I need a cheap clean up crew of fish for my frag tank.

zheka757

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Oct 11, 2021
Messages
2,287
Reaction score
13,234
Location
North Port
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I have a 24x48x12 frag tank. 60 gallon tank, I need to have algae and aiptasia to be under control in that tank. I'm thinking coperband butterfly for aiptasia control, but cant come up with a algae fish for it. also some king of wrasse for tiny creatures. any ideas? its a high flow tank to.
 

BeltedCoyote

Philosopher king of the Memes
View Badges
Joined
Aug 11, 2019
Messages
7,425
Reaction score
36,784
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Agree filefish for aip. Six line or similar wrasse pests. Molly Miller blenny is a sleeper for algae. If not a molly Miller, lawnmower or starry blenny are good choices too.

if you do go for a wrasse and some type of blenny, make sure you’ve got a decent lid or cover… just in case
 

Miami Reef

Clam Fanatic
View Badges
Joined
Sep 8, 2017
Messages
11,165
Reaction score
20,734
Location
Miami Beach
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I have a 24x48x12 frag tank. 60 gallon tank, I need to have algae and aiptasia to be under control in that tank. I'm thinking coperband butterfly for aiptasia control, but cant come up with a algae fish for it. also some king of wrasse for tiny creatures. any ideas? its a high flow tank to.
The truth? Aiptasia is best controlled with manual intervention. Using super glue is the best method as it doesn’t allow the aiptasia to spread.


For algae: any groups of snails can work really well, but managing nutrients is the first step.
 

ApoIsland

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Apr 13, 2020
Messages
1,089
Reaction score
1,293
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I would not put a filefish in a frag tank unless you plan on only keeping sps frags in there. I would go copper banded for aiptasia, kole tang or other small bristletooth for algae, and a yellow coris or some type of leopard wrasse for critters.

That would be an awesome looking frag tank :)
 

BeltedCoyote

Philosopher king of the Memes
View Badges
Joined
Aug 11, 2019
Messages
7,425
Reaction score
36,784
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Being a newer reefer I’m assuming I’d be cautious with a copper band as they can be tricky to get eating

that and the system is a bit small for a CBB long term w/o the full ecosystem of a display reef
 
OP
OP
zheka757

zheka757

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Oct 11, 2021
Messages
2,287
Reaction score
13,234
Location
North Port
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I guess I should have added more info to my frag tank. This frag tank is inline with my 400 gallon display tank and 80 gallons of refugium with aiptasia and anything else you can think of I have it in there. I have a coperband butterfly in my display that keeping a good job at aiptasia, I just need a control for my frag tank. And my refugium is a constant suply of criters and pests for my entire system
 

ApoIsland

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Apr 13, 2020
Messages
1,089
Reaction score
1,293
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I guess I should have added more info to my frag tank. This frag tank is inline with my 400 gallon display tank and 80 gallons of refugium with aiptasia and anything else you can think of I have it in there. I have a coperband butterfly in my display that keeping a good job at aiptasia, I just need a control for my frag tank. And my refugium is a constant suply of criters and pests for my entire system
you could just move the cbb over to the refugium from time to time. they are super easy to catch since they are such aggressive eaters. I can feed mine out of a net, my hand, or anything else I put in the tank.
 

CanuckReefer

Simple...Salt, Water, LR, Lighting and Flow.
View Badges
Joined
Nov 18, 2020
Messages
2,451
Reaction score
3,855
Location
Port Perry Ontario
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
The truth? Aiptasia is best controlled with manual intervention. Using super glue is the best method as it doesn’t allow the aiptasia to spread.


For algae: any groups of snails can work really well, but managing nutrients is the first step.
Nonsense. The Truth? The truth is told by many methods. And there are quite a few, depending on ones own experience. Give it a rest.... my own experience certainly doesn't match your 'expert ' opinion....
 
OP
OP
zheka757

zheka757

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Oct 11, 2021
Messages
2,287
Reaction score
13,234
Location
North Port
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
you could just move the cbb over to the refugium from time to time. they are super easy to catch since they are such aggressive eaters. I can feed mine out of a net, my hand, or anything else I put in the tank.
lol, tried it once, gave up after 30 minutes of trying. and once they know im after them, they hide even more. this is display tank, btw
viber_image_2021-10-11_20-08-03-102.jpg
 

Miami Reef

Clam Fanatic
View Badges
Joined
Sep 8, 2017
Messages
11,165
Reaction score
20,734
Location
Miami Beach
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Nonsense. The Truth? The truth is told by many methods. And there are quite a few, depending on ones own experience. Give it a rest.... my own experience certainly doesn't match your 'expert ' opinion....
Well, aiptasia eating nudibranchs tend to starve out before they can finish the job, copperband butterflies don’t consistently work, and aiptasia eating filefish will pick at corals as well. Peppermint shrimps can destroy corals, as well as inconsistently work.

There’s no perfect solution, but I do believe that manual removal is the “best method”. Especially for a smaller tank.

For larger tanks that will be okay with having a few aiptasia’s here and there, you can use the animals to take care of it.

I looked back at my original post and I can’t find the part that caused you to get so defensive. It’s my opinion that manual control is the most effective way at eradicating aiptasia. I don’t understand how this can be interpreted as “expert” opinion.

I think it’s well established that no organism can consistently eradicate aiptasia without starving out themselves nor potentially harming other organisms in the tank.

If saving time but accepting that there will always be aiptasia is your goal, and you accept some corals may get nipped at, by all means go for the predation method. :)
 
Last edited:

ApoIsland

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Apr 13, 2020
Messages
1,089
Reaction score
1,293
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
lol, tried it once, gave up after 30 minutes of trying. and once they know im after them, they hide even more. this is display tank, btw
viber_image_2021-10-11_20-08-03-102.jpg
Awesome in wall tank!!! I'm planning one myself once the remodel gets under way soon.

Looks like you have plenty of room to put one of those acrylic traps on the glass. That worked well for me in the past with my fish that are not trained to eat out of the net.
 

Rmckoy

7500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Mar 24, 2013
Messages
8,369
Reaction score
11,239
Location
Ontario Canada
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Well, aiptasia eating nudibranchs tend to starve out before they can finish the job, copperband butterflies don’t consistently work, and aiptasia eating filefish will pick at corals as well. Peppermint shrimps can destroy corals, as well as inconsistently work.

There’s no perfect solution, but I do believe that manual removal is the “best method”. Especially for a smaller tank.

For larger tanks that will be okay with having a few aiptasia’s here and there, you can use the animals to take care of it.

I looked back at my original post and I can’t find the part that caused you to get so defensive. It’s my opinion that manual control is the most effective way at eradicating aiptasia. I don’t understand how this can be interpreted as “expert” opinion.

I think it’s well established that no organism can consistently eradicate aiptasia without starving out themselves nor potentially harming other organisms in the tank.

If saving time but accepting that there will always be aiptasia is your goal, and you accept some corals may get nipped at, by all means go for the predation method. :)
I’ve used nudis peppermint shrimp , cbb . The nudis have done the best in terms of natural but the best by far is mixing a little kalk paste and covering the disk .
I have not had any in over 10 years .
Now ask me about red flatworms …. I haven’t found a natural solution for them yet as most fish and nudis said to control them isn’t working .
I don’t want to resort to chemicals yet as a 50% water change is almost impossible ( 230 gal display )
 

A worm with high fashion and practical utility: Have you ever kept feather dusters in your reef aquarium?

  • I currently have feather dusters in my tank.

    Votes: 66 37.5%
  • Not currently, but I have had feather dusters in my tank in the past.

    Votes: 59 33.5%
  • I have not had feather dusters, but I hope to in the future.

    Votes: 25 14.2%
  • I have no plans to have feather dusters in my tank.

    Votes: 26 14.8%
  • Other.

    Votes: 0 0.0%
Back
Top