What are some "Working" fish?

[DracoKat]

I am looking at another group of fish for my 75 gal tank (once it's ready).

Perhaps some "working" fish.. fish that helps keep algae in check.. pick off at pests on other fish/corals.. the likes. all reef safe.

any ideas?

 

[Wiz]

As far as algae I know lawnmower blennys and yellow tangs are helpful.
As far as pests almost any wrasse, manderin, scooter blenny, and filefish are good.
Then sand movement most gobies,and a few wrasses but they may bury things or eat macro fauna

 

[DracoKat]

thanks!

Not sure if I want sand-sifting gobies.. I hear they make a mess of things. got to look more into them.

Blennies are nice to have, I'll add them to my list

 

[BoneXriffic]

Blennies are great! Also sailfin tangs are good grazers and fit in a 75 nicley

 

[Tahoe61]

Fox Face.

 

[Hogan]

Yellow Coris Wrasse. Hardest working fish in my tank!

 

[kptompk]

I have a bicolor blenny and love him because he eats algae and mysis. I had a lawnmower and he ate algae but nothing else. So when I ran out of nuisance algae he died. It was sad. The lawn mower also did not touch the hair algae I had. Looking back I wish I had considered a stary blenny. They are neat.

 

[treedog5]

I agree with the other comments, I have a yellow tang and molly miller blenny who both pick at any algae they can find all day. I also had a spotted goby who spit sand around all day which kept the sand turned over. I also got a coral banded shrimp to keep the bristle worms in check, I like to have workers in my tank also..

 

[fragman2]

Tangs are the most obvious answer for fish that control algae. There are lots of choices and some are better than others at mowing down and or controling unwanted algae. One seldom talked about issue with regard to Tang selection is what do actually east and how do they acomplish this. What I'm talking aobut is mouth shape. certain tangs are better equiped to eat different types of algae. Kole Tangs mouth the surface of rocks and glass but dont remove algae the same way that fish with a mouth shaped like a Yellow Tang does. They agressively pick at algae. Tangs can also learn what to eat from other Tangs. I have kept a Yellow Tang with a Powder Blue Tang, and a Heppo Tang and none of them would touch Hair Algae or Bubble Algae. Once I added a Purple Tang or Desjardini Tang they "taught" the others to go after both of these nussance algae species. Lots of issues come into play like tank size as it relates to how many Tangs you can realistically keep in one tank. I'm working with a 210 gallon display tank and not the 75 gallon that you have. You need to select your Tang(s) carefully to get the best cleaning crew for your tank. In a 75 Gallon tank it is going to be hard to just add a Tang if you already have one present. If you don't have one for that tank then try and add your Tangs at the same time if possible. Another useful strategy when you already have Tangs is to use an Aclimation box inside your tank. I use a "Tarantula box" like you would buy at Petco. I grabed the biggest one that I could fit into my tank. I cut lots of 4-6 inch slits in the bottom so that water would move freely through the "cage". When introducing a new fish into an established tank this works really well. My little cage is mounted with magnets to the front of the tank about 2 inches below the waters surface. I put the new fish or fishes in there for 3 to 10 days. This give your them a chance to eat without being picked at and just get used to the tank surroundings. Just as importantly the existing Tangs and other fish have a chance to see and get used to these new intruders into their home. Using this aclimation method in an established tank has made all the difference in the world with fish surviving introduction to a new tank.

I hope this helps.

 

[DracoKat]

thanks everyone! Keep them coming, I will check on all

 

[DracoKat]

wow @fragman2 thanks for that helpful post!!

I do not have any fish in my tank currently- it is still cycling. I am in research phase to see what would be best and when to add.

I feel like a yellow tang would be pushing it for my tank.. maybe a Kole Tang as the only tang of the tank?

 

[Salty1962]

Most of your Tangs, Lawnmower Blenny, FoxFace. I have a Flame Tang and Lawnmower Blenny and they keep my algae in check. My Regal Angel also helps some but a picky eater.

 

[Bob Escher]

Although I love my diamond watchman goby he has screwed up my sand so bad. My wife says it looks like he made his own slide ( he did) holes everywhere. I'm happy I put grating on the bottom supporting my rock)
My scooter blenny he a must. He literally glides over everything. One minute he's at the bottom of the tank on sand the next second he's on the very highest rock and then he "glides" back down to the sand and almost all the way across to the other side of the tank. And he's the smallest fish in the tank at a inch and he is beautiful

 

[Maddlesrain]

My scopas tang avoids algae like the plague...
I have a sand sifting diamond goby who I absolutely adore! He hasn't covered anything - actually seems to avoid the frogspawns I have on the sandbed altogether and just makes a ring around them. He does like to burrow, but other than shifting a few things slightly, nothing is bothered or changed. He's also just fun to watch stuff sand in his cheeks! Lol

Peppermint shrimp are great at keeping pest anemones away and are typically in viewing range as well.

 

[Maritimer]

Wrasses with pointed snouts seem to like to pick things from betwixt rocks...

Neon/sharknose/yellowline gobies will help keep other fish clean and happy - but they don't eat "ich", and they're perfectly capable of dying from the same diseases as any other fish.

I've got a starry blenny in my 65, and a kole tang. I've also got hair algae and Bryopsis, in spite of many hermits, emeralds and snails. YMMV.

Target mandarinfish will target flatworms as well as 'pods - good to have around, even if they're not quite as sexy as blue mandies.

~Bruce

 

[DracoKat]

thank you, everyone!! A lot of information and suggestions, I appreciate it!

 

[4FordFamily]

Aiptasia eating filefish and sand sifting gobies are among my favorite and self explanatory as to their benefit. Filefish also eat mojanos.

Halichoeres genus wrasse clean up a lot of pests (yellow coris, melanarus, lime green, etc to name a few common and inexpensive examples),

Tangs and Angels for algae control.

Pearlscale butterfly also eat mojanos

 

[Bob Escher]

Thats what all of us is here for to learn and help others learn, I believe we're learning all the time

 

[DracoKat]

I find Pearlscale butterflies beautiful. It's high on my list to consider since the beginning- though LiveAquaria says they're not reef safe.

And yes, that's why I love this forum. Everyone's so helpful! I want to make sure I do things right, like most of us. It's a never ending learning experience for sure! I mean I have a nano tank, but a 75 gal is a whole different ballpark for me

 

[Maddlesrain]

Pearlscales are NOT reef safe in my experience. Don't expect to keep any lps if you have one. Mine chewed through a 10" frogspawn and a handful of frags before I took him back to the lfs after being in my tank for maybe 2 months. Beautiful, but not coral safe.