Sponge Eating Fish?

[reefhunter]

What fish or other aqarium inhabitant will eat exclusively sponge?

[paul b]

A moorish Idol eats mostly sponge in the sea but will eat most foods in a tank (If your lucky)

[CHUBAKAH]

Not sure about fish, but I have three emerald crabs going to town on mine lately.

[reefhunter]

cool! thanks! what do they run?

[reefhunter]

emerald crabs... dont have any of those, I will need to get some

[Jan]

Sea slugs are known to eat sponge. I have 5 emerald crabs and one rock that is covered with pink stringy sponge. The emerald crabs have never dined on the sponge.

[gmubeach]

Make sure its a female emerald the males go crazy over fish.. I had one whipe out my nano before...

[reefhunter]

how do you tell the difference? flip them over and look for the skirt?

[L8 2 RISE]

If you flip them over and , look for the piece of the carapace that runs from the back to the front of the body. If it's skinny, it's a male, if it's wide, it's a female. I've never heard of a difference between male and female emeralds though.

[L8 2 RISE]

I've never actually heard of emeralds eating sponges, or any other purely sponge eating fish/etc. Go with nudibranchs! There's some AWESOME nudibranchs out there that ONLY eat sponges and I would kill to have enough sponge in my tank for them to eat.

[reefhunter]

what type of nudi branch do you recommend

[L8 2 RISE]

http://www.saltwaterfish.com/Purple-Nudibranch_p_328.html

Purple nudibranchs are the main one- I've seen them at BRK a few times. There's a few more, but not that I can remember right now. The purple's are one of the nicest though.

[hypertech]

Can you grow sponge fast enough to keep a nudi fed?

 

What about a dwarf angel? I thought they ate sponge.

[reefhunter]

I promised myself I was done with angel fish a long time ago... no more... ever! I love them but they are coral eaters.

 

I have sponge everywhere... dunno why...

Edited February 11, 2010 by reefhunter

[L8 2 RISE]

SOME of them WILL eat sponge, but it all depends on the individual fish, and they aren't exclusive eaters, so it's only a chance. You've got an equally good chance of it eating coral as sponges. If you've got enough growth already of the sponge, it should be able to keep one nudi going for quite a while, more if it's a bigger tank.

[extreme_tooth_decay]

I recall Larry at Roozen's saying there are nudis that only eat a very particular sponge. You have to order the exact sponge online or they will starve.

[reefhunter]

i have a selection of different sponges, none more than the others, but there is some black sponge on a coral that is disturbing it.

[Ryan S]

I promised myself I was done with angel fish a long time ago... no more... ever! I love them but they are coral eaters.

 

my female bellus angel doesn't eat any of my coral. she's an.... angel....

[Jan]

According to what I've read any sea slug that is a carnivore will eat sponge.

http://www.seafriends.org.nz/images/seaslugs.htm

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EP...30/ai_18704743/

http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngexpl...ainarticle.html

 

I'd ask the slug keepers which ones are safe for eating sponge in a reef tank http://www.seaslugforum.net/

 

 

what type of nudi branch do you recommend

Edited February 11, 2010 by Jan

[Guest chrisssteeven]

Flagfin Angelfish

 

Overview

This beautiful fish usually fares poorly in the home aquarium. Chances of keeping it successfully are increased in a reef-type system with plenty of invertebrate-encrusted live rock. Younger specimens tend to acclimate better, and individuals from areas other than the Philippines tend to have greater rates of survival.

 

Family: Pomacanthidae

 

Other common name(s):

 

* Threespot Angelfish

 

Native range:

 

* Indo-West-Pacific

* East Africa

* Samoa

* Southern Japan

* Australia

Feeding

Difficult to feed. This a sponge- and tunicate-eater that often fails to adapt to aquarium fare. Try feeding it sponge-containing frozen angelfish rations, vitamin-enriched brine shrimp, and mysid shrimp as well as plentiful plant material, including frozen preparations for herbivores and marine algae.

Feed at least 3 times a day

 

Aquarium Compatibility

It is usually not overly aggressive toward unrelated species, but may fight with close relatives. Only one should be housed per tank.

Not recommended for the reef aquarium. May nip at sessile invertebrates, including stony and soft corals, and clam mantles

.

Special Care

Can be quite shy at first and should have a choice of good hiding places

 

.

[gmubeach]

cool fish:) why are the sponges bad can't you just scrape them off when they get too plentiful?

[chucelli]

I had an imperator angel that ate sponges. Though it eventially started eating other things as well...

-R