Best herbivore for smaller tank?

[RobertK]

Hi,

I would like to get a fish who will help control filamentous algae, and would appreciate some advice.

My tank is 70 gallons and has been set up in its current form for one year, but I've had it for eight. It holds three small peaceful fish - a tank-raised ocellaris clown, a swalesi basslet, and a tank-raised dwarf angel. I have a 10 gallon refugium and a skimmer in a 10 gallon sump, and the water quality is good. Lights are 440 watts VHO. The tank has a 4" live sand bed, lots of live rock and lots of LPS, SPS and soft corals.

I don't really want to get a tang. I've read elsewhere in this forum that lawnmower blennies have a poor track record in captivity; I have not had good luck with blennies from the genus Ecsenius.

Any advice that any of you could provide would be much appreciated.

Thanks,
Robert

 

[Travis L. Stevens]

I've seen many Lawnmower Blennies do fine. A tang is an option for that size of tank. A Kole Tang would be prefered. Another option for truly smaller tanks are Mollies. They did great in my 29g keeping new, soft macro growth under control and they do great at getting film algae off of the rocks and glass. My personal opinion on filamentous algae would be varies snails and other invertebrates and not actually a fish.

 

[Tyrosinase]

How about a rabbitfish? I have always been a fan of the scribbled rabbitfish.

 

[techigirl78]

the rainford's goby will eat hair algae.

 

[tryffin]

I'd actually get a couple ring or money cowries, they do wonders for hair algae. <a href="http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-07/rs/index.php">Reefkeeping magazine</a> has a good article on them. Make sure you don't get a tiger cowrie, they get to be 4" long.

A kole tang would work (I assume the 70 is 48" long) ... or Tomini if you want something a bit more flashy. Lawnmower blennies can be a bit mean, especially to fish the same shape as they are...

 

[RobertK]

Thanks for the replies.

I was thinking about a Kole tang (yes, my tank is 48"), but I read in Scott Michael's book that since it is a bristletooth the hair algae will get stuck in its teeth and it will spit it out. Has your experience been different?

I had some ring cowries but they died within a month. I could get some more trochus snails; my population of them has dwindled down to just one or two.

I once had a rainford goby, and it was very cute, but it mostly picked at the sand and not at the rocks (which is where the algae is)

Hadn't thought about a rabbitfish...

Robert

 

[tryffin]

Are you sure the cowries died? Sometimes I don't see mine for two months or more, then one night I see them again.

Not sure what to say about the kole, my spouse has a bristletooth in a 70g (yes we have separate tanks, can't expect me to share! lol) and it's always picking at the rocks ... the only hair algae is near the tube anemone which the fish fortunately steer clear of. He seems to pick at stuff, but not sure how much he actually eats ... of course when there's food on the clip he much prefers that.

A rabbitfish/foxface would be fine, they do get bigger but with their habits they're fine in a 70... I've heard they're quite hardy and will chow down on most of the algaes we don't want.

 

[RobertK]

Yeah, they died. I found their shells.

Is a rabbitfish the same as a foxface? I did consider a foxface, but as I recall they get even bigger than a yellow or brown tang, and either of those would be pushing the size limit for my tank (they're also much bigger than the other fish I have).

RK

 

[tryffin]

A foxface is the most common type of rabbitfish, I think they all get at least 8-9" but they don't need as much roaming room that a similarly size tang would need. Probably a bigger fish than you're looking for, though. <a href="http://www.wetwebmedia.com/rabbitfi.htm">wetwebmedia</a> has a few pics...