Looking for good working fish

RyanSweet · Feb 28, 2018

I have a 75gal mixed reef (mostly LPS - meat coral, plates, euphyllia, etc) and I am looking for a good algae eating fish. I don't have serious issues with algae, just the occasional patch here and there. I know that tangs work for short term employment, if you will, but I'd like something that would be a longstanding member of the tank.

I have 2 mocha midnight clowns with a rainbow BTA, 1 blue sided wrasse, 1 pajama cardinal (super old and I'm surprised he's still around), 1 engineer goby, and for the time being a kole tang that has become somewhat of a bully and imo has outgrown the environment.

I do have a decent cleanup crew of appx 12 trochus, 2 mexican turbos, 2 fighting conch, and ceriths that I can't count.

Any suggestions for good worker fish? Doesn't HAVE to be a gorgeous fish, but if it is I could pass it to my wife as a more realistic purchase. Price isn't really an issue either (as long as the wife signs off).

ArowanaLover1902 · Feb 28, 2018

I recommend a lawnmower blenny for the following reasons:
- Very inexpensive
- Incredibly efficient - my even eats cyanobacteria
- Awesome fish - always out in the open and nibbling on something on the rocks
- You don't have to feed, mine eats whatever

Jimbo662 · Feb 28, 2018

Yellow Eye Kole Tang?

lacrosseboss18 · Feb 28, 2018

How about an algae blenny. It’s actually one of my favorite fish.

ArowanaLover1902 · Feb 28, 2018

lacrosseboss18 said:
How about an algae blenny. It’s actually one of my favorite fish.

Another name for lawnmower blenny, as aforementioned

RyanSweet · Feb 28, 2018

ArowanaLover1902 said:
I recommend a lawnmower blenny for the following reasons:
- Very inexpensive
- Incredibly efficient - my even eats cyanobacteria
- Awesome fish - always out in the open and nibbling on something on the rocks
- You don't have to feed, mine eats whatever

I have experience with the lawnmower and starry blenny's. They do well, but (at least for me) have become more carnivorous over the years and stop consuming algae unless I starve the rest of the tank by not feeding. I'll look at them again and see what options there are. I did love my starry blenny.

Jimbo662 said:
Yellow Eye Kole Tang?

This is what I have now. It worked great until a few months ago when I started noticing aggression towards the other fish and anything I try to add new, including shrimp, snails, pom pom crabs, and even nipping some sps I've added.

wattson · Feb 28, 2018

Molly Miller blenny,,a very hard worker ..I keep three in my tank with no aggression issues ..
Do a search on line and you will like what you read ..

RyanSweet · Feb 28, 2018

wattson said:
Molly Miller blenny,,a very hard worker ..I keep three in my tank with no aggression issues ..
Do a search on line and you will like what you read ..

This little guy is definitely worth a try. Very cool writeup on advancedaquarist.com (https://www.advancedaquarist.com/2012/9/fish) and it seems that they can be housed with multiples in the same tank. Looks like this may be a winner. Time to reach out to my LFS.

Lukejstn · Feb 28, 2018

Diamond Goby is amazing at cleaning up your sand bed. I've had a couple but be careful they are jumpers.

HB AL · Feb 28, 2018

My yellow, purple, and blonde naso tank along with my gold spot rabbit take care of that.

RyanSweet · Feb 28, 2018

Lukejstn said:
Diamond Goby is amazing at cleaning up your sand bed. I've had a couple but be careful they are jumpers.

Are these guys a little more for detritus and less for algae? I do like the look of them, so I'll look into them as a long term solution as well.

HB AL said:
My yellow, purple, and blonde naso tank along with my gold spot rabbit take care of that.

??? Not sure how this helps me at all. But congrats on the collection for yourself.

Denisk · Feb 28, 2018

Lawnmower blenny is a good one.

My foxface and tangs are always working. The foxface can be a hit or a miss because mine is a Monti cap eater

However I don’t mine as it keeps the Monti in check. Haha

If you do go with a small tang. Please upgrade your tank in the future or replace it to a smaller one as it grows.

happyhourhero · Feb 28, 2018

Kole tang is the hardest working fish in the hobby.

Non stop grazing of the rocks, the glass, the bottom, snail shells, etc. Even eats other fish's poop as soon as it enters the water. Great fish.

Lukejstn · Feb 28, 2018

RyanSweet said:
Are these guys a little more for detritus and less for algae? I do like the look of them, so I'll look into them as a long term solution as well.

I had a cyano algae outbreak and this guy destroyed it in a couple hours.

HB AL · Feb 28, 2018

RyanSweet said:
??? Not sure how this helps me at all. But congrats on the collection for yourself.

The tangs I listed are excellent algae grazers, I thought that's what you were looking for. Maybe I missed something.

reefndude · Feb 28, 2018

HB AL said:
The tangs I listed are excellent algae grazers, I thought that's what you were looking for. Maybe I missed something.

His tank is to small for those tangs

rosshamsandwich · Mar 3, 2018

bicolor blenny

John3 · Mar 3, 2018

Plain ol yellow tang is a hard worker. One of the better coral stores I go to uses them in their frag/coral tanks and they are very algae clean.

Like any fish though, if you over feed your tank they will not graze as much.