tangs vs foxface

[butrya03]

i tried finding a thread on here but couldnt really find what i was looking for, so if this is a repeat i apologize in advance.

ive noticed a slow increase in bubble algae growth over the past couple of weeks and nothing in my tank seems to mess with it. ive got 2 emeralds crabs that apparently have lost there taste for it and my tomini tang has never messed with the stuff. i tried manually removing the bubble algae but either wind up popping it and just spreading it more or i cant get at it due to its position in my rockwork. ive also noticed a rapid growth of hair algae on the live rock on the right side of my tank but nowhere else. i havent seen anything touch that either. blue leg hermits are never near it, tang is always biting the glass and even my flame and coral beauty, who used to snack on it, dont touch it anymore. i cant even get my angelfish to destroy some of that darn pusling xenia anymore, what a shame.

any way, i had read online that some foxface will eat bubble algae, but id like to get some feedback on whether there is something better suited to my needs. keep in mind my tank is a moderately stocked 75 reef, so nothing that will get huge or has a tendency to destroy everything in its path.

all input is muchly appreciated. this is definately the best resource a reefer could possibly have.

 

[butrya03]

nobody has any insight on this?

 

[ALH]

Sorry, I don't have any bubble algae, but I think the foxface is a terrific fish, dietary habits aside.

 

[Kahuna Tuna]

I have a bicolor foxface, a doliatus rabbitfish, and binotatus, sailfin, and mimic tangs and none of these fish will touch the valonia in my tank. The only thing that keeps it in check in my system is keeping on top of the water changes and nutrient export. I would be wary adding any rabbitfish to a 75 gallon tank, these fish just grow so fast are as active as most tangs. They also get fairly large and will eventually need a lot of room.

 

[butrya03]

Yea I heard that they get a decent size I believe around 8-9inches or so but I'm in the process of setting up a bigger tank so it would eventually have a place to go. I don't know, I should probably be a responsible reefer and not use a living creature to control a problem like this but I think they are pretty cool fish. I guess I'll do some more research before I purchase anything. Although any further insight would be appreciated. Thank you both for posting.

 

[Kahuna Tuna]

I should probably be a responsible reefer and not use a living creature to control a problem like this but I think they are pretty cool fish.

I think it is perfectly acceptable to stock fish and inverts that will do a "job" in the aquarium, nearly all of my livestock is chosen with some form of utilitarian purpose in mind. Most of my fish are herbivores and most of the others are omnivores, very few of my fish are strict carnivores and so most will aid in algae control. I would probably wait until you get a larger tank for a rabbitfish, even in my roomy 180 there have quite a few accidental stabbings with their venemous spines. I love rabbitfish, they eat many forms of nusiance algae (some even eat valonia) and are just about bulletproof and are quite beautiful but they do need a lot of room. You could probably keep a small juvie for several years before you would need a larger tank.

 

[butrya03]

i guess i thinking more along the lines of an animal being dependent on a certain food source. for example buying harlequin shrimp to rid a plague of asterina starfish, or using a berghia nudibranch to get rid of aiptasia anemones. once the food source is gone you either need to supply more of it or find someone who could use it, otherwise they will die. but i guess with a foxface i could provide the food, the only problem would be its full size. the biggest fish i have in my tank now is my tomini tang and its only about 4 inches long. hasnt grown in 2 years.

thanks
btw how reef safe are the foxface, ive heard mixed reviews

 

[butrya03]

the foxface i was interested in was just the common, run-of-the-mill one spot foxface. unless anyone can come up with a better species

 

[aquaph8]

i have battled bubble algae a couple time throughout the years and found that the only effective way to remove it is to remove the rock pick and scrub it off and then rinse the rock with aquarium water. ( during a water change) I have tried a bunch of emeralds and never had one that ate it. I heard the redsea sailfin eats it, but they also grow really large especially for your 75. All I can say is pick it off, scrub it, rinse it and stay on top of removing any loose pieces floating around your tank. Keep in mind you may not rinse all spores off the rocks and a repeat treatment maybe necessasary. good luck and be sure to let me know if you have any other progress of killing those stupid bubbles. Be patient and you will win.

 

[butrya03]

Can't really remove the rock because the bubble algae always seems to grow on rock with corals attached to it, which is most of the rock anyway. I had heard of sailfins eating it but have never seen it.

 

[butrya03]

I forgot to mention that I have seen at least one of my emeralds picking at some of the smaller bubbles but that was only a few times, and it didn't really seem to have much of an affect at all.

 

[tylorarm]

I've struggled with bubble algae for years and it seems like the best you can do is control, not eliminate. Emeralds were a bust for me. I had a mag foxface and it ate some for a while but without starving the tank it would rather just eat fish food and even coral before bubbles. I mostly use a sharp object connected to a siphon hose so i can dislodge and suck up. Luckily they don't grow fast and mostly are in little cracks i can't get at and frankly i don't worry about them much anymore.

 

[butrya03]

i heard that most foxfaces werent entirely reef safe. are they a real threat to a reef tank?
the only other fish i was thinking of adding was a kole tang, but they get to be about the same size as the foxface i was looking at, so im not too sure what to do. my tomini either cant handle all of the algae or its too lazy, not sure. but i definately do not want to get anything that is going to wreck havoc on the corals in my tank.

 

[butrya03]

anybody?
still debating between a one spot foxface and another tang of some sort maybe a kole, or maybe a yellow tang
basically something for all around algae control
i do want to stay away from lawnmower blennies, had two many get too aggressive towards other tankmates

 

[Bernie21]

I have had my one spot foxface since he was about one and a half inches now he is a whooping 6" (thats big for my tank), he is entirely reef safe and helped remove all my bubble algae along w a monster emerald crab I have & I have not seen it return ever since, but then again both my fox & emerald are still in my tank so maybe they're still doing their jobs!!

 

[Bax]

I have a one spot fox that I got as a very small juvi in my 75 and moved him up to a 120. He never touched bubble algae for years. I then got a blue stripped rabbit (siganus puellus) also as a small juvi for the 120. The blue stripe was a finned garbage can of algae. He'd eat anything and readily ate the bubble algae with gusto! Interesting, the fox and another yellow tang I had also began to eat the bubble algae. I could pull clumps out of my fuge and they would race to gobble it up.

Too bad, the blue stripe, after nearly 18 months of being a great fish, turned on my zoas, and my clams, devouring about $500 worth of zoas and pestering a prized squamosa to death. I He was also involved in a meal time collision and stinging with my Midas blenny that resulted in its death. I had to trade him away.

He was 100% SPS safe IME.

Great fish though, beautiful color, he would eat prepared foods right from my hand. Awesome personality for the right tank such as a FOWLR or SPS only. That zinia would be toast!

 

[wolfman1973]

i have a fiji fox and he rid my tank of algae in three days!!! and then he ate 90% of my zoas when i was at work!!! and now some algae is coming back after a few months and he won't touch it. he leaves all other corals alone in my mixed reef and has gotten almost to big for my 90 gal

 

[jubjub]

i have a foxface/purple tang in my tank its a 90'ish gallon tank no issues although he's a bit big now.....not had issues with my zoa's or sps i have like 0 algae in my tank to...he will eat nori right out of my hand cool fish although he knows when its feeding time i've had him like spit water at me lol....

 

[butrya03]

Thanks for all the input, it's proving to be pretty useful. I know that the whole reef safeness of a foxface is really going to come down to the personality of the individual, but I'm still not sure as to what decision I'm going to make. I'm kinda leaning toward another tang, but I don't want my tomini constantly bickering with another tang. On the flipside if I was lucky enough to get a well behaved bubble algae eating foxface, I would more than likely go that route.

Another question, what would be the best suited species of foxface or tang for my current scenerio? I really appreciate the personal experiences listed above, really helps give me a better understanding of what I could be getting into.

Thank you all