too much CuC?

So... I have a pretty large cleanup crew in my 58 reef.

Snails:
2 large zebra turbos
150+ dwarf ceriths
5 nerite,
10 florida ceriths,
several stomatella,
20 or so nassarius
dozens of colonistas
2 limpets
2 bald "fuzzy" chitons
1 bumblebee
1 fighting conch

other:
Tigertail cucumber
15-20 hermits
1 sand sifter star
various bristleworms, pods, etc as hitchhikers


So the problem is I am not getting _ANY_ algae growth in the DT, and would really like to add a Kole or Tomini tang... I just fear there's nothing for them to eat.

Tank is about a year old, and the overflow is _THICK_ with algae, the fuge generates massive amounts of chaetomophia and gracillia, which I've recently moved some to the DT.


So... should i cull my CuC a bit, and to what point?

Is it wrong to want to see some algae in my tank? Coralline is doing great, the entire back of the tank is seeded with about 50% totally covered.

parameters are all on point, and as I've said, algae grows great in non-snail areas...

Anyways... just looking for advice on this.

-Doug

 

most tangs will eat dried nori, so that is always an option. I don't think ive ever seen anyone want more algae. ive also seen alot people just take bits of gracillia from the fuge and feed that too the tangs. tangs do eat meaty foods as well, so not 100% of their food is going to be algae. i also think you will be surprised at the little bits they find to pick at.

 

nori on a clip, formula 1 cubes,brine,mysis,ghost work too.. dont worry about it get what you want its christmas

 

In my xp my tang my tang would gorge on anything you have in there, cept gha (my tang never touched it) and bryopsis.(i have heard but never seen) I had some broadleaf macro on live rock he loved, and never grew out while he was in there, and red calurpa that was also perptually mowed down. I would just grow out your gracillia in your fuge and suppliment it into your main tank for feedings

 

Mine never got to the gracilaria I got for it......the blue spot jawfish used some for his burrow, and the brittle star ate the rest lol.

Koles and Tominis eat detritus, so you don't want a pristine tank with them. They will eat some mysis and other stuff you feed, but that shouldn't be their main diet because it's too much of a stretch from their normal diet. They eat algae too; mine has eaten GHA and film algae, and red grape kelp. You probably want some of that stuff in the tank with the detritus. One last thing to note is that they're constant grazers rather than once-a-day feeders, so you do want something in tank for them to pick on all the time. Either a non-calcerous macro or GHA/film, and detritus is preferable. Mine hasn't eaten nori, but if yours does, it may be a half-decent substitute for what would normally be considered a "messy tank", which is preferable for the bristletooth tangs.