Considering a new fish, help me out or talk me down.

[JNalley]

I have a Fluval Flex 32.5G AIO for my daughter's first tank (she's 2). It's a nice tank, I'll be going with something bigger here shortly (end of the month probably) but I'd like to add a final fish to her tank. Her tank gets some GHA from time to time, it's nothing crazy, it doesn't take over, just a few places here and there, and unfortunately, I am 3 for 3 on Emeralds destroying Zoas and Firework Clove Polyps. So I'm looking for a fish that eats GHA and am considering a Lawnmower Blenny, a Court Jester Goby, or a Hector's Goby (currently leaning towards the Hector's).

Her current stock:

3x Pajama Cardinals
2x Oscellaris Clowns
1x Orchid Dottyback
1x Flame Hawkfish
1x Yellow Watchman Goby
1x Japanese Pistol/Snapping Shrimp
1x Carpet Nem
1x Condylactis Nem
2x RockFlowe Nems
Various Snails and Hermits

The YWG and Japanese Pistol unfortunately have not paired as I wanted them to, which is ok. But I am wondering if either the YWG or the Dottyback will have an issue with any of the fish I mentioned above. If you have any other advice/feedback I'm open, the tank is quite stable as it stands.

 

[LeftyReefer]

My lawn mower blenny never ate GHA. He would scrape bare rocks for hours on end while leaving small patches of GHA completely alone. Seemed to eat frozen foods more than anything. Would scrape bare rocks between feedings of frozen food. Never touched GHA though.

My urchin seems to eat more GHA than anything else. I only get small random patches that pop up here or there for a couple days.. then the urchin finds it and mows it down.

 

[Angel_V_the_reefer]

I have a Fluval Flex 32.5G AIO for my daughter's first tank (she's 2). It's a nice tank, I'll be going with something bigger here shortly (end of the month probably) but I'd like to add a final fish to her tank. Her tank gets some GHA from time to time, it's nothing crazy, it doesn't take over, just a few places here and there, and unfortunately, I am 3 for 3 on Emeralds destroying Zoas and Firework Clove Polyps. So I'm looking for a fish that eats GHA and am considering a Lawnmower Blenny, a Court Jester Goby, or a Hector's Goby (currently leaning towards the Hector's).

Her current stock:

3x Pajama Cardinals
2x Oscellaris Clowns
1x Orchid Dottyback
1x Flame Hawkfish
1x Yellow Watchman Goby
1x Japanese Pistol/Snapping Shrimp
1x Carpet Nem
1x Condylactis Nem
2x RockFlowe Nems
Various Snails and Hermits

The YWG and Japanese Pistol unfortunately have not paired as I wanted them to, which is ok. But I am wondering if either the YWG or the Dottyback will have an issue with any of the fish I mentioned above. If you have any other advice/feedback I'm open, the tank is quite stable as it stands.

Like the previous post medntioned, I believe lawn mower blenny’s are a hit or miss. Personally I’ve never had one, I have had a friend who have had one and he states it never touched his GHA.

i do have a fighting conch who is an animal when it comes to any algae. Turf algae , long strands of GHA , and even short strand of bryopsis.

 

[Nick Steele]

I second not getting another fish just for hair algae you never know if it will touch it or not. I’d stick to inverts to handle gha. Trochus snails and tuxedo urchins do a bang up job in my 20G they will usually find a spot in a day or two and it’s gone.

Personally I got a tailspot blenny because they are cool and adventurous. Mine can be seen all day long eating off the rocks and can even see his lip marks all over my glass when I let that go for awhile.

 

[JNalley]

I second not getting another fish just for hair algae you never know if it will touch it or not. I’d stick to inverts to handle gha. Trochus snails and tuxedo urchins do a bang up job in my 20G they will usually find a spot in a day or two and it’s gone.

Personally I got a tailspot blenny because they are cool and adventurous. Mine can be seen all day long eating off the rocks and can even see his lip marks all over my glass when I let that go for awhile.

I should probably say it's because I want another fish, not just because of GHA. If it eats the GHA that would be a bonus and its why I am considering those 3 in particular, but I also really like the look of the hectors goby, and court jester goby. I'm not a fan of urchins because they eat Coralline algae and things need to be really secure or they go for a ride, and I like to leave new corals unmounted for long periods of time, trying them out in different spots, before I decide on their new home. The trochus snails might be an alternative if the fish doesn't eat it, but I'll cross that bridge if it comes.

 

[Little c big D]

I have a lawnmower and I think it's one of the coolest fish I've ever had. Though never eating GHA. I think it's a great fish to try and if it doesn't eat the GHA you atleast have a cool fish.

 

[Angel_V_the_reefer]

I second not getting another fish just for hair algae you never know if it will touch it or not. I’d stick to inverts to handle gha. Trochus snails and tuxedo urchins do a bang up job in my 20G they will usually find a spot in a day or two and it’s gone.

Personally I got a tailspot blenny because they are cool and adventurous. Mine can be seen all day long eating off the rocks and can even see his lip marks all over my glass when I let that go for awhile.

I have trochus in my 20 gal and man are they movers ! They move pretty quick and will clean anything ! I haven’t seen my trochus not eat anything !! My favorite snails !

 

[Jdzzl03]

Plus one for the Trochus snail. They eat any type of algae in my system. I have heard great things about the lawnmower blenny as well but don't have one in my display. Super cool fish.

 

[i cant think]

IME hectors will be the best bet. Mine eats everything; Cyano, GHA, Dinos, Diatoms, you name it she eats it.

Don’t get a fish because it does something good for you. Get a fish because YOU like it. If it does something for you then that’s a pro but if it doesn’t and you still like it then go for it!

 

[i cant think]

I have trochus in my 20 gal and man are they movers ! They move pretty quick and will clean anything ! I haven’t seen my trochus not eat anything !! My favorite snails !

They also have a death wish! Mine love being out of water, especially my Mexican turbo.