Is there any creature that eats Chaeto?

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Title says it all :smurf:

 

[MCary]

my foxface eats it

 

[><((((o>]

I wonder do tigger pods/copepods/amphipods eat them, with more chaeto growing in our fuge it seems like a waste just to throw them out.

 

[WallaceGrover]

I don't know of any fish that would, but those that look like they are usually are just picking out the pods and yummy little bugs in it...

 

[wrott]

I imagine if you starved a tang it would eat all of your cheato, probably a YT or Foxface rabbitfish.

 

[MCary]

My foxface ate it like spagetti.

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

I've seen my emerald crab hanging out in my in-tank fuge snacking on the chaeto.

 

[mayjong]

my sailfin tang gobbles it up!

 

[ChrisOz]

The ultimate goal of macroalgae is to export nutrients via removal (trimming). If you feed the macroalgae back to your fish, the nutrients will be recycled through your system and accumulate.

The moral: Toss it, or give it to another reefer.

 

[anbosu]

Tangs will eat it, but not ravenously. I have some in my FOWLR display that never gets eaten, so I have to periodically take it out.

 

[RichConley]

The ultimate goal of macroalgae is to export nutrients via removal (trimming). If you feed the macroalgae back to your fish, the nutrients will be recycled through your system and accumulate.

The moral: Toss it, or give it to another reefer.

Fish need to eat. Having them eat macroalgea is probably better from a nutrient export standpoint then dumping more food in the tank.

 

[><((((o>]

The ultimate goal of macroalgae is to export nutrients via removal (trimming). If you feed the macroalgae back to your fish, the nutrients will be recycled through your system and accumulate.

The moral: Toss it, or give it to another reefer.

That's true, but a lot of the nutrients can be burned up by the fishes to run & regen their body, :fish1: kinda simular to a machine I guess.

 

[Floowid]

The ultimate goal of macroalgae is to export nutrients via removal (trimming). If you feed the macroalgae back to your fish, the nutrients will be recycled through your system and accumulate.

The moral: Toss it, or give it to another reefer.

You have to feed your fish... what's the difference between adding in food and removing macroalgae to just feeding macroalgae.

Add food +1 and remove macro -1 = 0 net gain

feed macro = 0 net gain.

I sometimes throw one of my overgrown fuge rocks in the display when I am gone for the weekend. The tang has picked it clean by the time I get back. I often feed some of the macro (blade caulerpa) to the herbivores in my tank from the fuge.

 

[goldenseal]

If I do put some in the display tank ( which I dont to often since I dont like the little bits floating around) the snails and crabs make a mad dash for it. My yellow tang sucks it up like spagetti.

 

[JeF4y]

Consider it as a weed, grass, whatever. Prune & toss or give to another reefer. At least in my setup, I'd need a LARGE amount of chaeto eaters to keep up with mine.

 

[billdogg]

About the only thing i would feed cheato to is a pet goat. Because I don't have a pet goat, mine gets tossed about once a month.

 

[rgulrich]

I trim out handful every couple days and toss back in for my Red Sea Purple Tang and Majestic Foxface. They inhale it like spaghetti - and they certainly aren't starved, either. I also toss in a bit of ogo and they treat it the same, usually one on each end of a clump.
Yes, I also export a fair amount every week, but the fish enjoy the food/fresh algae nonetheless.
Cheers,
Ray

 

[Haag13]

A few of the more common sea slugs will eat it. Elysia Crispata, usually sold as a lettuce sea slug or lettuce nudibranch eats it. Probably not what you are looking for though.