pbryant33

I have 7 candy cane shrimp in my 75 gallon tank. I bought 4 snails yesterday and plan to add 4 more to deal with the red algae bloom in my 4 month old tank. Do snails really clean the algae? and my shrimp dont seem to clean anything! they seem to only forage for food. I guess those skunk cleaner shrimp are the only shrimp who actually clean. And what would starfish do for me? and do they need special lighting.

sgould

Snails do eat algae, yes. Although you probably need quite a few more for a 75 gallon tank. Starfish help keep the substrate clean, eating detritus. There are also sand sifting stars that actually dig into the substrate, which helps keep it oxygenated. I wanted one, but alas, my tank is too small.