working fish

[Tod Howard]

I do not think I have ever come across a list of fish broken down by the work they do in the aquarium.

What fish benefit our reefs and how?

 

[melypr1985]

hmm. All fish poop and poop feeds corals, so there's that.
Tangs and some blennys eat algae
some wrasses (not sure about all) eat flatworms
Some gobies will sift the sand keeping it looking clean
some are just there to look pretty and make us smile. I bet somebody else can give a more comprehensive list or add to this one.

 

[Humblefish]

This is gonna be a long list but I'll start with a few...

Foxface aka rabbitfish: Useful for eating bubble algae and other types of nuisance algae
Copperband Butterfly/filefish: Useful for eating pesky aiptasia anemones
Lawnmower blenny: Useful for eating GHA

*The above is just what is typical for the species. As with just about everything in this hobby, actual mileage may vary.

 

[garra671]

hmm. All fish poop and poop feeds corals, so there's that.
Tangs and some blennys eat algae
some wrasses (not sure about all) eat flatworms
Some gobies will sift the sand keeping it looking clean
some are just there to look pretty and make us smile. I bet somebody else can give a more comprehensive list or add to this one.

ive never seen my marine fish poop lol.
used to see my goldfish poop all the time.

 

[melypr1985]

ive never seen my marine fish poop lol.
used to see my goldfish poop all the time.

Maybe they have shy colons? lol They just want a little privacy

 

[eatbreakfast]

Ambygobius phalaena sift sand and eat hair algae,

Gobies of the genus Valenciennes sift sand
sand.

Wrasses of the genera Halichoeres, Macropharyngodon, Anampses, Pseudocheilinus, Pseudocheilinops, Wetmorella, and Pseudojuloides eat vermatellid snails, flatworms, pest nudibranchs, and red bugs.

Dragon faced pipefish eat flatworms and red bugs.

Tangs eat hair algae.

Rabbitfish eat hair algae and bubble algae.

Juvenile Halichoeres wrasses and Pomacanthus angels eat flukes and other external parasites.

 

[Rybren]

ive never seen my marine fish poop lol.
used to see my goldfish poop all the time.

My Yellow Tang will follow other fish when they are pooping and will gobble it up as fast as it comes out.

The other day, my Halloween Urchin was on the glass and was letting out a steady stream of poop. All of the fish were gathered around it, eating everything.

 

[Tod Howard]

My tangs taste each others poop but spit it out. I find myself yelling to them "Noooooo".lol

Thanks for the list. I think I'll put a flasher wrasse, scooter blenny and some cleaner gobies on the list

 

[Tod Howard]

Lack of sandbed really limits some of the fish, looks like I will start with these.
Yellow line neon goby(cleaner)
Lawnmower blenny(algae)
Scooter blenny(algae)
Possum wrasse(worms)
I want to keep my options open for a Dragon faced pipe fish and/or Mandarin so I'll hold off on 6 line wrasse

 

[garra671]

Lack of sandbed really limits some of the fish, looks like I will start with these.
Yellow line neon goby(cleaner)
Lawnmower blenny(algae)
Scooter blenny(algae)
Possum wrasse(worms)
I want to keep my options open for a Dragon faced pipe fish and/or Mandarin so I'll hold off on 6 line wrasse

Blenny and goby need sand. They dig through it.

 

[eatbreakfast]

Blenny and goby need sand. They dig through it.

Algae blennies and neon gobies do not need sand.

 

[4FordFamily]

Matted Filefish and pearlscale butterflies eat mojanos and aiptasia oftentimes. They may also eat other corals...

Panther groupers will eat your damsels and anything else that fits in their mouth.. Useful to some!

 

[Tod Howard]

Friend has panther grouper, ate everything in tank including octopus and eel.