Clean Up Crew (CUC) or Food For Thought

I really do not get this article. It is written to dishearten people that like to chose their animals for their potential.
From the very first, it is not a matter of if animals can help the reefer, but how they hinder him/her.
If I am to find this article useful , I am invited to forget about:

snail cleanup,
tang/rabbits on algae patrol,
salarias and shrimp on leftover duty,
sump algae,
copepods for .... whatever they do to detritus before they become food ,
starfish for detritus and sand maintenance or
hermit crabs for their.... I do not know what they do, I never liked crabs of any sort.

It sounds like the writer feels about everything not purchased for aesthetics to be,,, undesirable. THe same way I feel about hermit crabs.

Finally this is what black and white absolutism does. If the only result that is worth doing is a perfect result, then this article is amazing. Any pitfall should just make us work on finding what we did wrong, how it can be improved, and only after we see no results after several attempts (by us and others) then throw hard working blue collar critters under the bus!

;Joyful;Woot;Woot

I have recently begun to wonder whether the perceived value of the clean up crew needs to be reexamined. This articles has started the process. Like many “good” ideas for managing saltwater aquaria, a relook is overdo for the logic and science behind the idea that having a clean up crew is a good idea. I am especially concerned that a purchase of a clean crew is more than likely the death sentence for these creatures. The average aquarist spends little time to understand these creatures’ needs let alone ensuring they are met. Most clean up crew animals likely starve to death because they must live off the land, which in the case of aquaria, is a barren waste land. When I start my “save the snail“ campaign, Jay will be a charter member.

Excellent article - easy to understand.

Jay offers a realistic and reasonable opinion to the old reefing fables of certain 'cleaner' organisms fixing larger underlying problems, such as pests/outbreaks and disease.