I have bubble algae that needs to be dealt with in a 13 gal tank with mostly zoas and no fish. It sounds like a crab would mess with or eat the zoas and some say Vibrant is too risky for use in a small tank. Any opinions?
Is Vibrant too risky for a 13 gal tank?
- Thread starter Just John
- Start date
- Tagged users None
Billldg
My Gem Tang Is Watching You
IMO, no, it scales to the size of your tank. You dose based on gals of the tank. If you have bubble algae I would try a Emerald or Ruby crab, same species.
OP
OP
Thanks! The problem with the crab is that I do not have a ton of other algae, so I am concerned that it would make quick work of the bubble algae and start working on the corals.
Murphs_reef
Active Member
I tested with vibrant. In my view it does about as much harm that it does good. The GHA, it really did help with but over the course I did notice that the microfauna did terribly. In the end there was little good algae left and pods etc had been fully depleted. It's taken months to recover from it. I wished that I had just manually removed and put the right amount of snails in, which by the way would have been cheaper .
Bubble algae can be taken care of with emerald crabs easy enough and if your worried about it long terms (no reason to in my books) it's easy enough to remove later.
Bubble algae can be taken care of with emerald crabs easy enough and if your worried about it long terms (no reason to in my books) it's easy enough to remove later.
JumboShrimp
5000 Club Member
- Joined
- Aug 12, 2018
- Messages
- 5,806
- Reaction score
- 8,227
I agree. Just scale your Vibrant down— even under-dose if need be, and just be more patient. (As in weeks, to see results.) Get an Emerald Crab. If he turns out to be a terror on your Zoas, you should be able to grab him out of a 13 gallon with tongs. When all the algae is gone, feed your pet crab algae pellets.
OP
OP
If I use Vibrant and accidentally pop one, is that a problem? This all started because I accidentally popped a single bubble I found on a frag. I would like to get a crab, but I have some small frags and 5 mins with a crab would be all it would take for them to disappear. Do you think I still should not be too concerned?
JumboShrimp
5000 Club Member
- Joined
- Aug 12, 2018
- Messages
- 5,806
- Reaction score
- 8,227
My LFS usually has Emerald crabs S, Med., Lg... if you think your corals are tiny, since you only have a 13-gal. to clear up, maybe get two small ones and keep an eye on things. Also, if your corals aren't attached, can you raise them onto a magnetic frag rack until the crabs do their thing? But expect it to take some weeks, unless you want to throw in about 6-8 larger crabs-- which I wouldn't recommend for you. Best wishes. 
N.Sreefer
Valuable Member
Imo dont get an emerald crab they have been observed eating coral in the wild and ive personally had them eat zoas.
From wiki
"It is often to be seen among the branches of corals such as the finger coral (Porites furcata) where it feeds on the polyps. It uses its chelae alternately, gathering a polyp with one claw while it feeds on a polyp held in the other. It has been observed to gather and consume ten polyps in a minute."
Source https://archive.org/details/marineinvertebra00patr_0/page/367/mode/2up
OP
OP
And all of this from a single bubble. It's starting everywhere. It was like, "What's that little thi...... Nooooooooooooooooooooo"
Tired
2500 Club Member
I would avoid the Vibrant. It tends to blast your biodiversity, which will just encourage other pest algaes to pop up as soon as you stop dosing. And you can't dose it forever. If you're really unlucky, it can even let dinos turn up.
What have you tried to get rid of the bubble algae?
I would agree with the suggestion of emerald crabs and a frag rack. They can't climb glass, so corals up on a rack would be safe.
What have you tried to get rid of the bubble algae?
I would agree with the suggestion of emerald crabs and a frag rack. They can't climb glass, so corals up on a rack would be safe.
OP
OP
Not yet. Just over the last 2 days it has started to show up everywhere. Won't an emerald crab just keep popping them and keep the cycle going?
OP
OP
Just want to make sure I understand correctly - were you able to remove the crab(s) and not have it come back right away.
Murphs_reef
Active Member
Yeah that's right. I have emerald crabs in the sump (fuge) and in the DT though, I don't bother tanking them out the display anymore. They don't really go after anything other than algae.. I seen one swipe at a fish for getting to close a few months back but nothing that worried me.
I have had bubble algae in come in a couple of times on frag plugs, it's always taken care of quickly enough by the crabs
I have had bubble algae in come in a couple of times on frag plugs, it's always taken care of quickly enough by the crabs
Similar threads
