what is a good grazing fish?

[surfn]

i need a fish that will graze on my live rock, and hopefully munch down on some algae on the rocks here and there.

(no i dont want a yellow tang!......lol)

...and i've got a flame angel which i will soon be returning once i catch him. cool fish, doesn't really graze that much (or at least doesn't make much of a difference on the algae), but i also caught him pecking at my monti's which is a no-no.

the tank will be a 50g cube...

...any suggestions?

 

[Azurel]

I used to have a Scopas tang, which is the smallest variety of tangs only get up to 7 inches.....He ate every kinda of algae I had in my tank, I mean I was algae free even valonia(sp?)......I know it a tang but they don't get vary big, the only down side is they can be quite aggressive to new fish after they are added.

 

[surfn]

I used to have a Scopas tang, which is the smallest variety of tangs only get up to 7 inches.....He ate every kinda of algae I had in my tank, I mean I was algae free even valonia(sp?)......I know it a tang but they don't get vary big, the only down side is they can be quite aggressive to new fish after they are added.

was this recently? cuz i know you had alot of algae in that tank

 

[fishes2889]

I have had 2 different tangs in the past which were awesome, Indian Mimic(Eibli) & a Kole Tang. Both are great for algae grazing and both are beautiful fish.

Just a thought.

 

[JGoslee]

Any of the "bristle tooth" tangs would work for algae control. I had a kole tang that was great at eating algae off the rocks. Unfortunately I lost him to ick.

 

[surfn]

which ones are the bristle tooth tangs?

 

[JGoslee]

which ones are the bristle tooth tangs?

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-07/hcs3/index.php

 

[Azurel]

Nope this was awhile ago......That's why I have the dang algae now......He was attacking my Maldive clowns so I moved him out and he came down with ick.....Lost him during QT. Now I have this algae everywhere I might even re-cook the rock at some point and get a bit of fresh rock......The LFS near me has a small Scopas for $20 but I really don't want to add another fish. But I might have to this algae is getting out of control and it isn't just one type either.....

P.S. This was abouta year and a half ago before Club-zoa and Coralnutz.com.....

 

[Azurel]

I also had a 12 inch Ritteri anemone melt away 2 weeks after changing over half the tank to sand and Getting new lights. I think I made to many changes all at once.....Rabbit fish are also good but they are nippers as well.....I have heard great things about the bristle tooth's as well.....Might wanna try a Tomini tang as well. I have to correct myself on one thing though the Tomini is the smallest of the tangs reaching 7in while the Scopas will reach 8-9in....The only draw back with them is they are supposedly one of the most aggressive tangs once established to newcommers. I just went and read some of my fish book trying to come up with something for you....

 

[Nikon_Guy]

The Kole I have is a machine!

I could TRY to grow algae and he would keep it in check.

 

[kappaknight]

Do tangs eat bubble algae?

 

[fishes2889]

http://www.saltcorner.com/sections/zoo/fish/surgeonfishes/acanthurus/Atristis.htm

 

[fishes2889]

Do tangs eat bubble algae?

Nope.

 

[reefboy]

A great grazer is a convict tang mine eats everthing including valona algae

 

[familyreefer]

Algae

I agree with fishes and nikon, Yellow Eyed Kole Tang is a eating machine. Add a few Emerald crabs and blue legged hermits and you should have it all covered.

 

[surfn]

i've seen a couple people get tomini tangs, and they aren't very pretty, and they seem VERY shy. i definitely havent seen an aggressive one

 

[fishes2889]

Like i said above the indian mimic is an awesome choice but is very uncommon in your LFS.

 

[Ike]

I feel awful having a tang in my 65 gal., but I will be upgrading soon. I don't think a 50 cube is suitable for any tang. I'm guessing the dimensions of the tank are about 24x24x20 and an Acanthurus tang would be an awful choice for a tank with those dimensions. A Ctenochaetus sp. tang would only be a slightly less awful choice. I'd suggest some of the herbivorous blennys (bicolor, horseface, lawnmower, etc.), but if you're going to keep SPS you should be aware that sometime some of them can nip. If not fish, just load up on the cleanup crew.

 

[surfn]

never going with a blenny, i'll just get a small baby tang and when it gets large, give it to someone with a bigger tank

i think i'm just gonna go with a gem tang.

 

[JGoslee]

Marine center has them on sale for $3499.00!