What will eat coraline algae?

[Flybynight]

I know most people want to have this in their tank. But, I am having a hard time keeping my calcuim up. I have this stuff growing everywhere. I know that some urchin will eat coraline but they will also eat some corals. Is there some kind of small snail that will eat it?

 

[Ebmorri]

Chitons will eat it too.

 

[dc_909]

Instead of doing that why not try to keep your calcium up? Use the simple homemade 3 part.

By getting rid of coralline will not increase your calcium and probably make only a minor difference.

 

[demonsp]

Do you have alot of coral that need calcium? And a long spine urchine will eat it and algea.

 

[jamesnmandy]

my black long spined urchin eats the crap out of it.....kind of ticked me off at first, didnt research it enough and missed that part.....but it doesnt mess with any of my corals, torch coral, xenia, and zoos

which reminds me, i need to watch him and make sure he isnt also etching the inside of my acrylic tank i just put him in, i have read that they have been known to do that while eating the corraline off the inside......makes sense, he can munch rock and corraline, so he's got a hard beak or whatever...

 

[demonsp]

I had a long spine that grew to big for my 75 gallon.He moves alot and can knock over coral and rock and irretate coral.

 

[Flybynight]

Ya the long spine can poke corals alot. I do not think it is a good choice.

I use a 3 part now. I just get sick of dosing 2 gallons of kalk. and 12 OZ of Cal and Alk a night. Any my cal will only get to 380. I dont want to go higher because of the ph and so on. I guess I am going to have to buy a Cal reactor. I have been saving up for one but I had to spend that money this winter to live haha. Landscaping does not do so well in the winter.

BTW I have a 200 gallon system.

 

[JENnKerry]

I would get a tuxedo urchin. They go crazy on corralline and stay pretty small, topping off at about 3" in diameter. I love mine.

 

[Flybynight]

Do they eat any kind of corals? Like Sps or Lps?

 

[jlt23]

Asterina stars eat it. I have a plague of them and my coraline is disapearing, which is ****ing me off.

 

[NaclH20freak]

Check your magnisium levels, low mag could be a cause for Ca problem .In general coraline is a sign of a healthy tank.

 

[seapug]

Razor Blade fish are great for removing coralline from glass.

 

[Flybynight]

My mag is good. I went throught all that already haha. I got a mag test kit It is 1400 or close.

Are all those fish and stars reef safe?

 

[thecichlidpleco]

I would go with the urchin, mine tore my coraline off everything until I got rid of it.

 

[cardiffgiant]

I've got a long spine and pin cushin. They eat coralline, but don't come close to making a dent in it. The pin cushin really only eats it off of the rocks, which looks strange when there are white stripes across them. The long spine used to come out at night, but lately he has lived behind some LR, near where my autofeeder drops pellet.

They don't bother the corals, but the pin cushin will pick up frags if they aren't glued down (along with snails, hermits, food clips, etc).

 

[thecichlidpleco]

If I wanted movers then I would get a u-haul and some friends, the pin did move much of my stuff around, but it was haphazard about what it ate, but in a small tank you will notice what it eats. Also puffy lps are not fond of it getting too close.