Cleaner species, eel

Question
I was reading "Your First Marine Aquarium" and it said that you want one cleaner per gallon, so one snail, or hermit crab shrimp etc... that would be a total of like 47 specimen for a 55 gallon tank is this true? IF so does it affect how many fish I can have in the tank?

Also I would like to have a snowflake eel in my tank (55 Gallon) would it be compatible with Clownfish?

Answer
Hi Jake. That would be correct! Snails and hermit crabs do not produce all that much waste and since they help with the clean up of any decaying thing in the tank they are worth their weight in gold! I know that I have a total of 100 snails and hermit crabs in my 75 gallon tank and they do a terrific job. If you are planning on keeping a bunch of these cleaner crew in your tank, you may want to consider keeping your stocking levels a little lower than you would if you had none in there. Maybe one less fish. Keeping stocking levels lower than what is the general rule is always a good idea anyway. To answer your other question, It depends on the size tank, the kind of clown fish, and how small the eel is. Although eventually the eel will get large and could possible eat the clownfish. The only exception may be the maroon clown. They get about 4-5 inches and are so territorial. I have one and I am afraid of it! It bites me constantly when I am cleaning the tank! They can be very intimidating.