Best small tangs for Algea grazing

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I set up a frag system with 4 ZooMed 50 gallon lowboys. Was going to go fish-less to promote no possibility of having ich etc when selling corals. However I am struggling to keep nitrate and phosphate readable in tank. A coral supplier said I should add 1 tang and 1 six-line wrasse to each tank. This would keep any larger Algea at bay and no flatworms etc.

What are the best smaller tangs for this set up. I thought about all scopus or two scopus and two Tomini, but think if I go with four different tangs, if they outgrow I could move them to a DT and replace with younger small tangs again.

any suggestions?

pricey but how about yellows if I can find them. Then if they outgrow I can always add them as a school to one of my reefs?

thanks.

 

[gbroadbridge]

Scopas tangs seem pretty common in LFS coral tanks around here.

Not sure if a single fish will help much with nitrate, of course will help with Algae

 

[Tired]

How about some sailfin mollies instead? Better suited for a tank like that, they get big and impressive in saltwater, you could probably breed them for an infinite supply, and they should graze on algae. Or there's always lawnmower blennies. Heck- Molly Miller blennies? Supposedly those will eat aiptasia.

Moving the first batch of tangs to the DT 'works, but then you'd have the problem of when the new babies outgrow the frag tanks.

Whatever you pick, put 'em through a reputable quarantine procedure. Humblefish has a good guide up. "Frag tanks only have fish that have gone through an appropriate QT" should work just as well as "frag tanks are fishless" for sale/reassurance purposes.

 

[Ben.QLD2]

Tangs inevitably get lazy, unless you never supplement their food and make them graze permanently. Problem there, though, may be lack of diet variation.

I'd go Rabbitfish. They grow fast though.

 

[face]

Scopas tangs seem pretty common in LFS coral tanks around here.

Not sure if a single fish will help much with nitrate, of course will help with Algae

Scopas get 1 foot long..

 

[gbroadbridge]

Scopas get 1 foot long..

Yeah right, in the ocean maybe.

 

[face]

kole, convict tang, rabbit fish those are good options.

 

[face]

Yeah right, in the ocean maybe.

in their normal environment... ya i mean you could put it in a 20g with good filtration no one stop you.

 

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Scopas get 1 foot long..

Yep I was just looking at several for size. Mine in my DT is a year old and only about 3-4”. A guy at one of my lfs said sailfin but they get to 16-18 and have such a high profile.

 

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Tangs inevitably get lazy, unless you never supplement their food and make them graze permanently. Problem there, though, may be lack of diet variation.

I'd go Rabbitfish. They grow fast though.

I e never had an issue with tangs getting lazy. Have no hair Algea in my two reefs but plenty of tangs.

 

[demonclownfish]

I set up a frag system with 4 ZooMed 50 gallon lowboys. Was going to go fish-less to promote no possibility of having ich etc when selling corals. However I am struggling to keep nitrate and phosphate readable in tank. A coral supplier said I should add 1 tang and 1 six-line wrasse to each tank. This would keep any larger Algea at bay and no flatworms etc.

What are the best smaller tangs for this set up. I thought about all scopus or two scopus and two Tomini, but think if I go with four different tangs, if they outgrow I could move them to a DT and replace with younger small tangs again.

any suggestions?

pricey but how about yellows if I can find them. Then if they outgrow I can always add them as a school to one of my reefs?

thanks.

I'd recommend a melanarus wrasse over a six line both for effectiveness and temperament

 

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in their normal environment... ya i mean you could put it in a 20g with good filtration no one stop you.

Wouldn’t recommend in a 20 as the lack of cruising area would be stressful, semi concerned about 4’ tanks. But figure ok while they are smaller.

 

[HankstankXXL750 Verified Sponsor]

I'd recommend a melanarus wrasse over a six line both for effectiveness and temperament

I’ve seen a lot about the six-lined wrasses on predation, have a melanurus in one of my FOWLR tanks. I’ve read about six lines but not sure it would be an issue with just on tang in with them. I’d also have to check the size on both. These tanks are all uncovered so jumper must be avoided. That’s why tangs over lawnmower blennies.

 

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How about some sailfin mollies instead? Better suited for a tank like that, they get big and impressive in saltwater, you could probably breed them for an infinite supply, and they should graze on algae. Or there's always lawnmower blennies. Heck- Molly Miller blennies? Supposedly those will eat aiptasia.

Moving the first batch of tangs to the DT 'works, but then you'd have the problem of when the new babies outgrow the frag tanks.

Whatever you pick, put 'em through a reputable quarantine procedure. Humblefish has a good guide up. "Frag tanks only have fish that have gone through an appropriate QT" should work just as well as "frag tanks are fishless" for sale/reassurance purposes.

Yes all fish will be QT’d. I’m afraid lawnmower and Molly Miller might be jumpers. These tanks are not covered. How about the sailfin mollies? Do you know if they are jumpers, and how would they fare with the wrasses?

 

[Tired]

Any fish can jump if startled, including tangs. The wrasses are jump risks, and, being semi-aggressive, may also cause jumping. Best to add lids.

If you want non-jumping algae control, tuxedo urchins could work, though any past baby size may move frags. Maybe you could work something out with your LFS to trade growing urchins for babies. If not, there's always the approach of keeping plenty of snails and letting them graze heavily enough that hair algae never has any chance to grow longer than they can eat.

 

[vpierce3]

If you’d prefer not to have fish in that set up, you could just drop in some pellets to keep nutrients up.

 

[gbroadbridge]

Yep I was just looking at several for size. Mine in my DT is a year old and only about 3-4”. A guy at one of my lfs said sailfin but they get to 16-18 and have such a high profile.

Mine in my DT is 4 inch long and I've had it for 2.5 years.

They may grow big in the ocean if they're not killed by a predator or fishermen first, but there are too many limitations in a tank for them to ever grow to that size in captivity.

There's a lot of hand wringing about it, but it's a non issue in reality.
People should leave them in the ocean if it bothers them

 

[JGK17]

I set up a frag system with 4 ZooMed 50 gallon lowboys. Was going to go fish-less to promote no possibility of having ich etc when selling corals. However I am struggling to keep nitrate and phosphate readable in tank. A coral supplier said I should add 1 tang and 1 six-line wrasse to each tank. This would keep any larger Algea at bay and no flatworms etc.

What are the best smaller tangs for this set up. I thought about all scopus or two scopus and two Tomini, but think if I go with four different tangs, if they outgrow I could move them to a DT and replace with younger small tangs again.

any suggestions?

pricey but how about yellows if I can find them. Then if they outgrow I can always add them as a school to one of my reefs?

thanks.

Some kind of Bristletooth tang. IMO, they are always eating algae. In my tank my Blue eye kole tang out eats my purple tang by 20-25x. Another trick it to make sure you aren’t over feeding your tangs to make sure they still feed on tank algae.

 

[demonclownfish]

I’ve seen a lot about the six-lined wrasses on predation, have a melanurus in one of my FOWLR tanks. I’ve read about six lines but not sure it would be an issue with just on tang in with them. I’d also have to check the size on both. These tanks are all uncovered so jumper must be avoided. That’s why tangs over lawnmower blennies.

I've had 3 sixlines jump, yet to have a melanarus jump.