Best algae eater

[jfl14609]

Whats everyone think the best fish for controlling algae is? A long time ago I had hair algae and I remember borrowing a sailfin and it took care of it quick. any other suggestions? I am trying to put together a stock list for my 210 and would like good looking as well as functional fish

 

[tmz]

Zebrasomma( sailfin, puple, yellow, etc.) do a pretty good job.Ctenochaetus( tomini, Chevron , Kole) scrape the rock nicely.Ancanthurus do ok too. Paracanthurus( hippo) not much at all, in my experience. Sometimes it's an individual thing.

I like trochus snails and ceriths to help.

 

[jfl14609]

Do you think a purple is as efficient as a sailfin

 

[toddmh]

my purple tang eats some algea, but I wish he would eat more lol,hes not that great keeping the tank clear of it..

 

[Conesus_Kid]

I've got a gang of four that do a nice job of keeping the display tank algae-free:

-Kole tang, yellow tang, Tennenti tang, and scribbled rabbitfish.

Like Tom mentioned, they each have their own niche and type of algae they work on.

 

[pascal32]

Lawn mower blenny did a great job in my tank and eats nori with the tangs

 

[mynock11]

+1 blurry comment

 

[jfl14609]

Yeah its hard to tell what fish would work as I am trying to prevent a future problem that doesn't exist I am sure whatever fish I get wont eat the right algae

 

[5380]

Desjardini tang in my forum research was the most reliable fish to eat green bubble algae. The rest of the zebrasoma fish eat softer algae very reliably according to forums. I have had several small scopas that would eat red filamentous algae, red bubble and green hair algae. I also have kept a desjardini tang that at 4" eats green bubble algae, not the huge spherical form, but the clusters of pear shaped bubble algae.

 

[tmz]

I have a Zebrasoma desjardinii( Indian ocean salifin) and a Zebrasoma xanthurumn(purple tang) in another.My Zebrasoma scopas which is in another tank browses alot too. They all peck at the rock all day even though they are well fed including daily nori but I really don't have very much macroalgae algae for them to get.I couldn't recommend one over the other.I also have a zebrasoma flavescens(yellow). It doesn't do much grazing and doesn't seem to care for nori. Obviously I like this genus. I've had them for years. The purple is just about 8 years young.

 

[jfl14609]

Tom do you think their would be compatibility problems with a vlamingi, purple, yellow, and a sailfin in a 210?

 

[tmz]

Big tank,but the 3 zebrasoma might still fight with each other. Don't know for sure. I saw a purple and a yellow tear each other to pieces once in a large tank( 150 or so) at Pacific East(Dr. Macks in Maryland) once and I've never put two together after seeing that.

 

[bhovinga]

Aren't rabbitfish supposed to be pretty good algae eaters?

 

[superkat]

in the 90g, i've got two monster algae eaters: The orange spot rabbit fish (is is HUGE now...pretty big when i bought him last year, but INCREDIBLE size now) and my black blenny. Kole Tang next in line for munchin' that stuff.

in the 120g, the lawnmower blenny is chowing, along with the sailfin.

 

[pascal32]

How much algae do you have?

does the rabbit fish pick at the corals?

 

[superkat]

hahahahhahahah....nice. actually...i've got hair algae in the 55g that i scrape off and feed to them in the 90/120 if the pickin's get slim...lmao. Spot, the Rabbitfish, is a good fish. As long as I keep his belly full (he eats a half sheet of nori a day.....sucks that puppy in so fast...it's amazing to watch), he ignores everything else.

 

[tmz]

I also keep a foxface (siganus vulpinis) and a scribbled rabbitfish( Siganus virgatus). I'd rate the foxface the best overall grazer. No problems with corals from any of the surgeon fish I keep except for the purple tang which nails clove polyps(clavularia); doesn't eat them , just tore at them when I kept them in the tank it was in. My paracanthurus heppatus( hippo) will pick at trachyphylia.Sometimes these behaviors are an individual thing.