Yellow Tang alternatives

[pablito644]

Hi all,

I was hoping to gather some advice on some potential fish to get that will help eat the macro in my 40 gal tank.

There are a couple varieties of vine-like plants (caulerpa?) that have grown like weeds. I don't have any fish to eat it at the moment, snails wont touch it, hermits wont touch it, so my only defense has been manual harvesting and rotating rocks into a dark tank for a month. However, they now are starting to entwine into corals and especially between my zoos. Its hard to pick it off byhand, and I really dont want to to "cook" the corals, so I am in need of a 'natural' solution.

I had a yellow tang in the past that gobbled it up, but I traded him to a larger home after reading up here on reefcentral. (only a 40 gal tank). In the past I've also tried a kole tang and a bicolor blenny, but neither would touch the stuff.

 

[Julio]

You should really try and take the culerpa out by hadn as it has been know to get toxic after 6 weeks old and can cause some serious damage in your tank, trust me i know. I would go with and acanthurus species such as a kile tang that will scrape the rocks a a little better and are suited a little better for algae eating situations like yours.

 

[jda]

Turbo Snails. Get a dozen of them and they will eat what is left of the macro (after your prune it by hand) when the film algae is all gone.

You will need to get rid of them when they are done or else they will starve.

 

[stykthyn]

take out the majority by hand and then get a lawnmower(sailfin) blenny. these guys can prune down a tank in no time

 

[snorvich]

I concur with stykthyn. Not only are lawnmower blennies effective but they have a great personality.

 

[baondayko]

but....some ;awnmowers fail to catch on to eating the stuff and slowly starve to death. I've had 2 of them that wouldn't eat the stuff and slowly starved. No more lawnmowers.

 

[stykthyn]

I have had nothing but good luck with these guys, except one time I had one die in the bag before he made it to my house, but the replacement is still kissing the front glass in my reef tank. he has even learned to eat mysis(though I wish he wouldnt)