Lunar wrasse clean up crew help

[sly]

I have a Lunar Wrasse who I love very much but I have a problem with him... I have a real hard time keeping a good clean up crew because he loves the way they taste. I've tried snails, crabs, shrimp but he eats them all... I don't want to get rid of him but I also need a clean up crew as the brown hair algae is starting to take over...
When I put snails in there they immediately start cleaning up the rocks to where they look amazing but soon after my wrasse will knock them off the rocks and eventually eat them.
What would be good to eat algae and ditrius other than snails and crabs? I have 3 yellow tangs that are doing well but they are not enough to keep the algae under control.
How good are lawnmower blennies? Any suggestions (other than getting rid of the wrasse)?

 

[i rule]

lawnmower blenny are very good
you could also try a dardanus megistos
although he might kill the wrasse

 

[sly]

Originally Posted by I Rule
lawnmower blenny are very good
you could also try a dardanus megistos
although he might kill the wrasse
Would the crab hurt anemonies or coral? Also how many blennies do you recommend for an 80 gallon tank?
Thanks... Keep em commin

 

[saltn00b]

lawnmower blennies are good for algae, but not much will eat the hair algae, which is called cyanobacteria, this is nature's way of telling you 1 or more things in your tank are not right and need your attention. check how long your lights are on, what are your parameters>? phosphates? Flow is a big one, if its not enough, this stuff will thrive. how often do you feed?

 

[sly]

Originally Posted by saltn00b
lawnmower blennies are good for algae, but not much will eat the hair algae, which is called cyanobacteria, this is nature's way of telling you 1 or more things in your tank are not right and need your attention. check how long your lights are on, what are your parameters>? phosphates? Flow is a big one, if its not enough, this stuff will thrive. how often do you feed?
I run 325 watts of PC lighting. Bulbs are less than 6 months old. Mix between actinic and 10k bulbs...
Ammonia, nitrite, nitrate 0ppm. I run ozone and UV... Skimmer fills up once a week. pH 8.3, temp 82 degrees, alk "high", calcium 450ppm. I run 2 maxijet power heads for water flow and algae even grows in the water flow of the pumps. Bioballs cleaned 3 months ago, mechanical filters cleaned regularly, refugium with chaeto algae and mangroves and RO/DI water with brand new filters for water changes and topoff... Also tank recieves no direct lighting from the sun...
All this and I still have brown hair algae. I've taken out every rock and completely cleaned it several times only to have the algae come back within a week. All fish are healthy... Have had the clowns in there the longest which is for over 3 years. I don't dose the tank with anything.
Yet I still have algae. I have a feeling that the problem will go away if I can keep a good cleanup crew but I'm not sure. I would like to keep my wrasse but I also need a clean tank.
[edit] I haven't checked phosphates or silicates but I do water changes with RO/DI water... I feed once per day and sometimes I skip a day. I feed 2 cubes of frozen fish food, either mysis shrimp, plankton or marine cuisine.

 

[renogaw]

the frozen foods may be a great source of phosphates (i know mine are). check the ingredients. what type of algae do you have, since i am confused by some of the responses.
is it green stringy algae (hair algae), if so lawn mowers should eat it.
is it brown filmy algae, if so snails and hermits/emerald crabs should eat it.
is it red slimy algae, if so good luck, im having trouble with cyano bacteria myself (nothing eats it)
having a wrasse is a major issue for cleaning crews, as you're finding out. i don't know if you can have both.

 

[sly]

It's brown stringy algae... It's not cyano. I used to have a problem with cyano but I finally got rid of it completely. Now I have brown hair covering my rocks (not slime but hair). It's like green hair algae but shorter and thicker. I'll check the ingredients. Frozen food is all I ever feed them. One thing about it though. In the past I have done 100% water changes when trying to get rid of the algae only to have it come back within a week. If it were related to some contaminant in the food I would suspect a water change to help for awhile. For me, water changes do nothing.
I would love to get rid of the algae without having to get rid of my wrasse. He has awesome personality but he's also a bully. I can't keep snails and him both...

 

[saltn00b]

if its is stringy or feathery, it is cyano, it comes in many different colors and varieties. your phosphates could be WAY out of whack so you need to test for them cause that could be your answer, also what is your total turnover GPH and what size tank is it ? everything else you seem to have covered, and renogaw is right about frozen foods.

 

[sly]

I'll test for phosphates as soon as I can. I used to have red cyano slime all over everything 6 months ago and I finally got rid of it by using "anti-red". It went away over night. I did a water change and it has never come back but slowly I'm getting the brown hair algae...
I have 2 maxijet 1200 powerheads turning 295gph each. I'm not sure exactly what my main pump is but I'm pretty sure it's an Iwaki Mag drive. I don't remember the GPH rating. I'm running a 72 gal tank and a 10 gal refugium and a sump.
[edit] I also have a Kent Nautilus skimmer running off a 600-900 gph rated pump but this really does not add to my turnover rate.

 

[madman33]

alittle ot but dude 3 tangs(usually for 3 people are going to say u need 150+ gallon tank) and a lunare wrasse in a 72??? What else do you have in there?

 

[saltn00b]

well a 72 gal tank should have a turn over rate of (between 10 and 20 times tank size, return pump and PHs) 720 gph =1440 gph if that helps you. too little and you are almost guaranteed cyano.

 

[1journeyman]

Salt, Hair Algae and Cyano algae are two different things.
I mean, there is true "hair" algae. Not sure what the scientific name is, but there is a true algae that is referred to as hair algae.

 

[1journeyman]

Originally Posted by I Rule
lawnmower blenny are very good
you could also try a dardanus megistos
although he might kill the wrasse
I rule, I compliment you on using the scientific name of the animal. That's a great habit to get into. Just remember to capitalize the Genus name. also, using italics is helpful ( Dardanus megistos)
Having said that, large hermit crabs are bad for reef aquariums. Most (if not all) crabs are opportunistic feeders, the bigger the crab the more they eat.

 

[saltn00b]

yes , true, its hard to tell what he actually has tho without a pic

 

[1journeyman]

Originally Posted by saltn00b
yes , true, its hard to tell what he actually has tho without a pic
Completely agree.

 

[scubaguy]

Hey, guys I know I had brown algea and my long black Spiny Urchin eats it. Maybe that is what sly can use?

 

[sly]

Thanks guys... I'll try to get some pics uploaded soon but right now I'm working on my main computer. I just got a new motherboard...
I have 3 yellow tangs, 2 perc clowns and a lunar wrasse. I'm estimating that there's probably about 100 pounds of LR in there as well. The last time I had a tang it was real territorial but these three are completely at peace. They don't bother each other or the wrasse at all and they spend most of their day grazing on the abundant algae.
So far I have suggested a blenny and an urchin. Thanks.
This problem has had me confused for quite some time. According to my water tests, this is not too much bioload for my system in that I've never seen any test show even trace amounts of pollutants. Everything is at 0ppm. I use RO water, new lighting on a 12 hour timer...
Maybe the frozen food is causing this. I just can't believe how quick it comes back after a water change. To me that says that maybe the food is not the problem.
Like was said... I don't have a cleanup crew. I can't keep em. My wrasse loves to eat whatever I put in there (but he doesn't hurt the fish). So maybe my problem is that I just don't have enough algae eaters to keep the system in balance. I just don't want to get rid of him.
Does anyone else have a lunar wrasse? How do you keep your algae under control? :help:

 

[renogaw]

my urchin isnt eating anything but the normal algae that grows on the glass.

 

[1journeyman]

Have you considered a couple of cucumbers? The Caribbean ones are supposed to be much less toxic than the Pacific variety.

 

[sly]

I'm making a list of suggestions... thanks guys. Like I said I already have 3 tangs, 2 clowns and the lunar wrasse... I can't add much more to the tank with the size I have. I had some lettuce nudibranches in the past but I never could keep them very long. They would do fine for about a month or two and then just disappear. Are they always that hard to keep?
Do other nudibranches die out as quick? I've never had any cucumbers either so I have a lot of reading to do...