Will a Kole Tang or an Atlantic Blue Tang Eat Zoanthids? - Need one for Hair Algae

[that Fish Guy]

I have a Hair Algae outbreak in one of my aquariums.

I am looking at getting a Kole Tang or an Atlantic Blue Tang to eat the Hair Algae.

My only concern is that I have a lot of Zoanthids in there and my Blue Hippo Tag now eats Zoanthids so I had to move them into another aquarium.

So my question is will a Kole Tang or an Atlantic Blue Tang eat Zoanthids or bother my Acans?

P.S. And which would do a better job eating Hair Algae?
The Kole Tang or the Atlantic Blue Tang?
Every time I am in a Pet Store it seems that all the Kole Tangs I see are constantly picking at stuff, more so than any other fish.
But the Atlantic Blue Tang looks a million times better than Kole Tangs so I really want one of those. But I never see them picking at stuff which makes me wary of how well they will take care of the Hair Algae.

[trueperc]

Well just my 2 cents, but neither will eat hair all that much. Also if you tag line is your true and this is for your 55 gallon, then really the only one would be a kole as it stay a lot smaller and doesn't require the same swimming room at the atlantic blue and not as aggressive. You might want to check out fox and rabbit fish, they are better algae eaters. You also might want to try just some phosphate remover like gfo.

[nlgill13]

Have you tried a GFO reactor?

or a Lawnmower Blenny?

[Peter Eichler]

Address what's causing the hair algae, don't put a band-aid on it with a fish that's not really suited for your aquarium. Plus, cortex hermits and turbo snails are a better choice for hair algae issues than those fish IME/O.

[dkeller_nc]

Keep in mind that Atlantic blue tangs get quite large in a hurry. Not as large as some tangs, but definitely well north of 6".

If you can make a species identification on the GHA and it turns out to be bryopsis, you might consider getting a lettuce slug.

[that Fish Guy]

I have tried Lettuce Nudibranches and Lawnmower Blennies.

They are worthless especially the Nudibrach.

I know that Tangs eat Hair Algae as I have never had hair algae in an aquarium with Tangs and every aquarium that I have ever had without a Tang gets Hair Algae.

I have been told my many people in the past that Snails and Hermit Crabs do nothing to stop Hair Algae.

Plus even if Turbo Snails did do the job they knock over everything and kill Corals in the process so I am not doing those.

What are the Cortex Hermit Crabs that you are talking about?

I have never heard of those.

[dkeller_nc]

Peter is referring to a Cortez hermit crab, not a Cortex (typo). The Cortez hermit crab is simply a pseudonym for the common scarlet hermit crab.

Lettuce slugs aren't worthless, but like most nudibranchs, they are very specific about their food - it needs to be the right species of algae. Lawnmowers aren't worthless either, but they are grazers - they typically won't eat large tufts of algae, but if the same patch is cut within an 1/8 inch or so of the rock surface, they will prevent it from regrowing by constantly scraping the surface.

But in general you are correct in that green hair algae isn't something you can easily cure with biological control (including tangs). Husbandry practices and nutrient control are the best bet to keeping it down.