tell me..who protects your reef?
 

Who do you have on guard who's battling day in and day out to keep your tank running smooth perhaps a fish ugly as snot but too good at what it does? Perhaps an unexpected gift..wow he eats aiptasia? Perhaps not a fish at all ?

Just livestock please no equipment , routines etc.


For me my melanarus wrasse is a champ I'm sure I would be riddled with pests if it were nt for him ...true workfish:)

Who's on guard for you????

Pics welcome!!

I love my frag tank tang and red line wrasse! They're train to go for new frags right a way! P. S they are so awesome they even let me pet them!

~Tony

candystripped hogfish eats flatworms!
sailfin tang eats bubble algae!
checkerboard wrass eat bristle worms and all unwant snails.
long nose butterfly eats aiptasia!
mattesd filed fish eats aiptasia!
clown fish who protects my bubble coral from everything!
six line who protects my clams from pods and snails.

Great thread idea! Good resource to add to a stocking list for a newbie. Gunna keep an eye on this one.
:pop2:

I have to second the Melanurus. I bought one to deal with some flat worms which he exterminated in no time and now is on constant patrol. If I as so much as nudge a coral sitting on the gravel he over there ready to pounce on anything that moves.

My Flame Angel is my guard dog, she keeps the Tomato Clownfish in her anemone where she can't bite me! :lol: The Tailspot Blenny pecks at any filamentous algae that pops up. The Yellow Coris Wrasse eats "bugs". Peppermint Shrimp and (female) Emerald Crabs on duty too.

My cleaner wrasse, aka, the doctor fish, does a great job and he's not a jumper.

Pearlscale Butterfly fish,... totally got rid of my aiptasia problem. A few years ago, I inherited a 100g SW that had hundreds, maybe over a thousand aiptasia. They were everywhere,... whole back glass was covered with them. It was totally hopeless trying to eliminate them with Aiptasia X or any other injection method. I got a Copperband, but he didn't make a dent. I think they were all too big for him. He spent a lot of time picking in the rocks, but I think the aiptasia were all too big for him, and wouldn't touch them (or at least not that I saw).

Then after some online research decided to try some Pearlscale Butterfly fish. Besides I think they are pretty, too. I originally bought 5 (initially got 3 and lost some due to various mishaps), but still have 2 now, one in each of my display tanks. They are about 2 1/2 years old now, and still doing great. Unlike Copperbands and some other butterfly fish, you can have several of these in a tank. They do establish a pecking order, and after that, all is fine.

I started them off in a hypo QT tank, to get them feeding on a variety of frozen and dry foods. I later put in a rock with aiptasia on it, and knew it was a very good sign when they almost immediately went after the aiptasia. The other good thing about these butterfly fish is they are much easier to get feeding (unlike Copperbands).

When I added them to the main display tank, they did not take long to acclimatize. Their biggest challenge was avoiding my bully Yellow Tang. But because there were more of them, the attention was divided and they were able to escape more readily. Fortunately, the tang left them alone after a while, as long as they kept out of his way. And very soon, the Pearlscales went after the aiptasia, and with gusto. It was a great sight seeing them tear into one, like a bunch of chickens after a worm.

It took about 3 or 4 months, but they actually cleaned out the whole tank. I never thought I would see that happen!! Of course the aiptasia are never really totally gone. I still have them in my overflows and in the sump. And occasionally, I see one or a few pop up in my display tanks. At this moment, I can't find any in the downstairs tank, and only about 3 in the main display tank upstairs. But if someone came to see my tank, they would probably be hard pressed to find even one.

Oh, and they don't eat my corals either. When I first got them, they would pick occasionally at some of my LPS and some softies (palys and mushrooms). But they soon lost the taste for them. Probably because I kept them well fed with mysis and pellets. They eat pretty well everything, including flakes. I now have SPS, and they never bother them. Worst I have seen is them picking off the long slime threads after introduction or fragging. They have got me nervous a couple times after adding a new frag, when they come by to check it out thoroughly. But after a short while, they lose interest.

I will say they are still a delicate fish, and are particularly weak coming from the LFS. So a long QT time is a must to get them healthy and strong. I also had one killed by a clown fish, before it learned to stay clear. Also, if you have ich, or any other disease present, they will be the first to show it. But if you have a clean and healthy tank, they thrive.

So for me, this is the most valuable reef protector I have.

For me it's all about cuc

I'm not a huge fish fan so a couple chromis are there to feed coral

I employ a army of inverts
Emerald crabs, cleaner shrimp, conch, snails and urchin

They do a great job of cleaning up uneaten food. I had a small small amount of bubble algae. Emeralds have taken care of that and my urchin polishes rock and tile

On a smaller note the sponge, fan worms, turnicates that take up residence in my sump and cryptic zone polish my water leaving a great home for acros

180G - Axilspot Hogfish. This guy picks at any new coral rock I put in and is constantly hunting in the rocks. Mated Diamond Gobies keep my sand incredibly white. Tangs and Foxface seem to keep any algae in check.

62G - Yellow Wrasse is likely keeping any pests or bugs at bay. or the Candy Stripe Hogfish.