Can I kill these things taking over my GSP?

[PlanB]

Ive had this gsp for about 3 months now, and these bubbles (algae?) seem to be taking over, albeit, slowly. Can anyone chime in to let me know if it is worth saving, and if so, will a coral dip do the trick? If that is not an option, then I don't mind sacrificing this coral to keep this nuisance from spreading to the rest of the tank.
IMG_0668 by Jts_Jax, on Flickr

 

[JasonSon198s]

Yes 100%, get a couple of emerald crabs - this is their favourite food, u need to sort this out otherwise the bubble algae will take over ur tank

 

[ahiggins]

it does look like bubble algae. you can remove it but need to do so carefully and outside of the tank. if you tear one open (which is easy when theyre that big) the insides (spores) will be released all over and created 100s more than what you had.
When I find them, I remove the rock/frag and take a thin pair of tweezers and slowly pry them off. if I happen to break one open, I peroxide the area and let it sit for a good 3-4 minutes then saltwater rinse and back to the tank. :)
Just be careful that if you use peroxide, you dont get any on the coral tissue. It will cause it to morph color and sometimes kill the coral.
ps. IME emerald crabs have a propensity to eat other polyped things and when they tear open the bubble algae it spreads. so unless you want an emerald forever and never knowing what its going to eat...manual removal may be the best option lol

 

[JasonSon198s]

Emerald crabs are natural dude, and my advice is when it can be done naturally don't cut corners

 

[JasonSon198s]

Unless u get emeralds they will continue to come back - u will never be able to use ur own hands to destroy them all, e.g. Some may be hidden

 

[Roy 9121]

Emerald crabs are natural dude, and my advice is when it can be done naturally don't cut corners

Emerald crabs are not always reef safe.

 

[ahiggins]

They wont come back if you use peroxide LOL and thats most definitely not "natural"
Thats why I put "in my experience", everyone will have their own opinions-its up to the OP to make the call :)

 

[wattson]

take coral out of tank and put in dish of display water ,,,keep coral under water and get tweezers and pluck them off without harming the coral,,once done put back in tank,,,easy peasy ..you should check your po4 and always have emerald crabs in your reef CUC to help with these types of issues before they get to this point..

 

[JasonSon198s]

Emerald crabs if brought from a good dealer can be verified whether reef safe or not. Hydrogen peroxide is not natural - it is a chemical that will kill every living thing it touches before decaying into oxygen and water.

 

[JasonSon198s]

Of course peroxide will kill it but the algae in the tank which u can't see will continue to grow and release sores and acts as a trigger point for the rest of the tank

 

[ReeferBee]

In my experience emeralds are a lot more likely to deal damage to coral before eradicating bubble algae. These like other nuisance algae can and will disappear if nutrients are kept under control. That or use some h202 like ahiggins mentioned

 

[ahiggins]

Emerald crabs if brought from a good dealer can be verified whether reef safe or not. Hydrogen peroxide is not natural - it is a chemical that will kill every living thing it touches before decaying into oxygen and water.

I disagree with verified crabs lol its like coral beauties or any other "with caution" fish. They may not be eating it now but theres always a chance because theyre opportunistic feeders. Im all for natural ways but ways that work will trump natural ways every time in my book. Like chemiclean for cyano-get rid of it once and it never comes back. (unless you reintroduce it of course)
many have had great results with adding peroxide to the tank to kill algae with none growing back. @twilliard has given me great advice on peroxide dosing and effects on corals. Its how Ive gotten rid of bubble algae in my other tanks :)

 

[JasonSon198s]

Personally, I will never use anything in my tank unless I understand how it works and how it works in comparison to nature, and this is the best peace of advice I can give. Indeed I have used chemiclean or a similar product and I am certain it was to blame for the decrease in health of my coral. You must think, a chemical that kills algae, ummm, isn't that going to kill important stuff like the natural phytoplankton in ur tank that is important for filtration and feeding coral, what r the side effects because everything has side effects.

 

[LDH]

I second taking out the plug, putting it in a dish of water and removing them with tweezers. It's super easy and mine have never come back in the same spot. I've had to do this twice in my two years of keeping a tank. And if they do come back, no big deal, just do it again.

 

[ReeferBee]

Several tangs as well as rabbit fish are natural predators of bubble algae as well

 

[ahiggins]

Several tangs as well as rabbit fish are natural predators of bubble algae as well

i forgot about that :) lol Im so used to doing things to my 40-which is way too small for those types of fish-that I forget people with bigger tanks have more options :D great point

 

[ahiggins]

Personally, I will never use anything in my tank unless I understand how it works and how it works in comparison to nature, and this is the best peace of advice I can give. Indeed I have used chemiclean or a similar product and I am certain it was to blame for the decrease in health of my coral. You must think, a chemical that kills algae, ummm, isn't that going to kill important stuff like the natural phytoplankton in ur tank that is important for filtration and feeding coral, what r the side effects because everything has side effects.

if someone understands chemistry and biology you will notice that different critters have different "items" that comprise their cell walls. what affects hair algae wont affect bryopsis for example. we rely on chemists and biologists and many others who experiment to give guidance on these issues.
take for example my experience. I had bubble algae on some rocks in my frag tank (sps/lps/softies/zoas) that would not go away. I took out the rock, pealed away the bubble algae and peroxided the areas where it was. rinsed and put back into the tank. 8 months and no bubble algae. no affect on corals either. I have also used chemiclean in my anemone breeding tank as well as a friends sps tank with zero fatalities and no coral recession. Ive also seen other people overdose alk/nitrates/peroxide and nuke their entire system lol
You also have to take into account that our tanks are not "nature". We build a fake nature and try to replicate it to the exact niche of every species we have but things in nature that wouldnt be an issue take advantage of our tanks and get out of hand quickly. Theres really no checks and balances in our tanks.

 

[JasonSon198s]

Y not replicate nature as much as possible? Plz tell me how qualified u r to talk about chemistry and biology?

 

[ahiggins]

Y not replicate nature as much as possible? Plz tell me how qualified u r to talk about chemistry and biology?

LOLOL Oh ya know....just a masters in microbiology (zoological applications) with a bachelors in chemistry.....nothing fancy LOL

the point is....we cant replicate nature. we can only get "pretty close"

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Emerald crabs if brought from a good dealer can be verified whether reef safe or not. Hydrogen peroxide is not natural - it is a chemical that will kill every living thing it touches before decaying into oxygen and water.

Ummmm. What?