SPS Guardians?

chort55 · Jul 26, 2011

Ok so we have all seen the Zoa/ Paly threads for fish that are ideal to keep in a reef for protecting z's and P's, and it got me thinking..... are there any good guardians/ must have fish for the SPS dominated reef? I think I've read some wrasses will eat flatworms, but are there any fish/ certain ones that are good/ better for flatworms, redbugs or any other parasites/ pests for these fancy colored sticks????

I know dips are always best, but just thinking for the "incase" or oops moments where maybe something may have snuck but.... never hurts to have a little insurance policy right?

islander84 · Jul 26, 2011

melanarus wrasse...6 line wrasse...yellow coris wrasse for worms, etc.....fish that poop alot are good food source.....tangs are good for eating unwated algaes, and kind of a must have for sps tank just because

islander84 · Jul 26, 2011

melanarus, 6 line, yellow coris( not sure how compatible they are with each other so do your research..) i keep a 6 line and melanarus together without issues but never had the yellow coris

Reef UP · Jul 26, 2011

Dragon face pipefish for sure

SAZAMA · Jul 26, 2011

Reef UP said:
Dragon face pipefish for sure

maybe I'm the ******, but dont they dislike flow? where as sps need it?

SteezySPS · Jul 26, 2011

haliocherus wrasse species eat worms as part of their normal diet which means there may be a greater chance of them hunting for them on the sticks. yellow coris falls under it. Pipefish dont work for red bug infestations. maybe if your tank doesnt have a lot of pods or some other food source they may consume them but not reliably. I had 4 of them in the past

Reef UP · Jul 26, 2011

SAZAMA said:
maybe I'm the ******, but dont they dislike flow? where as sps need it?

The dragonface pipefish live on reef crests around the sps and mine dont ever even seem to notice the high amount of flow in my tank, dragon face pipefish are more of a crawler such as a snake rather than a swimmer.
I also have blue stipe pipefish and banded pipe fish in my tank and most of the time they use the current to their advantage catching the strong currents in the tank with their tails like a sail it's actually very interesting to watch but from my experience strong current doesn't seem to bother pipefish at all

Nuocmam · Jul 26, 2011

I have an acro crab that lives on one of my sps corals. I don't for sure know what he does but I'm sure he does something. Lol

swannyson7 · Jul 26, 2011

Reef UP said:
Dragon face pipefish for sure

+1 on the dragonface. I keep two in my 180 and they do well with the strong current. They're known to consume redbugs, so if you introduce a frag with redbugs that survived through dipping, they have a chance of consuming them before your tank is overrun with the pests.

Reef UP · Jul 26, 2011

Nuocmam said:
I have an acro crab that lives on one of my sps corals. I don't for sure know what he does but I'm sure he does something. Lol

Put a angel In your tank bet that coral won't get nipped ;-) lol

NaplesAquatics · Jul 26, 2011

A rabbit fish of some sort makes a great algae remover as well. I like hermits for cleanup, but they can annoy SPS. Never seen any do any damage though. Six Line or Yellow Coris for sure. Butterfly of some sort could be useful too. A lot depends on size of the tank.

Jeff

Hyprviperx · Jul 26, 2011

i know its not a fish but the velvet nudibranchs are very nice looking in the reef and they eat flatworms

Jeff.:P:. · Jul 26, 2011

damselfish, sixlines, starry blennys!~

Reef UP · Jul 27, 2011

Hyprviperx said:
i know its not a fish but the velvet nudibranchs are very nice looking in the reef and they eat flatworms

But not to feel guilty about keeping one you need to have plague proportions of flatworms to sustain it long term but yes they do look very nice

BigFeesh · Jul 27, 2011

Reef UP said:
Dragon face pipefish for sure

Even if they can be kept in high flow dont they get out competed for food because they are slow?

beaner_12 · Jul 27, 2011

aren the six line wrasse very agressive?? and please dont dare tell people to put damsels in their tank. thats the worst thing you could add to your tank.

BigFeesh · Jul 27, 2011

beaner_12 said:
aren the six line wrasse very agressive?? and please dont dare tell people to put damsels in their tank. thats the worst thing you could add to your tank.

yup yellow coris is a better option. and i know right :waaaht:

PR_Reefers · Jul 27, 2011

Nuocmam said:
I have an acro crab that lives on one of my sps corals. I don't for sure know what he does but I'm sure he does something. Lol

I don't know if it's just me but I introduced one to my bottlebrush and I swear I've seen it's growth rate shoot up considerably!! Also I read a study somewhere about these crabs in the wild and supposedly acros with them have a higher than 50% probability of surviving and thriving!!

Akwarius · Jul 27, 2011

Nuocmam said:
I have an acro crab that lives on one of my sps corals. I don't for sure know what he does but I'm sure he does something. Lol

Just be sure to check for black claws. I've had a predatory crab masquerading as an acro crab before.

Nuocmam · Jul 27, 2011

PR_Reefers said:
I don't know if it's just me but I introduced one to my bottlebrush and I swear I've seen it's growth rate shoot up considerably!! Also I read a study somewhere about these crabs in the wild and supposedly acros with them have a higher than 50% probability of surviving and thriving!!

Really? That's cool man. Maybe I should look to buy some.