SPS guardians?

[Chris]

Ok so we have all seen the Zoa/ Paly threads for fish that are ideal to keep in a reef for protecting z's and P's, and it got me thinking..... are there any good guardians/ must have fish for the SPS dominated reef? I think I've read some wrasses will eat flatworms, but are there any fish/ certain ones that are good/ better for flatworms, redbugs or any other parasites/ pests for these fancy colored sticks????

[demonclownfish]

alligator pipefish eat red bugs and are a sweet addition

[MizTanks]

Nice thread DC! I'm gonna watch this one, thanks

[schminksbro]

Coris Wrasses, 6 lines, Mystery Wrasse, Melanurus, as well as pretty much any Fairy or flasher wrasse. Tangs are a good choice as well.

[Jim Z.]

Certain clown gobies (Gobiodon atrangulatus, G. okinawae) will feed on red bugs. I have one green clown goby in my tank and it does a number on red bugs. Refer to: Trophic morphology of the coral-associated genus Gobiodon (Teleostei: Gobiidae) from the Red Sea - Riedlecker - 2008 - Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research - Wiley Online Library This paper describes the diets of several Gobiodon and contrary to some popular opinion Gobiodon atrangulatus feeds on copedpods and small crustaceans, not on coral polyps. Some of the other Gobiodon species will and do feed on coral polyps and those species should be left out of a nice coral reef display. Clown gobies will clear off some acro tissue for spawning so do not keep pairs of the same species in your reef. Acropora crabs (Tetralia sp.) and Pocillopra crabs (Trapezia species) do pick off SPS predators and I highly recommend them. My Trapezia crab frequents Pocillopora and birds nest corals in my tank. The Tetralia crabs are tiny and do feed on red bugs as well. Most fish will feed on acropora eating flatworms when the parasites get basted off the acros. Yellow coris wrasses do and will hunt them down without basting. Once the fish know that the baster provides food, they will follow the tip of the baster and pick off any dislodged worms. I have been using natural biological control in my sps tank for the last 2 years and my corals are doing well even with small numbers of red bugs when natural predators are present to keep pest populations in check. Most of our reef tank have fairly low biodiversity when compared to a piece of natural reef and that's why chemical treatments are preferred for controlling pest populations, because most reef tanks do not have these predators living within their coral colonies............Jim Z.

[schminksbro]

It should be mentioned that while Jim wishes to experiment with leaving pests in his tank and attempting to fight them with crabs and fish this might not be the best method for all. It simply isn't possible to get the biodiversity of the ocean in an aquarium. Clown gobies will likely do a number on your acros. I have seen countless specimens killed by these fish. Some species will pick at the acro until it produces mucous and then consume the mucous. Having witnessed this behavior first hand on multiple occasions I would exercise extreme caution before introducing these fish into an sps tank. Personally I wouldn't ever put a clown goby in a SPS tank. As a matter of fact I would dump a bucket of acro eating flat worms in my tank before I would put a clown goby in it.

[larryandlaura]

+1 on the wrasses!

[Jim Z.]

Originally Posted by larryandlaura

+1 on the wrasses!

Yes, I agree in part with what Andy said--you have to be patient as natural methods may or may not work for everyone. Do your homework before adding an organism designed for reducing pest populations. Also, in most circumstances, using beneficial organisms may not eliminate harmful organisms entirely from a reef tank, but the beneficials keep the pest populations low enough where the host corals can fight them off and maintain a healthy appearance. This is the same technique that farmers use for managing pest populations in ag fields which is called IPM (+integrated pest management). Also, in the reference article I provided, some of those species do feed on coral tissue, some don't. Clown goby species can be difficult to tell apart so mistakes can be made and getting a coral muncher rather than copepod picker can be disastrous. "As a matter of fact I would dump a bucket of acro eating flat worms in my tank before I would put a clown goby in it."--probably not the best strategy, but hyperbole noted .........Jim Z.

[schminksbro]

LOL! I just wanted to clearly illustrate my point. While you should be commended for your efforts in natural control of pests I wouldn't recommend this strategy for everyone. I maintain pest control fish in my tank as an extra measure in the event something slips past the rigorous dipping regime that I practice but I personally would caution against forgoing preventative dips in favor of natural predation. Flatworms for example can decimate an otherwise healthy SPS collection. In the event one of your "combat" fish died and were then unavailable for a period of time your collection could be severely damaged. With a collection of medium to large colonies the removal of flatworms and their eggs could be a futile effort. In many cases evidence of specific predation of fishes is anecdotal at best. Experiments like yours are valuable in determining the limits of natural tactics. However individual fish can and do behave differently. With the time, effort, and money that people invest in their tanks I think it important to note that at this point it is safer for most to avoid introducing pests altogether.

Originally Posted by Jim Z.

Yes, I agree in part with what Andy said--you have to be patient as natural methods may or may not work for everyone. Do your homework before adding an organism designed for reducing pest populations. Also, in most circumstances, using beneficial organisms may not eliminate harmful organisms entirely from a reef tank, but the beneficials keep the pest populations low enough where the host corals can fight them off and maintain a healthy appearance. This is the same technique that farmers use for managing pest populations in ag fields which is called IPM (+integrated pest management). Also, in the reference article I provided, some of those species do feed on coral tissue, some don't. Clown goby species can be difficult to tell apart so mistakes can be made and getting a coral muncher rather than copepod picker can be disastrous. "As a matter of fact I would dump a bucket of acro eating flat worms in my tank before I would put a clown goby in it."--probably not the best strategy, but hyperbole noted .........Jim Z.

[rmalone]

I agree that IPM works beautifully when some pest population is acceptable, in agricultural and horticultural applications. I use it myself on plants in the greenhouse (parasitic nematodes, parasitic mites, beneficial bacteria for fungi, etc.) Problem is in our tanks, most of us want ZERO pests in our tanks, so typically exclusion (also a very important part of IPM), quarantine, and chemicals (like interceptor for red bugs) are the best bet for most reefers.

Someone mentioned pipe fish (a difficult to fish to feed), I wasn't under the impression that pipefish will live after a redbug infestation is reduced, nor do they like the extreme flow most sps tanks have. Wrasses are one of the few fish that I would say can make an appreciable difference in certain pests (most notably pyram snails and flat worms), without creating new problems (nobody into sps would even consider a clown goby), or perishing after the pest has been reduced to levels you don't notice. Keep in mind that most predators don't eradicate the pest they just beat them into submission, once the predator can't find enough food it dies and the few pests regain their foothold. It's very typical in IMP, to throw massive amounts of predators at a problem and maintain very regular releases of these predators to keep pest populations low. Most of us don't care if 25 thousands mites (about 8 bucks if your in the know) die while keeping thrips (a terrible greenhouse pest) low, but most of don't want throw 3 pipefish a year at redbugs. IPM would probably work great in a 2000 gallon tank, but the smaller the tank the more predators you would have to throw away to keep pests at a manageable level.