Need help deciding on whether or not a fish is right for your tank? Post here and we'll help!

Barncat

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From what I've read, Koumansetta rainfordi (the Court Jester/Rainford's Goby) will peck at and maybe eat some filamentous algae, but I've heard mixed things as to whether or not they'll eat enough to be useful for controlling the algae.

I've also heard that at least some Amblygobius species (the Link's Goby being Amblygobius linki) will eat filamentous algae, but I wouldn't expect them to control its growth from what I've read.


In both cases, these fish are primarily carnivorous, so while they may eat hair algae (or potentially just pick pods and detritus out of it), I wouldn't expect them to effectively control it.
I really appreciate all of this, I have decided against getting either fish and I'm focusing on instead upgrading the filtration in my tank since its current design clearly isn't working well enough.

I'd get a lawnmower blenny but I'm concerned about my watchman goby killing it... although she did accidentally just spend a solid month in my rear sump chamber so maybe she's feeling less homicidal right now. (My aquarium has a DIY AIO design and she decided to leap into the filter area without my noticing where the heck she was until I found her by accident, perfectly healthy but clearly wanting to be returned to the main body of the tank.)
 

Barncat

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Fish of the Amblygobius genus are sand sifters. They grab mouthfuls of substrate and filter out edible detritus and micro-organisms in their gills. If you have hair algae in your sand it will help and eat it. But if it is on your rocks they are unlikely to do anything about it. In Especially with captive bred species which are trained to eat from the water column. Now eating from the sand may prevent hair algae from reproducing/spreading.

@ISpeakForTheSeas Got any input?


In my experience snails are always the best way to prevent algae. Though if it is hair algae it should be easy to remove manually. If it is hard to remove manually it is probably turf which is a different beast.
I'm now thinking that it is turf algae. It is pretty gloriously green and fur-like on the rocks, I'm just getting tired of spending an hour every week picking it from the rocks... although my apple tree outside has yet to complain about its weekly (well rinsed) marine snack!

I'm gonna focus on my improving filtration and may potentially adopt a lawnmower blenny to help since my watchman goby will be feeling a little off kilter right now after accidentally trapping herself in my tank's filter sump compartment. Snails are weirdly hard to get here without ordering online, my LFS almost never has any apart from nassarius snails.
 

Slocke

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I'm now thinking that it is turf algae. It is pretty gloriously green and fur-like on the rocks, I'm just getting tired of spending an hour every week picking it from the rocks... although my apple tree outside has yet to complain about its weekly (well rinsed) marine snack!

I'm gonna focus on my improving filtration and may potentially adopt a lawnmower blenny to help since my watchman goby will be feeling a little off kilter right now after accidentally trapping herself in my tank's filter sump compartment. Snails are weirdly hard to get here without ordering online, my LFS almost never has any apart from nassarius snails.
I’m having the same issue. I despise turf algae though my emerald crabs are definitely eating some
 

Cthulukelele

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I'm now thinking that it is turf algae. It is pretty gloriously green and fur-like on the rocks, I'm just getting tired of spending an hour every week picking it from the rocks... although my apple tree outside has yet to complain about its weekly (well rinsed) marine snack!

I'm gonna focus on my improving filtration and may potentially adopt a lawnmower blenny to help since my watchman goby will be feeling a little off kilter right now after accidentally trapping herself in my tank's filter sump compartment. Snails are weirdly hard to get here without ordering online, my LFS almost never has any apart from nassarius snails.
Be aware that though lawnmower blennies can and do eat some turf/filamentous algae, their natural diet is film algae. They have scraping teeth that are designed mainly to remove film algae. I say this mainly to say don't be shocked if you see MORE turf algae after adding a lawnmower blenny given they have a reasonably large bioload and preferentially consume a type of algae that usually COMPETES with turf algae. They also might be a little piggy and eat all of it aggressively
 

Barncat

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Be aware that though lawnmower blennies can and do eat some turf/filamentous algae, their natural diet is film algae. They have scraping teeth that are designed mainly to remove film algae. I say this mainly to say don't be shocked if you see MORE turf algae after adding a lawnmower blenny given they have a reasonably large bioload and preferentially consume a type of algae that usually COMPETES with turf algae. They also might be a little piggy and eat all of it aggressively
Good to know, thank you! My glass actually needs attention too.
 

Cthulukelele

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Good to know, thank you! My glass actually needs attention too.
I also forgot to mention lawnmower blennies can also be kinda mean especially to timid cylindrical bodied fish like court jester gobies and watchman gobies. There may be some aggression issues.
 

Cthulukelele

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... to be clear I have a lawnmower blenny in my 120 that I've had for 3 or 4 years and I love them. I feel like I need to make this post to not look like a negative Nancy lawnmower blenny hater lol. They are generally just fish that need a "boss" fish to keep them in line sometimes in my experience.
 

Barncat

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... to be clear I have a lawnmower blenny in my 120 that I've had for 3 or 4 years and I love them. I feel like I need to make this post to not look like a negative Nancy lawnmower blenny hater lol. They are generally just fish that need a "boss" fish to keep them in line sometimes in my experience.
It's okay, my watchman goby is actually a jerk herself so if the lawnmower can hold its own, all the better. XD
 

Cthulukelele

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It's okay, my watchman goby is actually a jerk herself so if the lawnmower can hold its own, all the better. XD
Lol watchman gobies can get a little sassy when things get near their space, but a lawnmower blenny that doesn't like a watchman goby can easily kill it or stress it to death as theyre much larger stronger fish. Not a forgone conclusion. Just something to be aware of! It can definitely also work out.
 

Barncat

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Lol watchman gobies can get a little sassy when things get near their space, but a lawnmower blenny that doesn't like a watchman goby can easily kill it or stress it to death as theyre much larger stronger fish. Not a forgone conclusion. Just something to be aware of! It can definitely also work out.
Thank you so much, I really appreciate your insight! I'm still waffling over whether to pull the trigger on the lawnmower and I might just pass on it; that's the way that I am leaning anyway!
 

Cthulukelele

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Thank you so much, I really appreciate your insight! I'm still waffling over whether to pull the trigger on the lawnmower and I might just pass on it; that's the way that I am leaning anyway!
Happy to help when I can. The hobby is much more playing odds than an exact science. Turns out creating a functional peaceful ecosystem takes some risk assessment and nuance!
 

manzoherz

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Nice tank! I'll leave @Slocke for the wrasse suggestion.

The filefish (make sure its aiptasia-eating) and peppermint shrimp both have the chance they'll nip/eat corals. So if you're going that route, add the filefish and shrimp then add corals later once most aiptasia is gone, then you can experiment with what corals they will/won't pick at. Or you can just remove them after theyve done their job. I love berghias so I would reccomend going that route, the get the wrasse AFTER the berghia have done their job.

I am not a fan of chromis because it's very hard to keep a school of them. Its almost all luck. Getting some the same size, feeding often and assuring they all have their own sleeping space can help. But again, some will just get bullied until death.
Good Evening

Thanks again for your advice on our next tank inhabitants. We've done a bit more research on some of the suggestions and were thinking one of each of the following:

FireFish
CopperBand Butterfly
Banggai Cardinal
Blenny
Canary Wrasse
6 line Wrasse

Does anything immediately stand out as a no go. They would be joining a pair of clownfish, FoxFace, Finsail Tang, Sand Goby, Cleaner Shrimp, Fire Shrimp (and a lot of turbo and zombie snails).

Berghia look like a great idea - we've found a highly rated UK supplier but they are pricey ($15 per Berghia). Before we invest in 6-8 of them, I wanted to see if you/other Berghia fans know anything re the following:

Can the Berghia survive in the sump (could it be a place for them to reproduce happily away from the fish)

Is our assumption correct that the Berghia will be eaten by the pest control wrasses over time – should we stagger the introduction of Berghia ahead of the Wrasses to give them time to populate?

We have a lot of aiptasia in the overflow chamber, can we put some Berghia in there or do they die without light?

If all the aiptasia are eaten by the Berghia will the population die off?


Thanks again for all your help
 

WalkerLovesTheOcean

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Can the Berghia survive in the sump (could it be a place for them to reproduce happily away from the fish)
Yes but they will only survive in low-flow areas of the sump, like refugiums.

Is our assumption correct that the Berghia will be eaten by the pest control wrasses over time – should we stagger the introduction of Berghia ahead of the Wrasses to give them time to populate?
Yes, 100%. Most wrasses will eat them. Wait until all aiptaisa is gone before adding wrasses.

We have a lot of aiptasia in the overflow chamber, can we put some Berghia in there or do they die without light?
They're not photosynthetic so they don't rely on light to survive. I wouldn't put them in the overflow... they will probably find their way on their own, if not it's because it has to much flow. In that case wait until they reproduce alot and you can add a few. That gets rid of the risk that you kill one of your original ones.

If all the aiptasia are eaten by the Berghia will the population die off?
Yes they only eat aiptasia so when their food source is gone they will all die unforuantly.
 
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niccumec

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Interested in adding a sand sifting goby and engineering goby.
Too many sand dwellers?
Will various species of gobies co-exist?
Also interested in Mandarins later on once I establish copepod colony in refugium.

Tank: 150 gal (54x30x24)

Current inhabitants:
Pair Black Ice Clownfish
Royal Gramma
Firefish Exquisite
One Spot Foxface
Yellow Watchmen Goby and pistol shrimp (MIA)
Red Banded Pistol Shrimp
CUC:
5 Mexican Turbos, Tuxedo Urchin, Tiger Conch
Cerith, Nassarius, Margarita, Nerite Snails (5 each)

IMG_1206.jpeg

Ok, now I am considering adding the Engineering Goby and a pair of McCosker’s Wrasses to the above inhabitants (if I can find a male and female wrasse). I have also heard of adding a the Engineering Gobies in pairs. Is this a thing?

Any cautions on a pair of each to this tank?

I am also open to recommendations if I were to add 2-3 reefsafe wrasses to this tank, which would you go with? I also like the Melanarus, Blue Sided Fairy, Blue Flasher, Carpenter….
 
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Slocke

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Ok, now I am considering adding the Engineering Goby and a pair of McCosker’s Wrasses to the above inhabitants (if I can find a male and female wrasse). I have also heard of adding a the Engineering Gobies in pairs. Is this a thing?

Any cautions on a pair of each to this tank?

I am also open to recommendations if I were to add 2-3 reefsafe wrasses to this tank, which would you go with? I also like the Melanarus, Blue Sided Fairy, Blue Flasher, Carpenter….
I would add different species of wrasse not pairs as all wrasse eventually become male and flashers transition early. Get different species

I’ve tried a pair of engineer gobies and one was bullied to death so do not recommend either.
 

manzoherz

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Good Evening

Thanks again for your advice on our next tank inhabitants. We've done a bit more research on some of the suggestions and were thinking one of each of the following:

FireFish
CopperBand Butterfly
Banggai Cardinal
Blenny
Canary Wrasse
6-line Wrasse

Does anything immediately stand out as a no go. They would be joining a pair of clownfish, FoxFace, Finsail Tang, Sand Goby, Cleaner Shrimp, Fire Shrimp (and a lot of turbo and zombie snails).

Many thanks in advance
 

Slocke

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Good Evening

Thanks again for your advice on our next tank inhabitants. We've done a bit more research on some of the suggestions and were thinking one of each of the following:

FireFish
CopperBand Butterfly
Banggai Cardinal
Blenny
Canary Wrasse
6-line Wrasse

Does anything immediately stand out as a no go. They would be joining a pair of clownfish, FoxFace, Finsail Tang, Sand Goby, Cleaner Shrimp, Fire Shrimp (and a lot of turbo and zombie snails).

Many thanks in advance
Cut the sixline. They are monsters and cannot mix with other wrasse. Pink streak is the most direct replacement but hard to find. Fairy or flasher wrasse or if you are up for a challenge a leopard wrasse
 

manzoherz

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Cut the sixline. They are monsters and cannot mix with other wrasse. Pink streak is the most direct replacement but hard to find. Fairy or flasher wrasse or if you are up for a challenge a leopard wrasse
Thank you!
 

leeloo82

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Hi everyone! Newbie to saltwater (coming from freshwater) and wanted to run my planned live stock list by those more experienced. Thanks in advance!

Just had a Waterbox Infinia Frag 175.6 delivered (nothing up and running yet) but it's a 118 gallon display tank with a 55 gallon sump, I believe. Have watched entire BRS beginner series on YouTube. Below is my fish stock list in order of adding to tank (more or less), with the tangs not going in until tank well established (6 months-1 year?). Please advise on any red flags or if I need to re-order ones go in first. Too many fish? Can I add more?

Starter list for 120 gallon tank (no more than 60 in of fish):

Clownfish x2 (3 ea = 6 in of fish)
Banggai cardinalfish x 4 (3 ea = 12 in)
Flame hawkfish x1 (3.5 in)
Royal gramma basslet x1 (2.5 in)
Shrimp goby/yellow watchman goby x1 (2.5 in)
Pistol shrimp x1 (not included in fish:tank size ratio)
Sand-sifting goby (diamond? 6 in)
Sixline wrasse x1 (3 in)
Blue hippo tang (10 in)
Yellow tang (7 in)
Powder brown tang (8 in) *note, can be any tang, I actually don't really want a 3rd tang but heard you need an odd number to dispel potential aggression)

Thanks again!
 

WalkerLovesTheOcean

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Hi everyone! Newbie to saltwater (coming from freshwater) and wanted to run my planned live stock list by those more experienced. Thanks in advance!

Just had a Waterbox Infinia Frag 175.6 delivered (nothing up and running yet) but it's a 118 gallon display tank with a 55 gallon sump, I believe. Have watched entire BRS beginner series on YouTube. Below is my fish stock list in order of adding to tank (more or less), with the tangs not going in until tank well established (6 months-1 year?). Please advise on any red flags or if I need to re-order ones go in first. Too many fish? Can I add more?

Starter list for 120 gallon tank (no more than 60 in of fish):

Clownfish x2 (3 ea = 6 in of fish)
Banggai cardinalfish x 4 (3 ea = 12 in)
Flame hawkfish x1 (3.5 in)
Royal gramma basslet x1 (2.5 in)
Shrimp goby/yellow watchman goby x1 (2.5 in)
Pistol shrimp x1 (not included in fish:tank size ratio)
Sand-sifting goby (diamond? 6 in)
Sixline wrasse x1 (3 in)
Blue hippo tang (10 in)
Yellow tang (7 in)
Powder brown tang (8 in) *note, can be any tang, I actually don't really want a 3rd tang but heard you need an odd number to dispel potential aggression)

Thanks again!
Skip the blue tang. I've never heard of the odd number for tangs but if it's true, I'd stick to one tang because 3 would be too many. Skip the 6 line and go for a different wrasse.
 
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