Reef Safe?

[Geoff]

what does reef safe mean to you?

G~

[Caoineag]

Truly reef safe means it won't eat anything in your tank but copepods and other small bugs...

Reef safe for me means it doesn't do too much damage to everything I have in my system.

Semi reef safe means watch your snails and watch your shrimp and maybe your invert but some of that and corals tend to be safe

Not reef safe, your fish will try to eat everything in sight, maybe even other fish if the wrong type...

[Cosine]

To me reef safe is simply will a fish eat it anything I don't want it to eat...
except big fish eating little fish... that's falls under different compatibility category to me

[Geoff]

wow, you all have some pretty tough definitions.

i would say, does not eat corals. i tend to not draw a line on the size of the crustacean. pods, crabs, shrimp, they are all the same to me.

Caoineag- so in your definition a dragon moray is reef safe, but a zebra moray is not.

G~

[dobejazz]

I tend to think of reef safe as safe around Invertebrates

[Caoineag]

Really Geoff? Boy that eliminates a LOT of fish if your critters include pods.

I am pretty sure that I don't consider a Zebra Moray completely reef safe but as I don't actually value crustacean life and have no problem with my favorites eating snails (have I mentioned I own a puffer currently in a coral and lr setting who gets to eat all sorts of crustaceans and snails, no by the way, I do not consider him completely reef safe even though he hasn't touched my corals at all) I would happily have a zebra moray in a reef setting.

As to the Dragon moray, I have no knowledge of these critters so that may be true, doesn't mean I prefer him over a Zebra Moray though...

[Geoff]

dragon moray is one mean looking critter. eats fish only, or other soft bodies swimming critters.

my definition is pretty broad. corals are my top priority. so as long as it does not eat these i consider it reef safe. luckily for me things tend to eat either snails or crustaceans so i can adjust my cleaner crew if i have to.

G~

[Caoineag]

Well then I think you would like my puffer, he doesn't even look at corals. He loves my spaghetti worms' feeding tentacles, my snails who aren't smart enough to hide, and any crustacean I throw in for his amusement and dinner!

[gitsumpottery]

anything that won't eat my corals. that's reef safe to me.

Zac

[Little Luey]

Originally Posted by gitsumpottery

anything that won't eat my corals. that's reef safe to me.

Zac

Agreed, and I will have to add, anything that will not eat my snails or other inverts.

So I think the green brittle stars are definatly not reef safe.

[skeety]

just wanted to say I'm glad you asked this question. I've always thought the term was thrown around a little loosly myself.

one fish that's NOT reef safe could mean he'll eat corals...another could mean he'll eat inverts, another could mean he'll knock stuff over that you don't want.

I always thought when sites have that categorization:

Such-and-such fish:
Reef Compatible: Reef Safe, etc

that underneath, they should have an explaination.

Not only that...some fish are known to eat corals...but what KIND of corals? Obviously not all. Very few fish actually eat Zoo's or anemone's...cause they're pretty potent. So if that's all I'm keeping, then maybe an angel fish would be okay, right?

Always thought the reef-safe thing needed more detail for each critter.

anyways...glad you asked!

[Caoineag]

I agree it is a good question, when getting fish I never accept reef safe or non reef safe as the definitive answer, I look at potential diet, actual diet, and preferred diet (if there is this much info on a fish). Helps me plan a little better. THEN I ask someone who has had them what they trust them with(nothing replaces actual experiences).