Herbivorous fish for a 40

[zygote2k]

My naturally filtered tank has been growing some sort of bristle like green algae on the back- very similar to chaeto but very fine threads. It harbors pods for the Mandarin, but now it's several inches long and needs a good trimming. What kind of fish could I put in a 40 breeder? I've been thinking about some sort of Tang, but I'm sure the Tang Police would issue a ticket...

Any suggestions?

[Grav]

That sounds like turf. Not much eats it... perhaps hungry mithrax.

[jamesbuf]

I know Convict tangs will eat turf algae, but a 40gal is way too small for that fish. I agree with Mithrax crab. A few Sally Lightfoot crabs would also go to town, plus they're fun to watch.

[reefmontalvo]

Lawn mower Blenny will graze on that stuff all day. Even clown fish would graze on greens in the tank.

[treesprite]

Seriously is there anything at all wrong with getting a small tang like maybe 3 inches, just to use for yardwork and then sending it out? I had a tang that at 2" it wiped out all tufts of algae in my tank within a couple of weeks, and I got it with a plan to only keep it to a certain size. I see nothing wrong with it as long as you stick to the plan.