Wolf in fish clothing: What “reef safe” fish did you find not to be reef safe after all?

[Brit’s Fish]

Strong possibility. I’ve heard Hippos are bad about going after Zoas.

My vote is also on the Hippo. My LFS has recently decided to stop telling customers their reef safe after several of their clients have now reported them going after corals as they get older. Mine is also being watched carefully as I think he might be doing the same. And he’s just kind of a jerk too.

 

[ProWalrus]

I had to get rid of a banggai cardinal that was constantly nipping my torches and hammers especially after it almost killed one hammer while trying to to steal reef roids from it.

 

[AKL1950]

I had to get rid of a banggai cardinal that was constantly nipping my torches and hammers especially after it almost killed one hammer while trying to to steal reef roids from it.

I always put in the Reef Roids just as the lights are almost off. The fish are already going to their hiding/sleep spots and don’t bother the corals feeding.

 

[i cant think]

Mine was an Escenius lineatus. He now remains in my 4’ mixed reef. Although I guess in a way, all of my fish are reef safe as I work my way around them instead of they eat everything. I ‘recently’ did a post on my tank and all my RSWC fish and how I work around them.
Here’s the one fish that I have witnessed munch corals, specifically fluffy SPS.

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

Filefish. Bought it to help with aptasia. Instead it helped itself to my tracyphillia.

It also ate all my snails.

Filefish ate my aiptasia then destroyed a large multi rock zoa colony. It's now in jail (sump) until I figure out it's ultimate end game.

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

Currently,my velvet demsel falls in this category. Whenever I forget to feed it, it starts niping on my rocks!
Still I am lucky that it not a hungry fish as it not eat much. It gets full in 10 big pellets and some frozen meaty food. I have seen filefish and coralbeauty niping on rocks. One of my freind say buy small fish as they don't do that. Not sure about this. I think if u well feed them and give them plenty of algae, they will not do that.

I'm lucky so far, I have one in my cube tank and it's just chillin so far. When it gets into rampage psycho stage (which it will) back to the LFS.

 

[Slocke]

I think the only fish I have that isn't reef safe is my Falco hawkfish. Who ate both cleaner shrimp and when that wasn't enough went after gobies. Little monster!

 

[Slocke]

Reef Safe With Caution animals in Reef Tanks.

Hey there fellow reefers! I just wanted to make a thread about keeping Reef Safe With Caution (RSWC) fish in full blown reef settings. Now, this is a thing I rarely see spoken about because we all think sticking to reef safe fish will be the easiest and safest thing. I also used to think this...

www.reef2reef.com

Good little thing written recently^

 

[design.maddie]

The day I saw my favorite fish, my Clown Goby AKA 'Queen Goby' started eating SPS polyps I was lost at what to do. The fish has since died in a horrible tank crash along with all my SPS. I have rebuilt.

 

[takoarm8]

Pretty sure this is like 1 in 100 but I had a melanurus wrasse that would rip chunks out of euphyllias and clove polyps. Probably did this because of reef roids and just became a habit

Same he nips at my sps and torches and is impossible to catch.

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

I think the only fish I have that isn't reef safe is my Falco hawkfish. Who ate both cleaner shrimp and when that wasn't enough went after gobies. Little monster!

Yeah... It along with a long nose hawkfish have effectively made shrimp a nono in my bigger tank.

 

[Peacocksm]

Crabs have done a number on my coral. I've had snails take out a clam in one Night. It was very impressive

 

[Fish Think Pink]

My mystery wolf. Cant figure out who it is Yet. Candidates are a tang (powder blue, purple, hippo or Tomini), an angel (male and female Bellus), one of 6 Chromis or a blue leg hermit crab. Someone has taken a liking to Zoas. It’s attacked three different colonies of Zoas. Getting some security cameras to monitor the tank. Maybe I’ll catch it in the act.

My blue hippo tang has eaten inches of zoas., though seems confined on where he eats them... doesn't like overhanging cave lip or maybe he thinks Rainbow Infusions are Lucky Charms for Tangs...

Also, clownfish have forced corals to host them until death, then moved on to belly rubbing other corals... until they went to sump jail and finally got a nice home with local hobbyist who could give them an anemone of their own to live happily ever after.

 

[Cheezle]

No doubt my pistol shrimp.. I'll never own another one.

lol I was looking for this comment. My LFS never believes me when I tell them what a jerk mine is. It's not just them burying corals, mine will crawl on rocks to find frags to add to his collection. He has become a monster lol

I love my YWG but yeah, never again

 

[threebuoys]

I checked Coral Beauty, but actually the problem is a bi-color dwarf angel. Also checked wrasse due to my yellow wrasse. Both of these are very sly. Hard to catch in the act.

Recently I modified a clear plastic box so I could place it in the tank and keep the fish out. I put several nice corals in the box and they have thrived. Includes zoas, discomas, hammers, duncans, GSPs, all of which I've had great difficulty getting to prosper.

I'm making a fish trap so I can catch and rehome the two.

A big surprise a year ago was when my sailfin gorged himself on two huge stalks of pulsing xenias I was trying to get established. I watch him finish them off in about an hour.

 

[AKL1950]

My blue hippo tang has eaten inches of zoas., though seems confined on where he eats them... doesn't like overhanging cave lip or maybe he thinks Rainbow Infusions are Lucky Charms for Tangs...

Also, clownfish have forced corals to host them until death, then moved on to belly rubbing other corals... until they went to sump jail and finally got a nice home with local hobbyist who could give them an anemone of their own to live happily ever after.

It seems I’m getting the most votes for Ms Dori, my Hippo. Never would have thought that, but she has moved up to #1 suspect.

 

[muzikalmatt]

Great topic and without question it would be my bicolor blenny. I love his personality, but he has destroyed several corals in my tank. I've personally witnessed him eating a platygyra brain coral, jackolantern leptoseris, green slimer and stylophora. I've tried overfeeding the tank but it doesn't matter, he still goes after corals. I've made my peace with it as I don't plan on removing him, but I know not to put those types of corals in his tank anymore.

I've read many similar testimonials about bicolors and even seen a few videos about it on Youtube (Inappropriate Reefer has a hilarious video of him catching and removing his bicolor blenny from his old cube tank for the same reason.) So I'm not sure why so many vendors list bicolors as reef safe as from my experience (and many others), they absolutely are NOT.

 

[Pistol Peet]

this is gonna be an unpopular opinion…
but tangs
are beginning to annoy the crap out of me!

have horrible (diva) attitudes
they eat like sewer dwelling pigs (never satiated!)
are bullies to their other tankmates
knock corals over
will thrash cynarinas
and fleshy corals
with their scalpel if they’re in their area…
steal food from the aforementioned corals (even with chunks of food floating in the water column!)
they pick up shells and stones and drop them on corals.

the list goes on and on

perhaps they’re a good fit in sps systems…
but in an lps system
where you have to feed corals
they’re a nuisance!

Agreed they r complete jerks and they are recommended to everyone as reef safe definitely watch hippo tangs bad for this same crap.

 

[Sly Element]

not a fish, but Emerald Crabs can go after your sps polyps! happend to some of my sps.
I literaly saw him/her do it. and as soon as i caught the crab and put it in the backchamber, the sps extended their polyps again.

 

[KrisReef]

Sleeper head or blue streak goby. Not very reef safe as it will spit sand all over your corals barring them in the sand damaging there tissue.

My Harliquin tuskfish did this when I moved him from a bare bottom tank into a fish tank with a few corals that he buried with his excavations. A lot of the fish enjoy his hideouts, but simphyllia, acanthophyllia and fungia were not happy spitting sand that was kicked in their faces & mouths.