Reef custodians
 

Hi how many reef custodians do I typically need for a 75g tank? I went JL and they said to get Package #5

60 - Blue Legged Hermits
10 - Red Scarlet Hermit
20 - Astrea Snails
20 - Margarita Snails
20 - Cerith Snails

Seems way too overkill and just want to milk money from new hobbyist like me lol.

reff custodians
 

the thing about invertebrates is they breed.stay away from margaritas as they will just die,try some ring cowerys

That package is great. A lot of hermits, and a bag of food for the hermits :)

Hermits will just pick off the snails and each other, except when they're busy knocking stuff over. I have a couple scarlet, and have removed all the others. A couple cleaner shrimp will pick up food all day long, and a pack of snails will take care of algae. Get a few different kinds, for above and below the sand (if you have sand)

CuC will help big time in cleaning up algae left over food and waste you will find that people tend to be very polarized when it comes to crabs most reefers like snails not all but most do. Hermits on the other hand reefers either love them or hate them.

The package that J&L recommends is a very good package and they will definitely help in keeping your tank clean. I love my hermits as they definitely have personality and the only time they kill my snails is for the shell.

I have found though snails when they die they tend to release a lot of things into the tank and can throw your parameters out of balance. Snails live for an average of a yr and hermits average 3-5 yrs

that amount of snails and crabs just seem way too overkill... i was think just like 10 hermits and 20 sails.. ive also heard that some people only go with 6 turbo snails in a 75g tank and things seem just fine... also i heard of a trick for your hermit crabs to not kill the snails is to get a bunch of empty shells n put them in the tank so the crabs can use them when they grow bigger... also do hermits really attack corals?

It's actually not overkill if you get too few crabs and snails you would have to make up your CuC with different snails/crab or more fish both of which presents its own set of problems. Some of which might be aggressive to other invertebrates push over coral and/or rock or attack and eat other fish/coral. The package that J&L put out are full of reef safe crab and snails.

Blue hermits and red hermits are considered reef safe and will as a general rule not Touch coral they will climb all over it but not eat it.

what does CuC stand for?

Another name for reef custodians CuC stands for Clean up Crew

It is not only overkill it is a rip off
If you what to have a couple of hermits because you like them and they are fun to watch get a couple. Wait until they are some unusually coloured ones. Hermits are predators and eat the little critters that feed your sand bed and rock and your corals.

60 snails are guaranteed to starve in your tank, die, rot and pollute your tank. Get less than 10.

Hermit crabs will kill and eat snails when they get hungry, so it is not wise to house both in the same tank. Margarita Snails are temperate, so they do not tolerate tropical temperatures for very long as it increases their metabolism. The increased metabolism makes them very good algae eaters, but most do not last a year. I have always despised J&L's CUC packages - they are ridiculous.

To give you an idea, here is what I have in my tanks...

90-gallon: 5 Astraea Snails, 2 Ring Cowries, 1 Fighting Conch, 1 Black Brittle Starfish, 4 female Emerald Crabs, 2 Peppermint Shrimp, 1 Pin Cushion Urchin.

50-gallon: 2 Astraea Snails, 1 Fighting Conch, 1 female Emerald Crab, 2 Peppermint Shrimp, 1 Tuxedo Urchin.