The Blue Leg Hermit Crab, Clibanarius tricolor, features characteristic blue legs poking out of their shell. They are excellent scavengers and tank-cleaners that can help control algae and detritus and aerate sandy substrate. They are best housed in tanks with plenty of live rock and a sandy substrate. The Blue Leg Hermit Crab is reef safe, peaceful, and requires no care making it a risk-free and only beneficial addition to any home aquarium.
The Nassarius Snail,
Nassarius sp., is an excellent reef scavenger. Their trunk-like tubes extend from curved shells while searching the sand, tank wall, and rock for microfauna prey. Nassarius Snails are capable sand-sifters as they can sometimes burrow in search of food, often detritus. Nassarius Snails require minimal attention and will thrive without any care in established reef tanks with plentiful live rock and algae. Overall, these snails are incredibly beneficial and are often instrumental in keeping tanks clean and operational.
The Red Leg Hermit Crab, Paguristes sp., are found off the Mexican coast living together in the hundreds. They will spend their time in the home aquarium clinging to rocks and each other scouring for algae and other food. As proficient tank-cleaners, the Red Leg Hermit Crab is an essential member to any clean up crew and have no real drawback of keeping them in your tank.
The Emerald Crab,
Mithrax sculptus, are one of the most popular marine crab species for the home aquarium. They thrive in tanks with plenty of live rock and a sandy substrate as the like to graze searching for algae. As voracious algae-eaters, they can be incredibly beneficial members of a cleanup crew. If there is not enough algae or seaweed, they can be supplementally fed with prepared meaty foods. They should, however, be fed regularly to keep them from becoming aggressive towards their tank mates. Emerald Crabs are particularly effective against bubble algae. There is a reason emerald crabs are so popular; they are very easy to care for, require almost no attention, and are effective in in controlling pesky algal blooms hence keeping the tank clean.
The Margarita Turbo Snail, Turbo sp., is one of our most popular snail species. Its spiral top shape makes it an attractive species inside your tank. It is an efficient algae grazer that is incredibly beneficial to your tank. Margarita Turbos require very little attention once introduced and need only be kept in a well-established reef tank with plenty of algae and live rock. These snails are recommended for any home aquarium as they are beautiful, beneficial, and require minimal care. There is really no downside to keeping Turbo snails.
The Cleaner Clam, Mercenaria mercenaria, is a durable, beneficial, and functional addition to any tank. They are diligent water-cleansers and algae-eaters. Cleaner clams are essential members of any janitorial crew. They do not require light as they will spend much of their time burrowed under a sandy substrate.
The Peppermint Shrimp, Lysmata wurdemanni, also known as Veined Shrimp and the Caribbean Cleaner Shrimp, is a staple in the marine aquarium industry. They are proficient eliminators of pesty Aiptasia making them highly useful and desirable. Featuring a sleek light pink body with small red stripes, the Peppermint Shrimp are completely reef safe and reclusive in nature. Found mostly in the Atlantic Ocean, the Peppermint Shrimp has extended eyes and a pair on antennae that it uses to avoid predation. These shrimp will often completely shed their exoskeleton, called molting - this is not unusual behavior. Overall, the Peppermint Shrimp is one of the most useful and popular shrimp species out there due to its incredible ease of care and beneficial nature in the home aquarium.
