How good are rabbitfish for algae control?

[plancton]

I just bought a lawnmower blenny for algae control, the fish looks healthy but hasn't eaten yet, I also wonder if he will eat the filamentous and hair algae.

This is a 175 gal tank and I also keep a blue tang, the tank is full of hair and filamentous algae due to a lighting problem which I just fixed, and even though I see the blue tang poop algae he turned out to be excepcionally shy.

I'm wondering if I should buy a yellow tang or a rabbitfish, they say tangs polute a lot, I don't know about the rabbitfish.

What would be the best choice for filamentous and hair algae?, the algae is browncolored 1-3 inches in size.

What about my current blenny? will he eat?

 

[DLANDINO]

I am wondering the same so am tagging along. I did't get a lawnmower yet and wonder if it will be compatible with my current diamond watchman goby.

 

[dv0920]

I had hair algae, and I once bought into the concept of buying a fish to help remove algae, but the Rabbit Fish didn't do squat, but honestly I no longer prescribe to the "buy said item" to cure algae, algae is based on high nitrates, PO4 and silicates, and occasionally some high levels of Iodine. Correct me if I am wrong on the ingredients needed to produce nuisance Algae. There is a book I believe by Julian Sprung on Algae, I have it at home a great read, with information on just what causes this.

I say buy some snails at the most and maybe an emerald crab, if your really want to be something to remove the algae. I'd say first check your parameters, run some Phosban or Carbon, and do some regular water changes, maybe feed less, and you should be in the clear shortly.

D

 

[06busa]

My yellow tang and foxface are basically side-by-side all day long picking at the glass and rocks. They both do a great job!

 

[badguitarist]

to answer your question rabbit fish do a great job of eating algae (yes I am speaking from experience of owning several different individuals) the only problem is they often come in with intestinal worms so treating them in quarantine is always a good idea. good luck

 

[Holyreefer]

I too have had a couple of rabbitfish they are a little shy but once they get a fish like a tang in the tank with them they soon are more vibrant to show.

As for algae i too believe they are great fish i haven't had an algae issue since my 55 gallon, but i do feed my rabbitfish nori clips and seeing its the only "veggie" fish in the tank it kills the nori which is in turn seaweed so...

 

[DonSh]

Our Lawnmower Blenney eats till he looks like "jabba the hut" Unfortuneatley he couldnt keep up in our 29gal. We added two Emerald Crabs and the hair algae disapeared very quickly...

Sorry I dont know about the jackrabbit.

I am sure since I am new to this that we have more algae than most, especially since it is a Oceanic Biocube with no protien skimmer yet or refugium (sp?). The Emeralds though are algae eating machines but have not touched the few bulbs of bubble alage we have yet.

 

[rodeo klown]

I have a scribbled rabbitfish that eats an entire sheet of nori by himself on a daily basis. Rabbitfish get HUGE like tangs from constantly eating. I'm sure adding one would help with your algae problem but probably won't be your complete solution.

 

[GSMguy]

i have a purple tang , an orange spotted rabbitfish and a lawnmower blenny

i have to feed a ton of algae to keep them happy.

 

[SkyPapa]

My lawnmower only eats new growth algae, won't touch longer HA.
My onespot rabbit eats every algae except HA. I got the rabbit to get rid of some caulerpa and it made short work of that.
Both love mysis.

 

[LobsterOfJustice]

My rabbit was a great algae eater. Nibbled on some corals too though (mostly zoas).

 

[tmz]

I have two Siganus unimaculatus(foxface or onespot rabbit fish) and a Sganus virgatus(Virgate or 2 bar rabbit fish) All are excellent grazers.My Paracanthus heppatus(Blue/regal/hippo )tang does not graze much at all. The Zebrasommas ( Purple, yellow and Scopas) do a very nice job but not as much as the Siganus.

 

[tbittner]

I have a one spot rabbitfish in each of my two tanks and they wiped out all the algae and keep it wiped out. Of course, I also have a really large fuge with a huge ball of chaeto in it.

 

[rekk]

I got grape caulerpa outgrow in my display. I really hate to pull them out all the time. I am think to get a rabbitfish to control it. Do you think it will eat grape caulerpa? Should I go with one spot rabbit or plain rabbit fish? Which one have better track record to get rid of grape caulerpa?

 

[vanmo92]

My foxface did real well when I first got him. But after maybe a month he did not show much interest in the algae. Same with my yellow tang.

 

[jackiechandc]

For macro algae and other types of algae, I highly recommend a tuxedo urchin. Sure it will eat coralline algae too, but I find the coralline grows back faster afterwards. This way you don't increase the bioload of your tank unlike a rabbitfish or tang!

 

[tbar]

My foxface didn't do much for my algae. It was gone about two days after getting my Kole Tang.

 

[jtma508]

My snail crew (relative small CUC by suggested retailer standards) did an awesome job along with the 2 emeralds. But no one did a really good job on the 3 return nozzles which had hair algae 3-4" long blowing off it. Then we added a yellow tang to the tank. In 1 day he had mowed every ionch of it down to the nubbins.

 

[bearpeidog]

Someone (can't remember who) once posted something that made me think twice about a rabbit fish for Algea control. They do get big, and they do eat food that is high in phosphate. What goes in must come out, thus increasing the phosphate load, and hence Algea food. So, the recommendation was forget the rabbit fish and instead try to get the algea under control and stop the problem at the source. My foxface does crap like a horse.....

 

[tmz]

Can't argue with controlling the water quality to control algae but the question from the poster was about grazers. There is no reason not to have a grazer for a little help. If your system is healthy ,the corals and othe critters can benefit from the fish waste. You are right about size . I think the smallest of the group is the one spot foxface and it goes around 7 inches.