Monodactylus argenteus and algae on rocks

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
R

robert.mccook.elm

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
May 10, 2013
127
0
0
California
hello everyone,
i was wondering if anyone knows if monos will graze on algae that grows on rocks? for a long time my mollies were doing a great job and keeping the algae at zero on the rocks but since they have been eaten the algae is returning. i was hoping that monos would graze on the algae and eat it but i have been unable to find anything that supports my hypothesis. so if you have seen this happen or have monos and have some experience please chime in. thanks.
 
IMO monos are not real good at algae control. Monos do have veggies in their diet, but they do eat inverts and small fish too. It would be my thoughts that they would eat on some hair and leaf algaes, but not near as much as scats. But hair and leaf algaes are not problem, correct? What fauna are you keeping right now? SG?

Sent from my C771 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
 
yea the algae is not a problem i just don't want it to over take everything. my SG is 1.012. fauna would be none, i had some mollies buy my lionfish made quick work of those. so i have a lionfish, archers, and a dragon goby. goby keeps the sand clean but the only thing that i have that eats algae on rocks are my red clawed crabs.
 
Yea my toadies polished off my sailfin mollies too. Does the dragon goby not scrape the rock for algae? I'm thinking small nerites would be an archer snack. Have you checked on any brackish blennies that may clean the algae?

Sent from my C771 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
 
the goby does occasionally but he mainly eats from the sand. yea the lionfish really liked those mollies. on the bright side i have him eating freeze dried shrimp now but im sure he will eat mollies if i get them again. the snail would also be killed by the red claw crabs. never seen a brackish bleeny. do you know of any?
 
I didn't even think about the crabs lol. Look into Salaria pavo, the peacock blenny. Be cautious though of Salaria fluviatilis which is strictly freshwater. I will see if I can found one more. Idk really if the peacock is a rock scraper though. Check fishbase for it's temps too.

Sent from my C771 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
 
i looked into it and it could work but most sites say its hard to find, but i will definitely keep any eye out for one. do you know if there are dwarf scats? or maybe even a few giant sailfin mollies might work.
 
Also, really research this one, look into a feather blenny, Hypsoblennius hentz. How big is your toadie? Of my three (which I will be breaking down and moving out), the largest is about 7". These guys decimated all my sailfin mollies with the largest being roughly 4". They also ate a 3.5" archer. Point in saying this is mollies should be good if you got adults that aren't stunted in growth. Larger scats should be fine. Scatophagus argus, S. rubifrons & S. tetracanthus get about 12". Selenotoca multifasciata and S. papuensis get about 7" and 4" respectively.

Sent from my C771 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
 
Check some of DuaneS's posts about the mollies in the cenotes. If you figure out what they are and where to get them, they may be good candidates. Also, I think Jeff Rapps may have some large mollies of a different species.

Sent from my C771 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
 
yea one of my local stores can get me mollies that are 6inch at least. my toad is 6inchs. i have thought about scat but they do get very big, i'll have to look into it and see what is best. i'll check out that other blenny too.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom