Looking for an algae eating fish for a 50G reef: Any Sugges

[Jacob1]

tank is 36x18x18. very open liverock setup. Want a herbavour that can thrive in this tank. Needs to be able to eat brown leafy macroalge that is growing like crazy on my rock.

Any suggestions. I am really trying to resist the urge to purchase a very small yellow tang (I plan on upgrading in a year or two to a 150. ) help me with some options.

The only planned inhabitant is a fairy wrasse at this point.

How about a Valaming tang or an algea eating shark....just kidding!! Looking for a happy inhabitant for the 50 to do this job.

Any Suggestions?

 

[Jacob1]

Wow, all the experince on this board and no help yet. Come on guys. If your gonna blast me later for putting a tang in a 50G give me some options instead of a tang now.

Throw me a bone.

 

[Anonymous]

jacob, i had great luck with a lawnmower blenny until he decided to explore the carpet under the tank. i replaced it with a bicolor blenny and he does a good job too.

 

[C. Alan]

I have to agree, Lawn mower bennies are pretty good algea grazers. However, I have had 1 go carpet surfing.

 

[tomocean]

I think a rock blenny or a bi-color would be good choices. Since you are going to be upgrading in the not too distant future, a small tang might be an option (scopas or kole tangs are great grazers).

 

[Joe_B]

Another vote for a Blenny here! Pretty tough little guys and hungry too!

Joe

 

[2poor2reef]

Hey guys, my lawnmower blenny is my only fish, and he's a great hair eater, but Jacob said it was a macro that he's having trouble with. My lawnmower has never touched macro in my systems. Have any of you had a different experience with yours or are we recommending the wrong tool for the job?

 

[McReef1]

Nothing beats the Lawnmower Blenny! They will, however, starve to death if there is no algae for them to eat.

Good luck,

McReef

 

[Rob Klein]

My Lawnmower Blenny must be on a hunger strike. I don't see him touching the algae.

 

[Anonymous]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote

Hey guys, my lawnmower blenny is my only fish, and he's a great hair eater, but Jacob said it was a macro that he's having trouble with. My lawnmower has never touched macro in my systems.

sorry, i must've misread the original post. you're right; they never touch macro. i've never had a lot of macro to begin with but what i did have started disappearing after i put my sally lightfoot in.

 

[Jacob1]

Thanks so much guys. I was thinking maybe a Mithrax or Sally lightfoot would be a good idea. Maybe I will throw some in.

P.S. the brown macroalgae seems to be a saragassum species. Description is-No flotation bubbles, rough to the touch, wide blade like leaves arising from a rubbery stalk

 

[davelin315]

I personally have never had problems with yellow tangs in smaller tanks (for years my reef was in a 55) and I have had the same yellow tangs since I started my reef to prove it (spent about half of their lives in a 55, now in a 125, always have been happy). However, I'm a big fan of a diverse fish population in my reef tank, and I have pretty close to 0 algae of any kind that lasts for more than a few minutes (except for coralline). I've got a blenny, some hepatus/pacific blue tangs, 2 yellow tangs, a coral beauty and a flame angel, multiple hermit crabs, and probably more herbivores that I just can't think of right now. They do the occasional picking at corals, but never enough to do any damage.

 

[jdeets]

Ahhhh--sargassum! I've got sargassum a-plenty in my 180g tank. I've got three Z. genus tangs and a kole tang--and they won't touch the stuff. Neither do the sally lightfoot crabs or the tuxedo urchin. I've found the best way to keep it under control is to remove it manually on a weekly basis.

I don't mind it too much, as it's relatively easy to pull out. It sure helps to keep the water free of nutrients, but it does grow FAST. I pull a quart to a half-gallon out every week.

 

[fishfarmer]

I second jdeets, the best herbivore for sargassum is the reefkeeper's hand. I practically pulled mine to extinction, but a little did come back after a while. With a tank your size it should be easy to keep under control.

 

[EEreefer]

Not recommending him for your tank, but, if it is sargassum, a Naso will destroy it, in a hurry. My LR was a sargassum mess for three months, pulling out hand fulls, until I introduced the Naso my SO calls "Hot Lips". Naso - 1,000, Sargassum - 0.

 

[EEreefer]

Not recommending him for your tank, but, if it is sargassum, a Naso will destroy it, in a hurry. My LR was a sargassum mess for three months, pulling out hand fulls, until I introduced the Naso my SO calls "Hot Lips". Naso - 1,000, Sargassum - 0.

 

[wasabi]

i dont know about lawnmowers starving without algea. my LB eats flake, frozen,raw snapper and algea to boot.

 

[ging]

I have to put another vote in for the bi-color blenny. I have one named Benny and he is the coolest fish in the tank. He is so cute and watches everything that I do. When I turn out the lights he goes straight to his hole for bedtime

ging

 

[2poor2reef]

Jacob, if your macro is sargassum there is no way a blenny is going to eat it. Great fish. Not useful for your problem.

[ August 08, 2001: Message edited by: 2poor2reef ]

 

[Jacob1]

I guess I will just let it grow and then pull it out when I start putting in more corals. Thanks