Bubble Algae Control

wgowen13 · Aug 19, 2023

Need help controlling bubble algae in my 50 gallon LPS reef. I've manually removed as much as possible and then added a l emerald crab. The emerald crab has not touched any of the bubble algae. Looking for additional thoughts.

Klyle · Aug 19, 2023

wgowen13 said:
Need help controlling bubble algae in my 50 gallon LPS reef. I've manually removed as much as possible and then added a l emerald crab. The emerald crab has not touched any of the bubble algae. Looking for additional thoughts.

I really hate to say it but vibrant worked great. Unfortunately they were a bunch of liars and I wouldn’t use it again. Lots of deliberate removal along with lowered nutrients would be my strategy. Bubble algae sucks!

Lavey29 · Aug 19, 2023

You need Pithos crabs not emerald.

exnisstech · Aug 19, 2023

I think John at reef cleaners gaurantees his to eat bubble algae. I've also heard pitho crabs are good for it and more coral safe but I have no first hand experience with them. I do have one emerald in my smallest tank that does a good job. The only place I get any now is in the over flow wier. Maybe you just got a lazy emerald

Anemone_Fanatic · Aug 19, 2023

The only thing that I've found that cures bubble algae is an ICBM. The pitho crabs are intriguing, however. I might need to try some.

JCOLE · Aug 19, 2023

10% your tank size in crabs is recommended. I would get 5. They like to stay on certain areas instead of going all over the tank. My 500 gallon had 50 at one time.

Also, grab a foxface if you can. I have two of them for that reason only.

The last thing is manual removal. I had a bad run of bubble algae on the new dry rocks I added and this is how I removed them. A took a 50 gallon rubbermaid and filled it with tank water. I took each rock out and scrubbed them in the 50 gallon with a strong hard brush. This removed 99% of the algae.

If you remove 90% or move then the crabs and fox face will make easy pickens of it.

Jekyl · Aug 19, 2023

One spot fox face will be ok in that size tank for a while. Mine destroys algae.

wgowen13 · Aug 20, 2023

Lavey29 said:
You need Pithos crabs not emerald.

Do you know of a reliable and high-quality online source?

Jekyl · Aug 20, 2023

wgowen13 said:
Do you know of a reliable and high-quality online source?

Check reefcleaners.org

Lavey29 · Aug 20, 2023

wgowen13 said:
Do you know of a reliable and high-quality online source?

My local LFS had them in house but I have seen them offered online as well. The only thing with these little guys is that they establish territory in the rocks and don't venture to far from the house so sometimes you need to hand place them in specific areas you want them to work for you too but the area where their house is will be free and clear of bubble algae. I hand place urchins also to work in certain areas.

Lavey29 · Aug 20, 2023

Here's what they look like

Vivid Creative Aquatics · Aug 20, 2023

wgowen13 said:
. The emerald crab has not touched any of the bubble algae. Looking for additional thoughts.

Emerald crabs will do the trick, BUT (and this is a big but) you have to over populate them. For instance, we had an issue in a 10-gllon tank, and two Emerald crabs didn't touch it. After a few weeks. I drop in 4 more (for a total of 6), and they have the tank pristine in a little over a week and half .

Apparently if you create urgency by having a lot of crabs, they tend ot try and eat more while its still available. It was a trick on of my LFS shared with . and it has worked twice now on two different tanks.

I'm not sure what an "over population " would look in in a 50-gallon , but i would suspect at least 10 or 15

Lavey29 · Aug 20, 2023

Vivid Creative Aquatics said:
Emerald crabs will do the trick, BUT (and this is a big but) you have to over populate them. For instance, we had an issue in a 10-gllon tank, and two Emerald crabs didn't touch it. After a few weeks. I drop in 4 more (for a total of 6), and they have the tank pristine in a little over a week and half .

Apparently if you create urgency by having a lot of crabs, they tend ot try and eat more while its still available. It was a trick on of my LFS shared with . and it has worked twice now on two different tanks.

I'm not sure what an "over population " would look in in a 50-gallon , but i would suspect at least 10 or 15

My LFS suggested another training trick. He said make food scarce for the bottom feeding crabs so they have to venture around the tank for food sources. Feed fish sparingly so no food ends up on the sand then the crabs will have to search the reef for food.

Vivid Creative Aquatics · Aug 20, 2023

Lavey29 said:
My LFS suggested another training trick. He said make food scarce for the bottom feeding crabs so they have to venture around the tank for food sources. Feed fish sparingly so no food ends up on the sand then the crabs will have to search the reef for food.

Ive tried that that to, but the looks on the faces of my fish meant i could never properly follow through with a light feeding

Lavey29 · Aug 20, 2023

Vivid Creative Aquatics said:
Ive tried that that to, but the looks on the faces of my fish meant i could never properly follow through with a light feeding

Lol, me either and I don't just feed the fish when I feed. I view it as feeding all the tank inhabitants including corals and even rock dwelling nocturnals like bristle worms. It's much easier to just grab the crab and set him in a bubble algae pile.

Surprisingly I had no success with emerald crabs and they were short lived but pithos are perfect in the tank.

RLucas50 · Sep 20, 2023

Lavey29 said:
pithos are perfect

Pithos? I have searched LiveAquaria.com, SaltwaterFish.com, etc. and can find no reference to them. Is there another name?

Spare time · Sep 20, 2023

Lavey29 said:
My LFS suggested another training trick. He said make food scarce for the bottom feeding crabs so they have to venture around the tank for food sources. Feed fish sparingly so no food ends up on the sand then the crabs will have to search the reef for food.

There is a study that backs something like that.