snails help clean up leftover food buried in the sand bed.

Hermit Crabs

Hermit crabs are opportunistic scavengers that clean up detritus and leftover food, though some larger species may bother snails for their shells, so research compatibility.

Cleaner Shrimp

Cleaner shrimp not only scavenge but also provide a genuine service by picking parasites off willing fish — a fascinating natural behavior to watch. See our invertebrates selection.

Sizing Your Clean-Up Crew

Avoid overstocking clean-up crew animals relative to your tank’s actual algae and detritus production — too large a crew can starve once they’ve consumed the available food source.

Pair your clean-up crew with the stocking plan in our Complete Guide to Coral Reef Tanks.