I need a detritivore

[kypatriot]

Specifically, I need one that would eat Naso Tang poop.

My Naso produces more volume of waste in a day than I do. A friend gave it to me a couple months ago, and she's about 5 inches long right now.

I would just reduce the amount of food it eats, but 95% of its diet is nori (Julian Springs and Ocean Nutrition), and if I reduced it much at all, my yellow tang would get nothing to eat. This fish tries to gobble up all it can before the yellow gets a chance.

I expected a bit of a tank cycle with the added bio-load, but even with increased skimming, increased flow, etc, I'm still battling cyano. I think a big reason is the volume of poop this thing produces. Seriously, it regularly releases sizeable loads.

So - all that to ask, what kind of detritivore is likely to enjoy eating partially digested nori and live gracilaria?

I have some nassarius snails and a couple hermits, but the snails seem to be just interested in meats. Any suggestions?

 

[kypatriot]

bump

 

[Moonstream]

well, if the fish is producing that much waste, then I think it may be time to find it a new home, esecially since the fish is only 5" but is already producing too much waste for the tank, so think about what it will be like when it reaches its adult size (1' 6" and sometimes larger)! if you keep it then a serpent star would be a good chioce, what is the tank size? If it is bigger than 60 gallons 2 may be a better idea. I would also add more snails like bumble bees, more of the nassarius, and most importently feed less. I see that you said that the yellow tang would not get enough food if you fed less, well try putting nori in clips on either side of the aquarium, that should hopefully give a feeding station for each fish. If that does not work then maybe removing one (preferably the naso) would be best.

 

[kypatriot]

Thanks for the response.

The tank is a 135g, and I may be adding a sump to it in about 8 months, which would help a lot with the bioload, when the fish will be bigger too.

I did put in 3 different veggie clips, but the yellow tang is rather shy (blind in one eye injured in shipping). I had added some bumble bees, but the LFS only had 5, so I definitely could use more.

I know they get huge, and I have every intention of trading or selling it down the road. I have a tiny hippo in my 40g, who will move into my 135 when the naso leaves. It's possible that I could upgrade my 135 to something like 400+, which is the only way I'd keep the naso. But I'm not really planning on that right now.

Any other clean-up crew members that would be especially good to have more of in this case, beyond the snails and a couple stars?

 

[greenbean36191]

No animal is going to significantly reduce the amount of detritus. There are a few critters in the hobby such as cucumbers that will eat some, but they're never going to keep up. Even detritivores aren't that efficient at at processing what they eat and most of it comes right back out as poop too. Manual removal is going to be your best bet. You can try to vacuum out the loose stuff with water changes or stir it up occasionally and hope it gets skimmed out.

Don't waste your money on more snails. As you've noticed, most species of Nassarius eat carrion, not detritus. Bumble bee snails are predators of the small members of you clean up crew like worms and small "pods."

 

[madadi]

i agree with greenbean. a cucumber is your best bet. i try to stay away from brittle starfish of any kind even tough some say its safe, they will get too large eventualy. i do have a brittle star in my sump though. in my opinion the best all-around cleaner invert i have in my tank is the jumbo cerith snails. it eats detritus, meaty stuff, algea, AND borrows in the sand like crazy! i got mine from etropicals. get your cucumber from there too. if your reach 60 bucks with "build your own cleaner pack" you get free shipping! i think its a great deal. happy reefing!

 

[sanfordbhines]

Nassarius vibex

My favorite snail. Very good.