"Reef safe with caution"?

Kizzy911

New member
I've read a couple of bios of fishes that are "with caution in a reef" some may nip on corals some may eat snails etc.

They may nip and eat snails when they're starved or something? or occasionally even when well fed, they'll still nip on corals and pick on inverts? I've heard people having success in keeping so and so fish but what i'm worried about it having some of my corals and some of my inverts go missing if i do decide to keep a fish like this. If i were to feed my fishes enough, is it a possibility that they won't nip corals or eat inverts is my main question really.
 
Algae grazers eat constantly as they are very inefficient eaters. If an algae grazer does not get enough food, it may go after the zooxanthellae in corals. That is why algae grazers do best in larger tanks with few if any algae competitors.
 
Understandable when it comes to algae eaters. but how about other fishes, for example, a lion fish, if fed enough will it still eat inverts ?
 
Understandable when it comes to algae eaters. but how about other fishes, for example, a lion fish, if fed enough will it still eat inverts ?

Lionfish will eat anything it can fit in its mouth, it's all species dependant and also there is no set rule of 100% reef safe, heck, ive seen clownfish pick/eat at acroporaevery fish is different. For instance some people keep coris wrasses in their reef with no hiccups, then there are some who witness the same species of coris wrasse eat their beloved clam and murder their shrimp. There is no real set in stone guideline.
 
I think many "reef safe with caution" fish are liable to eat smaller fish and inverts, but not coral. I think places like LA and blue zoo need to really make it into two different categories, like "coral safe" and "invert/reef fish safe", instead of just one very general and confusing category.
 
Basically reef safe with caution = not reef safe. You have to be prepared for them to "fall of the wagon" and snack on your coral or inverts so plan according. For example, my wife is a big fan of a number of reef safe with caution fish -mostly large angels & moorish idol so to keep her engaged in the hobby we set up one of our tanks with that in mind so the tank that has her angels (gold flake, blue face, regal and flame) and moorish idol is predominately SPS and softie (a few leathers). We did leave a few zoas in there to see what would happen and they largely became lunch. Overall though it has worked out well and she's happy so I'm happy :)

Same thing for lions - plan the other inhabitants around their well known appetite and ability to swallow quite large tank mates. We had a lion in a past tank that got to about 15" and was just fine because we planned his tank mates around his eventual size.

It all comes down to what you want and what trade-offs you are willing/able to make so do your research and plan accordingly.
 
"reef safe with caution" basically applies to everything that doesn't live of photosynthesis.

What it means for your specific tank depends on what you want to keep a live and what you don't care about.

If you are into pods and little critters, mandarins, seahorses and the like are not safe for your tank while triggers and puffers might be fine.
If you are into SPS anything that may intentionally or accidentally nip on polyps is not reef safe.

Then there are individual variation within a species.

It is really up to every reef keeper to evaluate if an intended addition may cause a risk and if he/she is willing to take that risk.
 
"reef safe with caution" basically applies to everything that doesn't live of photosynthesis.

What it means for your specific tank depends on what you want to keep a live and what you don't care about.

If you are into pods and little critters, mandarins, seahorses and the like are not safe for your tank while triggers and puffers might be fine.
If you are into SPS anything that may intentionally or accidentally nip on polyps is not reef safe.

Then there are individual variation within a species.

It is really up to every reef keeper to evaluate if an intended addition may cause a risk and if he/she is willing to take that risk.

Excellent answer.
 
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