Cyano help!

[Coralreefergal]

Is there a critter that will help control cyano? I was thinking a sea hare for rockwork and a goby for the sand bed... am I way off base here? Testing WC now to hopefully find the underlying cause and treat from there as well, but never turn down the opportunity to add new livestock, since we dont have much!! (Currently only have a mandarin, a chromis, a clownfish, and a sea cucumber, plus regular CUC)... but LOADS of sps and lps, so very picky on reef safe critters.

 

[Mr_Knightley]

Dollabella sea hares, in my experience, are the absolute best at eating cyano from both the rocks and the substrate. Gobies don't tend to want to eat the cyano, since it is toxic. There are also some urchins that cyano, but most of them eat corals too, so I wouldn't risk it.
So yeah, Dollabella sea hares (the wedge shaped ones) are the absolute best natural combatant of cyano, in my experience.
There are a few species or tangs, too, that MAY nibble on cyano, being the bristletooth tangs, but they don't help enough to warrant getting on for just that. But they are pretty!
Another big thing for cyano is to siphon the sand bed frequently, that takes out the detritus before the cyano can feed off of it. You could also get nassarius and/or cerith snails, they stir the substrate and eat leftover food before it decomposes and feeds the cyano.
Just my penny for thought, good luck, happy reefing and God bless you!

 

[Coralreefergal]

Dollabella sea hares, in my experience, are the absolute best at eating cyano from both the rocks and the substrate. Gobies don't tend to want to eat the cyano, since it is toxic. There are also some urchins that cyano, but most of them eat corals too, so I wouldn't risk it.
So yeah, Dollabella sea hares (the wedge shaped ones) are the absolute best natural combatant of cyano, in my experience.
There are a few species or tangs, too, that MAY nibble on cyano, being the bristletooth tangs, but they don't help enough to warrant getting on for just that. But they are pretty!
Another big thing for cyano is to siphon the sand bed frequently, that takes out the detritus before the cyano can feed off of it. You could also get nassarius and/or cerith snails, they stir the substrate and eat leftover food before it decomposes and feeds the cyano.
Just my penny for thought, good luck, happy reefing and God bless you!

Thank you so much!! Good info to know! Most all of our snails are nassarius... but maybe I need to add some more to our crew. I'm sure it wouldnt hurt!

 

[Mr_Knightley]

Thank you so much!! Good info to know! Most all of our snails are nassarius... but maybe I need to add some more to our crew. I'm sure it wouldnt hurt!

Absolutely no problem! If you have nassarius already, maybe you could try the cerith snails. Thay are a bit smaller, but they burrow through the sand just like the nassarius.
After some further research, I found that Nerite snails feed almost exclusively on cyano, at least from what i could find. So it my be a cool experiment to try those, Though they are a tidal species and will crawl out of your tank if there is not a tight lid. Just another 2 cents.