MACROALGAE CLEANUP CREW

MACROALGAE CLEANUP CREW

WHY ADD CLEANUP CREW TO A MACROALGAE TANK?

In a well balanced macroalgae aquarium, just like in a well planted freshwater aquarium, the growth of the decorative macroalgaes themselves will normally do a good job of out competing unwanted micro/macroalgae from the tank. However this is not always the case (especially in new setups) and we have to add some cleanup crew to keep the pest algae under control. This is important to do because not only will the pest algae use up nutrients that otherwise would go to the ornamental macroalgae, but also we can have an issue of the pest algae becoming epiphytic, basically growing all over our nice macroalgae and smothering it. 

Just like any other saltwater tank, in a macroalgae based aquarium you will need to add some critters to help keep pest algae under control. The difficulty with this is the fact that the ornamental macroalgae can be as appealing to herbivores as the unsightly nuisance algae. There is quite a lot of overlap in terms of what you can add to a macroalgae aquarium compared to a mixed reef tank, however there are some species to avoid putting into a macroalgae tank which you would put into a reef tank, and the opposite is also true for some others. In most cases you will use a combination of different invertebrates as cleanup crew because most herbivorous fish will east pest AND decorative algae, which is not ideal. There are, however, some exceptions to this listed below.....

WHAT CLEANUP CREW TO ADD TO A MACROALGAE TANK?

BENEFICIAL INVERTEBRATES

HERMIT CRAB
From blue leg to halloween, hermit crabs are an excellent cleanup crew for macroalgae. The can clamber into almost every nook and cranny keeping hair algae down and disturbing detritus buildup.
TURBO SNAIL
Astrea and Trochus turbo snails are a saltwater cleanup crew staple and are completely safe to add to a macroalgae aquarium. They do have their limitations however as they cannot climb up delicate macroalgae to clean it, due to their size and weight.
CONCH
Conch come in many species and most are suitable for a macroalgae aquarium. They are really useful for keeping the sand bed turned over and removing any pest algae growing on the sand.
DOVE SNAILS
One of my personal favorites and they are in all of my macroalgae tanks. Dove snails are, by some people, considered a pest due to how fast the can replicate. However they are amazing hair/green dust algae eaters and are small enough to climb up even the most delicate macroalgae to clean it.

BENEFICIAL FISH

BLENNIES
There are many species of blenny, from larger eel blennies to diminutive barnacle blenny. For macroalgae aquariums we are interested in comb tooth blennies, such as bicolour, orange cheek, dot dash and algae blennies. These types of blenny are algae eaters and will help to remove pest algae from macroalgae fronds but won't eat the macroalgae itself (Possibly the bubbles from Botryocladia are an exception, as my blenny eats a few from time to time)
CTENOCHAETUS TANG
It's important to note this is the only genus of tang that can be added to a macroalgae tank. Ctenocheatus, or bristle tooth tangs, are the exception because they have mouth parts which scrape up algae rather than biting mouth parts which the other types of tangs have. This means they cannot eat desirable macroalgae but rather scrape pest algae from their fronds or rock work in the same way comb tooth blennies do.
SALTWATER MOLLIES
It may be a shock, but latipinna mollies make an ideal fish to keep with macroalgae. Just like blennies and ctenochaetus tangs they spend all day scraping unwanted algae from the surfaces within your macroalgae aquarium. These are a DIY marine fish however, as it is unlikely you will be able to buy saltwater acclimated mollies. You will most likely have to acclimate them to saltwater yourself.

WHAT TO AVOID IN A MACROALGAE TANK?

There are quite a lot of things to avoid in a macroalgae aquarium, for the most part it is because they are herbivore/omnivorous animals which also have the mouth parts to eat macroalgae. The species I list is not exhaustive, but what I have so far experienced first hand. 
FISH TO AVOID
  • ALL RABBIT FISH
  • MOST ANGEL FISH (Mixed results some may be safe for macros)
  • ALL TANGS EXCEPT CTENOCHAETUS
  • MOST BUTTERFLY FISH (Longnose, pyramid & copperband have been kept with macroalgae with no problems)
INVERTEBRATES TO AVOID
  • Mexican turbo snail
  • Urchins
  • Seahare
  • Emerald Crabs
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