The best fish for reef tanks (not what you think)...

[eschaton]

As I consider planning my next tank I am of course thinking about stocking, which includes fish. I have to say I'm not much of a fish fan. In terms of favorite aspects of reef tanks, live rock fauna/hitchhikers comes first, inverts second, coral third, and fish a distant fourth.

But I'm wondering what people's feelings are about the best fish for reef tanks. Note - and this is the caveat - I'm not thinking about it from the perspective of the fish. I'm not thinking about fish that thrive well in a reef tank. I'm thinking about fish which actually make a reef tank more stable/effective by their presence.

As an example, I have heard some argue before that we tend to stock too many species that eat zooplankton in reef tanks. Pod populations are seldom sufficient for heavy stocking of these sort of fish, meaning supplemental feedings at least once - if not twice - a day become needed. This in turn means greater bioload on the tank, which the tank biota can adjust too, but which takes time.

In contrast, largely herbivorous fish like blennies and tangs provide more direct benefits to reef tanks, insofar as they graze on nuisance algae. They will happily eat mysis or cyclop-eeze, but don't really require it as part of their diets. The problem is that many mostly herbivorous reef fish and/or detrivores can graze indiscriminately, damaging corals or clam mantles in the process.

There are of course more specialized versions of this too - like people who buy the copperband butterflyfish to deal with aiptasia.

My general point here is looking at reef fish more as an extension of the "cleanup crew" concept for mobile inverts - creatures not intentionally fed but which make the tank operate better - what fish would you introduce to a reef tank?

 

[Crooked Reef]

If you are only looking for a fish as part of the cleanup crew that you don’t intentionally feed it, I would suggest you just have a fishless display. Lawnmower blennies eat algae, but if you aren’t feeding the tank you won’t have the nutrients to grow algae. Most other fish that serve a purpose need other sustenance than can be naturally provided in an enclosed system. Some fish, like you stated, eat nothing but pods. They don’t really benefit the tank by eating the pods though. Some species of wrasse will eat predatory snails if you have a clam that gets them, or will eat pest nudibranchs, but they will not survive without supplemental feeding. A lot of fish that eat undesirable things will also pick at stuff you add. I had a filefish that decimated my aiptasia, then my rock flowers. There are many successful reef tanks that do not have fish in them. It’s up to you if you want to take care of the fish or not, they are not set and forget.

 

[Crooked Reef]

double post

 

[eschaton]

If you are only looking for a fish as part of the cleanup crew that you don't intentionally feed it, I would suggest you just have a fishless display. Lawnmower blennies eat algae, but if you aren't feeding the tank you won't have the nutrients to grow algae. Most other fish that serve a purpose need other sustenance than can be naturally provided in an enclosed system. Some fish, like you stated, eat nothing but pods. They don't really benefit the tank by eating the pods though. Some species of wrasse will eat predatory snails if you have a clam that gets them, or will eat pest nudibranchs, but they will not survive without supplemental feeding. A lot of fish that eat undesirable things will also pick at stuff you add. I had a filefish that decimated my aiptasia, then my rock flowers. There are many successful reef tanks that do not have fish in them. It's up to you if you want to take care of the fish or not, they are not set and forget.

To be clear, I wasn't really asking about how to do a "foodless tank" - though I would think in a large mature tank with a thiving pod population, you could probably swing having a single mandarin (or something similar) without feeding. But even in that case it's likely you'd have some sort of livestock (LPS, clams, etc) which would require some supplemental feedings, even if not on a daily basis. I was just asking if there are fish which are generally beneficial to have in every reef tank, rather than simply ornamental.

 

[ThRoewer]

Many blennies and even tangs may supplement their menus with corals.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

 

[Michael Hoaster]

Tangs of the Ctenochaetus genus eat detritus. Their mouths are designed for it. That would be beneficial to a reef tank.

 

[Kevin Guthrie]

I have a 90 with a Kole's tang, a yellow tang, and a pigmy angel. I feed them plenty, but they still pick the tank clean of algae.

In comparison I have another tank with a tang-eating Haddon's and a pair of clowns. This tank has fast algae growth on the glass and lush caulerpa, and I have to remove some every water change.

The two tanks are plumbed to the same sump so they get the same nutrient load. The tangs and the pigmy angel make all the difference.

 

[Oldreeferman]

On my tank ive found my Goby to be the best all around reef fish & ill explain why.
He/she/it constantly gulps in a large mouth full of the crushed coral substrate, then sifts it back out thu the gills, making the substrate look snow white & clean. What more can you ask from a perfect hard working reef fish? Supplemental feeding may not be required if you have plenty of mini brittle stars & other things in the tanks substrate.
Depending on the tank size maybe 2-3 can be added & not have any conflicts.

Sadly my Royal Gamma, & my 2 Osc Clowns are serious predatory hunters & eat all pods i place in my DT & i do mean fast even tho i introduce the pods at night. Fun to watch them go on the hunt but pods aren't cheap to buy or ship, luckly i do the buy 1000 get 1000 free deals at Aquarium Depo so....................