reefjanitors

Reef Janitors

What are reef janitors and why are they beneficial to a reef tank?

They are small crabs,snails, sea cucumbers,stars etc. that are used to keep algae, and waste under control in a reef tank. some, such as the stars and some snails and sea cucumbers work to eat waste and clean the substrate while others work to eat algae from the glass and live rock to help keep the tank clean and promote coral growth from being choked out by problem algae such as hair and slime which can not only over grow corals and coralline algae but compete for calcium and nutrients that the other corals and beneficial coralline algae and macro algae need for growth.

How many can you put in a reef tank?

They can be added in large numbers many times only a few will not be able to keep up with the cleaning job at hand. Most people will add as many janitors as they have gallons to do an effective job. They do not have to be added all at once but the results is much quicker the more you add.

These are a few of the most popular janitors...........