General Reef Safe "With Caution" Thread

[jaganshi066]

Had both a flame and potters angel in my 100gal reef from 2000-2007. Model citizens until I lost the tank due to a power outage. Had a beautiful mitratus butterfly in my reef a few years back. Never saw a polyp again. Corals looked fine. Just no polyp extension.

7 years for a potters is good! I wish I had a potters, beautiful fish!! Yes I heard butterflies are a little hard on the corals haha. Maybe a copperband or pyramid would be better?

 

[radiata]

I had a blue tang that started nipping my expensive torches and Duncan coral. He was very well fed and frequently had nori to graze on. Caught him red handed taking a fresh bite out of my Aussie gold torch. Unfortunately, I couldn’t make an exception for him, and sent him back to the fish store. I was especially disappointed because he endured 2 months of all sorts of treatment in QT to guarantee he was ich / velvet free. I would have preferred to sell him to another reefer, but no takers given his bad habits.

I figured blue tangs were reef safe but it’s not the case with any fish tbh. Some are “safer” than others, but when hunger or stress kicks in, fish gotta do wha they gotta do to survive. And once they get a taste for coral, I have repeatedly seen others say they never stop.

Powder Blue Tang? Hepatus Blue Tang? Caribbean Blue Tang?

 

[radiata]

My only lfs is a petco and with one exception none of them know enough to have any idea what people would need to properly care for some of the fish they sale. I was getting a fish and jokingly told the person getting it that I had to stop at Walmart and get a thing of Mortons salt for my new saltwater fish and she didn't say a word.
There is one lfs about 5 hours away from me that I visit sometimes and they are very upfront and honest about their livestock. It's kind of nice to be able to ask a question and get an honest, accurate response. It is a dedicated reef shop though.

Looks like Morton's is a great way to separate the wheat from the chafe. PETCOs can certainly be a crap shoot. (There's only one here in NJ that the locals trust because the guy taking care of them is actually knowledgeable.) Sorry to hear a decent reef shop is 5 hours away. Could you find local fellow enthusiasts who'd be willing to carpool? Try Craig's list or maybe post a notice at your LFS. The LFS shouldn't complain about a post that got them more frequent hobbyist visitors.

 

[Gtinnel]

Looks like Morton's is a great way to separate the wheat from the chafe. PETCOs can certainly be a crap shoot. (There's only one here in NJ that the locals trust because the guy taking care of them is actually knowledgeable.) Sorry to hear a decent reef shop is 5 hours away. Could you find local fellow enthusiasts who'd be willing to carpool? Try Craig's list or maybe post a notice at your LFS. The LFS shouldn't complain about a post that got them more frequent hobbyist visitors.

My local Petco is not anywhere near as bad as the pictures of what I see posted on this forum, and their fish are generally healthy looking. Most of that is only because the person who runs that section seems to actually care for the animals. Its just that everyone else who works there either doesn't know or doesn't care (probably both actually) whether what they are selling will be properly taken care of or not.

I don't mind the drive to my not so local pet store(s). It gives me and my family a chance to take small overnight trips and enjoy the cities in surrounding states. My last few coral purchases have been from members on here and they've been fairly close to me at only 1-2 hour drive each way. I need to just start ordering online, but I really like seeing what I am getting before buying it.

 

[jaganshi066]

My local Petco is not anywhere near as bad as the pictures of what I see posted on this forum, and their fish are generally healthy looking. Most of that is only because the person who runs that section seems to actually care for the animals. Its just that everyone else who works there either doesn't know or doesn't care (probably both actually) whether what they are selling will be properly taken care of or not.

I don't mind the drive to my not so local pet store(s). It gives me and my family a chance to take small overnight trips and enjoy the cities in surrounding states. My last few coral purchases have been from members on here and they've been fairly close to me at only 1-2 hour drive each way. I need to just start ordering online, but I really like seeing what I am getting before buying it.

I like to see what I’m getting too before buying it because this Isn’t a cheap hobby

 

[kartrsu]

Powder Blue Tang? Hepatus Blue Tang? Caribbean Blue Tang?

Hippo blue tang.

 

[mikeg18]

7 years for a potters is good! I wish I had a potters, beautiful fish!! Yes I heard butterflies are a little hard on the corals haha. Maybe a copperband or pyramid would be better?

Had the copperband with the angels and a PBT Wanted to try something different

 

[ca1ore]

I have noted on R2R many times that reef-safe is more a function of the reefer than it is the fish. OK, we probably don't want to be keeping obligate corallivores, but many of the grazers (all angels and tangs) will occasionally take a taste of a coral. If you are somebody that freaks out at the first sign of coral nipping, don't keep angels (genicanthus excepted); if you can put up with some nipping then go for it.

There is always somebody that chimes in with some variation of: I've kept <insert angel name here> for years with no problems. Maybe its true, or maybe they just didn't notice. My default assumption with all my angels is that they will nip eventually .... so either be prepared to live with it or move on LOL. Some angels will help to keep pest anemones under control, but also happily eat zoas/palys. Curious that palytoxins seem to not affect them. My asfur and emperor eat both, but it's an acceptable trade off for me. I keep a lemonpeel in my reef. One of my favorite fish so I put up with some less than ideal behavior. It will occasionally decide that a SPS colony is delicious and corn cob it. There's always something left that regrows once the angel has lost interest.

Keeping fish well fed is a good way, though not a guaranteed way, to minimize exploratory nipping.

There are also a bunch of fish that are designated as 'with caution' because they eat mobile inverts. The dusky wrasse, for example, was listed on LA as fish only for years (they have now moved it), yet I had/have kept them for years in my reef tank. They leave coral alone but are murder on hermit crabs. My zebra eel is quite happy to eat ornamental shrimp.

 

[jaganshi066]

I have noted on R2R many times that reef-safe is more a function of the reefer than it is the fish. OK, we probably don't want to be keeping obligate corallivores, but many of the grazers (all angels and tangs) will occasionally take a taste of a coral. If you are somebody that freaks out at the first sign of coral nipping, don't keep angels (genicanthus excepted); if you can put up with some nipping then go for it.

There is always somebody that chimes in with some variation of: I've kept <insert angel name here> for years with no problems. Maybe its true, or maybe they just didn't notice. My default assumption with all my angels is that they will nip eventually .... so either be prepared to live with it or move on LOL. Some angels will help to keep pest anemones under control, but also happily eat zoas/palys. Curious that palytoxins seem to not affect them. My asfur and emperor eat both, but it's an acceptable trade off for me. I keep a lemonpeel in my reef. One of my favorite fish so I put up with some less than ideal behavior. It will occasionally decide that a SPS colony is delicious and corn cob it. There's always something left that regrows once the angel has lost interest.

Keeping fish well fed is a good way, though not a guaranteed way, to minimize exploratory nipping.

There are also a bunch of fish that are designated as 'with caution' because they eat mobile inverts. The dusky wrasse, for example, was listed on LA as fish only for years (they have now moved it), yet I had/have kept them for years in my reef tank. They leave coral alone but are murder on hermit crabs. My zebra eel is quite happy to eat ornamental shrimp.

I like how you put this!

 

[Cprivi]

I hate how my favorite fish are Reef Safe "With Caution" but hate the heavy decision to either return the fish you have grown to love, curb the habits of nipping or watch a coral die. I would love to have an open discussion of very tough decisions you have made for either coral health or fish love. I don't have a complete understanding on why then nip at one species of coral over another and why fish with a long history of being an upstanding citizen suddenly goes on a feeding frenzy. For example my Valentini Puffer ate a whole acan about a month after I added him. I was deeply saddened at the time but only had the basic toadstools and gsp along with it and decided to keep him until I wanted a nicer coral. Today he is an upstanding reef citizen and hasn't killed anything in the last 6 months (even acans which I now love).... except every snail, hermit and maybe a light nip at anything new added. Its damage and replacement I am currently willing to accept.

Now I am faced with a similar dilemma after adding one of my favorite fish, a CB Aiptasia-eating filefish and about 24 hours later he ate a polyp of my favorite leather. Its a shame these fish are a dice roll and any hungry fish often gets passed from owner to owner until a accepting owner or death. I am going to watch it play out for now but would love to hear any sad stories, comeback kid stories and accepted risks or limits on what you can put in your tank.

Any advice on reducing nipping habits for specific fish would be great. My puffer stopped taste testing corals once I regularly started giving him frozen clams and replenish the dwarf ceriths he snacks on. He is great until I stop my heavy feeding habits.

Pictures welcome. Here is the tiny leaf dude

I bought a Bicolor Foxface to help with algae control, mainly bubble algae. He did a great job for several months until I started noticing marks on some soft corals. Watched the tank closely and I saw him nipping at both hairy shroom polyps and on a Sinularia, so I had to rehome him unfortunatly.

I bought a Bristletooth Tang to help with GHA and he did a great job but he also terrorized the rest of my fish. He ended up starving a Lawn Mower Blenny and a Diamond Goby to death so I took him back to the LFS. I paid $80 for that fish so should I expect any store credit or eat it? LFS keeps claiming they can’t get any fish due to COVID, weather, or any other random reason on the day that I drop by.

 

[jaganshi066]

I bought a Bristletooth Tang to help with GHA and he did a great job but he also terrorized the rest of my fish. He ended up starving a Lawn Mower Blenny and a Diamond Goby to death so I took him back to the LFS. I paid $80 for that fish so should I expect any store credit or eat it? LFS keeps claiming they can’t get any fish due to COVID, weather, or any other random reason on the day that I drop by.

A lot of fish stores here in SoCal only give 1/3 credit but one guy gives us full

 

[Rudefish]

Maybe I am fortunate for now. My tank contains a blue hippo, blue throat trigger, 2 bellus angelfish and 4 pyramid butterfly, yet none have touched my corals. Grant you, most of them are still frags (no zoa) but I have not seen any being touched so far.

 

[Bjg]

I’ve always like regal angelfish I got a couple from online sites that said they was eating good got them home and they never ate finally got one that was eating good quarantine it for two months beautiful fish but it nips on everything I’m going to have to rehome it

 

[jaganshi066]

I’ve always like regal angelfish I got a couple from online sites that said they was eating good got them home and they never ate finally got one that was eating good quarantine it for two months beautiful fish but it nips on everything I’m going to have to rehome it

Beautiful fish

 

[Bjg]

Beautiful fish

yes I love them he’s eats really good pellets minus ramp Rods food and nips on corals

 

[jaganshi066]

yes I love them he’s eats really good pellets minus ramp Rods food and nips on corals

Yes haha, but out of curiousity did you not expect him to nip anything?

 

[NeonRabbit221B]

t or eat it? LFS keeps claiming they can’t get any fish due to COVID, weather, or any other random reason on the day that I drop by.

I have found that if you take him back to the store you got him they are unlikely to give you much of anything. It would be good to shop around and find a store that will take him and give you $$.

 

[Bjg]

Yes haha, but out of curiousity did you not expect him to nip anything?

I have a friend that’s got a couple of them in different tanks that Don’t nip at anything So I thought I’d give it a try cause I love those fish so much

 

[Bjg]

I have found that if you take him back to the store you got him they are unlikely to give you much of anything. It would be good to shop around and find a store that will take him and give you $$.
[/QUOTE I bought this fish from live aquarium yeah I know the store don’t wanna give you nothing Plus having a bad habit

 

[bday1335]

This thread speaks to me on so many levels, there have been numerous occasions where I have been VERY close to pulling the trigger on a Valentini Puffer. Honestly I could care less if it destroys the hermits and snails in my tank(I have too many) I just worry about the coral consumption! I just love their personalities! Still debating...