What kind of cleaner fish is good for a saltwater aquarium?

Answer 1

Depends on what you want to clean, the size of your tank, and how many/what species you already have.

Algae is the most common item people want removed, but fish and invertebrates (snails, hemit crabs, true crabs, sea urchins, shrimp, etc.) are rather specific in what they choose to eat. Your best choice is to get several organisms so more potential food items are included. Some of the more common species to use are turbo, trochus, nerite, and nassarius snails. Astreas are the most commonly sold, but if these fall off the glass or rock, they can't right themselves, and will die, becoming a part of the waste in the tank that feeds the algae. Also avoid margaritas, because these do better in cooler water than is found in tropical saltwater tanks.

For hermit crabs, you can't beat blue-legged hermits and scarlet hermits. Peppermint shrimp are my favorite among the shrimp - they'll eat more than algae, and will also help control Aiptasia (nuisance anemones). You can also keep these in larger groups, and they may breed in the tank. Crabs are a little more iffy, since even the "safe" crabs (emerald, arrow, Sally lightfoot) can eat small, slow moving fish. A brittle star won't eat algae, but it will sift through the substrate to find food other animals have missed. Sea urchins are herbivores and will eat most algaes, but these also eat the coralline algae on live rock, so only get these if you don't mind seeing white areas where the coralline algae is scraped off. And only get species which stay small - larger urchins will move the rocks around, possibly causing them to fall.

As mentioned already, tangs and lawnmower blennies will eat algae, but tangs require large tanks on the order of 70+ gallons because of their adult size and need for open swimming areas. Dwarf angels will also eat algae, but can be kept in as small as 30 gallon tanks (depending on the species).

If you have a specific type of algae you want removed, if you can identify the species using this link: http://saltcorner.com/sections/guest/algaepage/algaepage.htm , use the number next to that type to find a corresponding animal at the bottom of the page to find what will eat that type.

If your problem is cyanobacteria (also called red slime algae, see photo: http://www.sloreef.com/bojan/Cyanobacteria_files/Cyanobacteria1.jpg ) no organisms really eat this. At best, they scrape some off while trying to eat other foods nearby.

Whether you have algae or cyanobacteria, the best way to control these are by controlling the amount of light (this can only be used if you don't have corals, anemones, or other photosynthetic organisms) and nutrients in the tank. Algae and cyano need to have nitrate and phosphate to "fertilize" them. Nitrate is the end product of the waste from your fish. It can also be introduced if you use tapwater (some but not all tapwater sources include this) to mix the saltwater or from uneaten food in the tank. Be careful that you don't overfeed, and you may want to switch to reverse osmosis water (available at Super WalMart and Target stores in self-serve dispensers [Culligan] for about $0.33/gallon). Phosphate is introduced in tapwater and food. You can add a phosphate absorbing pad that you cut to fit your filter to help control this. Also, if you don't use a protein skimmer, this can help by removing dissolved organic material before they have the chance to fertilize the algae. You should also be doing weekly water changes (15-25%) to keep the level of nutrients down and also replenish the minerals your fish and inverts need and remove from the water (calcium, magnesium, iodine, etc.).

I've included some links below for you about controlling algae, controlling cyano, and marine scavengers. The links at the tops of these pages will get you to even more info.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

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RE:
What kind of cleaner fish is good for a saltwater aquarium?

Answer 4

If it is a fish only tank then you can get some shrimp they will clean the items in the tank and even your fish.. Blennys are a good cleaner if it is a reef tank you want to stay away from shrimp they can get eaten and thats a costly snack you could still do the blennys though they won't harm your corals you can go to the LFS and ask them they will know what you can put in your tank... Good luck

Ps. tangs will eat the algae so also another good cleaner

Answer 5

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Answer 6

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