BEST PEST EATING FISH?

[MarsWulf5]

What is the best pest eating fish that wont turn on my inverts or corals? I have an LPS dominant mixed reef. Current situation is that is have 9 corals in QT. 5 came in today from WWC. I dipped them. I found a BLACK BUG!!! And there was an asterina munching on the Galaxia in the bag! Hmmm.

The new frags were dipped and I found about 10 different species that came off of them under a microscope.

I have the frags in QT now - but - where there are adults there are eggs.

I'm going to dip in Bayer... Only use Coral Rx right now and brush like hell, however, I see the need for a more aggressive approach to my dipping protocol.

I have heard that INTERCEPTOR from the vet is the only way to beat Black Bugs. Hmmm... Next steps..

Anyhow, even though I do this 90 day quarantine on Fish and Corals, I want to be sure that everything remains under control. My DT is pristine... Ich free, no nudis, no bristle worms, etc... I will not introduce a pest knowingly.

However, knowing there ARE pests on these new frags... What fish do I need?

I have researched wrasses and I hold the concern that they will eat my feather dusters... And I love my feathers.

What does the hive reef mind suggest?

 

[dvgyfresh]

I have a Spanish hogfish and he is always on the hunt for small pods, parasites, whatever is on the rocks and eats nori randomly lol . I like the fish , they even act as cleaners if a fish does get a parasite. Doesn’t mess with any crab or starfish I have either

 

[HB AL]

I was gonna say a small wrasse or 2, like a green and or yellow coris. The smaller the better since your looking for them to eat coral pests that are mostly tiny. Never heard of them eating feather dusters. I'm sure if you feed them well they won't even look at the dusters

 

[southerntnreefer]

Yellow wrasse or melanarius are good workers.

 

[SurgeonFish]

I have a melanarus that is a pig but leaves my duster alone.

seems like you are following all the right steps to avoid pests so a fish may not be needed unless you discover an outbreak in the DT

 

[MarsWulf5]

I was gonna say a small wrasse or 2, like a green and or yellow coris. The smaller the better since your looking for them to eat coral pests that are mostly tiny. Never heard of them eating feather dusters. I'm sure if you feed them well they won't even look at the dusters

I read up on them bc there is one at the LFS- a yellow corris wrasse - and I found a few forum posts around that say they go after inverts - especially feather dusters. I have this purple and gold rimmed feather duster and a fancy duster - with my luck it would eat them. I have already banished all crabs, urchins, and certain shrimp from my tank forever. I love the yellow corris wrasse - I think the 6 stripe is utilitiarian but lacks the aesthetic I expect from marine fish.b

 

[jesspal]

Some say the six line can be quite a bit more aggressive also.

 

[MarsWulf5]

I have a Spanish hogfish and he is always on the hunt for small pods, parasites, whatever is on the rocks and eats nori randomly lol . I like the fish , they even act as cleaners if a fish does get a parasite. Doesn’t mess with any crab or starfish I have either

I worry the hogfish will eat my shrimp and bully my clowns and eat my dottybacks... How aggressive is he?

 

[PSU4ME]

Yellow coris is wonderful

 

[jesspal]

Yellow coris is wonderful

I’ve never had a tank without one, they are great.

 

[User1]

As noted above the yellow coris is a good choice.

Six line is an amazing forager but the system needs to be setup to support its needs to reduce aggression. Sort of like having a fighter jet zipping around a stadium sort of thing.

There are a couple other wrasses that are good but I would wager the Yellow is the ideal tool for your situation without needing advanced level care.

 

[count krunk]

Yellow Coris is the next fish I will get I think. Make sure you have a well fitting top!

 

[MarsWulf5]

Yellow coris is wonderful

I think I'm going to pick that yellow wrasse up and get him in QT if he is still there tomorrow. I have a star blenny and a scooter blenny in QT - having a hard time getting them to eat in QT. Hopefully the yellow wrasse fits in to the group well. I think a pest eater already quarantined is the way to go. If something does show up in the DT - I will be prepared. I cant believe all the stuff that came off these tiny frags under a microscope. Looks like nothing... Cloudy whisps... Looked like nothing with a flashlight and a magnifying glass... But at 60X under a dissecting microscope... I saw at least a dozen different beasties... Including the game ender Black Bugs. Not many people talk about it - but they are the end game for your tank. I'm going to get some INTERCEPTOR from the vet for the coral QT. That garbage is not getting into my DT.

Anyhow : Yellow Corris Wrasse sounds good. If he eats my purple and gold duster... I am holding you all reaponsible jk

 

[User1]

Anyhow : Yellow Corris Wrasse sounds good. If he eats my purple and gold duster... I am holding you all reaponsible jk

Well I am not going to lie and say there isn't risk. There is always a risk since we can't provide it a questionnaire or interview it before we buy it Resellers like the "with caution" flag but it is a vague tag at best because it doesn't itemize what is at risk. Right?

Previously I kept both in a 100 gallon mixed reef. I recall no coral losses or aggression towards corals of any type. In fact I would say they got along with all fish, corals, and hobbyist. Maybe luck. Maybe the fact I had a lot of live rock. I don't know as again I can't really speak to them Looking back I do know that my "at-risk" items were small crustaceans. Cleaner and peppermint shrimp were fine. Small hermits, micros that I got from ipsf, fared ok but seemed to be hit the most. Those and the smaller strombus snails.

Other than that it was ok. I did not have any feather dusters though but I also had a Copperband Butterfly. So they are already at risk. For me the whole "reef safe with caution" is a moot point. Instead I look at it as what is the hobbyists acceptable loss to implement a tool (fish) to support with some tasks be it pest or aiptasia control.

If that makes sense.

 

[thunderreefer]

My yellow wrasse is one of my favorites! If you don’t have sand in your fish QT tank, make sure to at least have a bowl of sand.

 

[dvgyfresh]

I worry the hogfish will eat my shrimp and bully my clowns and eat my dottybacks... How aggressive is he?

I keep mine with cleaner shrimp , Clowns, splendid dottyback and a damsel he’s not aggressive at all actually , only wishes to eat parasites lol I’ve never even seen him chase a fish but I also got him very young

 

[LimestoneCowboy]

Well I am not going to lie and say there isn't risk. There is always a risk since we can't provide it a questionnaire or interview it before we buy it Resellers like the "with caution" flag but it is a vague tag at best because it doesn't itemize what is at risk. Right?

Previously I kept both in a 100 gallon mixed reef. I recall no coral losses or aggression towards corals of any type. In fact I would say they got along with all fish, corals, and hobbyist. Maybe luck. Maybe the fact I had a lot of live rock. I don't know as again I can't really speak to them Looking back I do know that my "at-risk" items were small crustaceans. Cleaner and peppermint shrimp were fine. Small hermits, micros that I got from ipsf, fared ok but seemed to be hit the most. Those and the smaller strombus snails.

Other than that it was ok. I did not have any feather dusters though but I also had a Copperband Butterfly. So they are already at risk. For me the whole "reef safe with caution" is a moot point. Instead I look at it as what is the hobbyists acceptable loss to implement a tool (fish) to support with some tasks be it pest or aiptasia control.

If that makes sense.

I keep mine with cleaner shrimp , Clowns, splendid dottyback and a damsel he’s not aggressive at all actually , only wishes to eat parasites lol I’ve never even seen him chase a fish but I also got him very young

Agreed, I have had them in a mixed reef successfully for years but with 1 recent issue... Didn't have any issue with cleaner shrimp, but as the 2 Yellow Coris I had became a pair (2 or so years after getting them as $20 tiny ones), when they male got to 4-6" he assassinated many of the other male wrasses and one yellow tang that were in my main display. I wouldn't have believed it until I saw it for my own eyes with the 5th or so casualty. First one day I found my Choati of 2 years (my favorite wrasse =( crusty and up under the screen top of my 300. I thought "Hmm, ok, super sad and odd, but maybe it was exploring?" Then I would say one a month, I lose my Meleagris, male orange back wrasse, 5yr old six line, 7" Melanurus, yellow tang, and then the one I saw that broke my heart was the yellow Coris beating up and killing my male flame wrasse. Upon seeing that I got a trap from a buddy and luckily was able to catch the male Coris and move it to our QT system. Its been a few months now and nothing more has died in the main system and as I split the male off, he has so far not bothered the larger tangs/sailfin, or any of the damsels in our QT. Moral of the story is Coris are amazing pickers, but I would be careful if they pair up or get older. Usually you can tell this when they start to get the colorful head markings.

 

[Gogoggansgo]

My betta eats everything and i mean everything. My turbos snails have been reproducing and the babies just disappear lol. I know it’s him because he doesn’t eat when i feed everyone else

plus he’s over a year old and fat

 

[Pardsie]

Not sure why no one commented on being as surprised as I am to read WWC corals apparently had as many as 10 different species of nasty inhabitants on their corals.

 

[jesspal]

Not sure why no one commented on being as surprised as I am to read WWC corals apparently had as many as 10 different species of nasty inhabitants on their corals.

I'm not surprised at all, pests show up on corals from many vendors.