herbivore suggestion?

[luminary]

So this weekend after spending hours trying to reach the grape caluerpa that's growing through my rockwork, I reached wits end and decided it was time to let nature do it's work and add a herbivore.

Does anyone have any suggestions? I've discounted a lot of the tangs and rabbitfishes primarily because they get too large. The tank is predominantly smaller fish. Current stocking is:

3 Bicolor Anthias
4 Green Chromis
2 Bar Gobies
3 Striped Cardinals
1 Coperband Butterfly
2 Cleaner Shrimp
Lots of snails

 

[BankerJohn]

Hi Matt,

How big is the tank that you will be adding herbivores? (not that I am any type of an expert or anything).

 

[luminary]

Going in my 225. 72Lx36Wx20H. The comment about most Tangs and Rabbits getting too large is mainly because the rest of the fish are smaller reef fish, not because the tank is too small for them.

 

[Sk8r]

The scribbled rabbit, which would surely eat it, is also prone to ich, mischief with corals, and snail-eating. He also ate my cleaner shrimp and 3 peppermints.

 

[DaddyJax]

That is what "he" is eating!

I also watched a Magnificent Foxface destroy some grape calurpa when I bought the tang!

 

[jaymz101]

how about a few of the Centropygae angels?? I know they may nip some polyps, but in a ank that size I think their nipping should be spread out and the risk of killing a coral should be low. Maybe coral beauties or something else dark to offset the other bright fish.

 

[markandkristen]

a kole tang doesnt get too big and sucks the algae off the algae LOL

 

[robthorn]

naso tangs are peaceful to other reef fish and if you wanted to add a different tang down the road he would be the least likely to mess with them. did I mention one I had kept the grape caulerpa to wear I never knew it was there until I moved a big rock and he instantly attacked it until I couldn't see it anymore.
matt as fast as that stuff grows I would think you are going to need a fish that gets good size other wise you would need 10 small fish to keep up with it. then again I don't know any small fish that eat it. in one of the seascopes I believe they had a chart on what popular tangs ate and between a kole tang and an atlantic blue tang everything was eaten from diatoms to green and red and blue algeas and most other algeas normally found in home aquariums.
markandkristen do you actually have the Zebrsoma gematum in your avitar? sweet fish

 

[robthorn]

matt a school of naso's is what I am thinking you would need. maybe 5 would be an awesome display and plenty of photo models.

 

[luminary]

I've always like the Nasos but I remember reading somewhere that they swim something like 30 to 40 miles a day in the wild...Whenever I think that I feel that an aquarium is not an appropriate place for them. Is a 6'x3' tank enough area for one?

I've had a Kole before and didn't have much luck with it...but that was way early on in my hobby career. Aren't Atlantic Blue's pretty mean? I would put my current stocking as semi-aggressive to peacefull. During feeding time everyone gets pretty excited but normally things are peacefull. I don't want to add a fish that will disrupt that.

As for the Centropyge's, I don't want to run the risk of coral nipping. I stock mainly with frags and even the occassional nip at a small frag could cause a problem.

 

[NONNA58]

Matt,
My foxface and my tang (was supposed to be a kole) take care of mostly all the algae in my tank except for the bubble. Then my crabs take care of that. My tang is a bristle tooth and as much as he will not except new fish, he is always cleaning my rocks and have long ago decided to keep him. If you get a tang, make sure it is the last fish you get, or maybe since your tank is so big it won't make a difference at this point since you have most of the fish you want. Is that right?
The guys that service my tank want me to find a home for my foxface because of his size. He is my favorite fish and has NEVER bothered any fish, corals, or inverts. Never. He is the best fish I ever got and I would hate to lose him and if I did find a home for him I would be hard pressed to find another fish that my tang would tolerate.
Good luck in your decision.
Sue