Reef Safe Algae Eaters in Your Natural Seawater Tank

Safe Glass and Rock Cleaners for Reef Tanks

Numerous seawater aquatic creatures spend all of their time looking for food by digging through the sand. Glass and rock cleaners spend most of their time on the aquariums\’ surfaces, avoiding the substrate and swimming in it as much as possible. Algae eaters that are reef safe do the foraging without killing other tank inhabitants or corals.

Reef Safe Snails

There are some types of snail species that cannot flip themselves over if they end up on their backs. Because of that, these snails tend to prefer to stay on the glass and rocks found in your tank instead of lounging on the substrate. The snails are small herbivores and can keep your natural seawater (Seawater, NSW) tank glass and live rocks clean.

• Turbo snails are tiny snails that get between 1 and 2 inches in size while also requiring sufficient amounts of diatoms and microalgae to survive.
• Margarita Snail is a snail species with a lot of appetites and will die if it runs out of food, so being careful not to overstock is essential. It is a shelled species that can self-right itself if it falls on its shell.
• The Mexican Turbo Snail grows to about 6 inches in size and requires algal growth, found on live rock and aquarium glass. It also eats hair algae. 
• The Nerite Snails have various shells, and markings are found on Nerite Snails. They are sensitive to metallic elements like copper and nitrates in the water.
• A Chestnut Cowry is a plant-feeding snail that must consume high diatom and microalgae to survive. If it runs out of food supplies, it will slowly starve to death.
• Banded Trochus Snails can grow to be up to 3 inches and eat cyanobacteria, diatoms, and algae, though not macroalgae. Unlike many species of snail, they can right themselves if knocked over.

Reef Safe Surgeonfish and Tangs

If you are looking for a great rock and tank glass cleaner that is safe for your natural seawater reef tank (Seawater, NSW), then a surgeonfish is a good choice. They are herbivores that only eat algae, and they will leave all coral life alone. However, tangs can end up getting too big for a small tank.

• Convict Tang
• Yellow Tang loves algae and gets along with everything in the tank
• Purple Tang
• Powder Blue Tang
• Goldrim Tang
• Pacific Blue Tang
• Blonde Naso Tang
• Orangebar Tang
• Clown Surgeonfish
• Chevron Tang
• Kole Tang
• Red Sea Sailfin Tang

 Reef Safe Hermit Crabs

Hermit crab species that thrive in reef tanks consume an almost exclusively algal and detritus diet. They also spend their days crawling across the rocks and substrate of your tank. Due to their size, they won\’t disturb the items in your natural seawater (Seawater, NSW) tank.

• Halloween Hermit Crabs are bright orange with red bands on their bodies and legs. They grow to about 1 1/2 inches in length. They consume all sorts of algae, which includes red slime algae.
• The Electric Blue Hermit Crab displays bright blue legs with black banding and orange antennae. Its claws are roughly uniform in size and colour, and it consumes toxic algae with red slime.
• Dwarf Blue Leg Hermit Crabs grow up to be close to 1 inch, and they typically eat any algae type, which includes the algae species of red slime.
• Scarlet Reef Hermit Crabs have red legs and yellow eyes, growing up to approximately 1 1/2 inches in size.
• The Dwarf Yellow Tip Hermit Crab is one of the smaller varieties (1 inch in size), making it easier to get into all the nooks and crannies in a reef tank.
• Zebra Hermit Crab is a unique one because of its dwarfed size. In the wild, hermit crabs like this can be found inside the reefs, hiding under rocks during the day and picking up food at night. The left claw is enlarged on the dwarf zebra hermit crab, and that is why it is often called the left-handed hermit crab.
• Red Tip Hermit Crab is a unique one because of its dwarfed size and eats all sorts of algae, which also includes red slime algae, and that can cause it to sift the sand in the tank.
• Electric Orange Hermit Crab is found only in Hawaii. It has bright blue eyes along with bright orange legs, which is where it gets its name from. It can grow to be 2 inches and tends to eat sand, leftover food, algae, and various kinds of detritus.

Reef Safe Blennies

Blennies eat algae that cover your live rock and aquarium glass, so living in your natural seawater (Seawater, NSW) aquarium is a no-brainer.

• Two Spot Blenny
• Tail Spot Blenny
• Segmented Sailfin Blenny
• Highfin Blenny
• Sailfin Blenny also known as the lawnmower blenny because it devours green hair algae
• Linear Blenny
• Starry Blenny
• Short Bodied Blenny
• One Spot Blenny
• Black Combtooth Blenny

If you are currently having issues with your aquarium and you have not tried our Natural Seawater (Sea Water, NSW), then it would be well worth giving it a go and seeing the improvement it can have on your fish tank for yourself!

All About Saltwater Snails