Brown Wafer algae
- Thread starter CamBarr
- Start date
anothermineral
Member
I've had it in the past. It ultimately took over the tank growing on top of Zoas and killing them. My remedy was to remove the LR and scrape the algae off. It was time consuming, but well worth it in my opinion.
Hi Cam. I had a problem with that same dreaded brown wafer algae. It's called Lobophora. That algae is REALLY hard to get rid of. I've scraped it clean off the rock, and it just comes right back. The two things that are known to eat it (that I'm aware of) are Naso tangs (too large for my 53gallon tank) and Sally Lightfoot Crabs. It was rroselavy I believe, who commented in this thread about his Sally Lightfoot eating his Lobo, who had also told me about the luck he had with a Sally eating his Lobo, a couple months ago in a different thread. I have to thank you rroselavy!!! It's because of you that I took a chance on buying a Sally Lightfoot. I hated my Lobo so much, that I was willing to take a chance on a Sally Lightfoot.
I've had my Sally for about two months now, and my Lobophora is almost gone!!! Within a couple days of buying the Sally, I noticed the Lobo disappearing. It was eaten clean off the rock, leaving the rock completely bare. I'd say about 90% of it is gone now. If the Lobo completely vanishes, I will try to catch the Sally and bring him back to the LFS. He's moulted once, and seems so much bigger. I'm afraid of him getting mean down the road. I did catch the Sally trying to eat this small feather duster, but the feather duster closed up and he couldn't get to it. Right before that, I saw him try to get to my Electric Flame Scallop, but the scallop clamped up tight before he could get him. A few days later, I looked at the scallop and the shell was COMPLETELY empty!! He looked perfectly healthy the day before. I suspect that darn Sally is the culprit! It was still worth getting the Sally to get rid of most of my lobo though and I'd do it again. I haven't seen the Sally go after any snails, or my two starfish, or any of my fish. Hope he finishes the job on the Lobo !! I want to make sure every trace of lobo is gone for a few weeks before getting rid of the Sally. I'm afraid if there's one spore left in the rock, the Lobo will come back.
Pam
I've had my Sally for about two months now, and my Lobophora is almost gone!!! Within a couple days of buying the Sally, I noticed the Lobo disappearing. It was eaten clean off the rock, leaving the rock completely bare. I'd say about 90% of it is gone now. If the Lobo completely vanishes, I will try to catch the Sally and bring him back to the LFS. He's moulted once, and seems so much bigger. I'm afraid of him getting mean down the road. I did catch the Sally trying to eat this small feather duster, but the feather duster closed up and he couldn't get to it. Right before that, I saw him try to get to my Electric Flame Scallop, but the scallop clamped up tight before he could get him. A few days later, I looked at the scallop and the shell was COMPLETELY empty!! He looked perfectly healthy the day before. I suspect that darn Sally is the culprit! It was still worth getting the Sally to get rid of most of my lobo though and I'd do it again. I haven't seen the Sally go after any snails, or my two starfish, or any of my fish. Hope he finishes the job on the Lobo !! I want to make sure every trace of lobo is gone for a few weeks before getting rid of the Sally. I'm afraid if there's one spore left in the rock, the Lobo will come back.
Pam
CamBarr
New member
Hey Pam,
Thanks for the info. I’m not sure what i am going to do yet??? I may take out all of the rocks and cook them with no light. I scraped my rocks and still no success. Ahh I hate this stuff.
I have also wonderd if i take the rocks out and leave them in the sun if the dried lobo will come back???
Thanks for the info. I’m not sure what i am going to do yet??? I may take out all of the rocks and cook them with no light. I scraped my rocks and still no success. Ahh I hate this stuff.
I have also wonderd if i take the rocks out and leave them in the sun if the dried lobo will come back???
coralnut99
New member
Like most "natural controls" Sally's do a have a mean streak once they get bigger. Snails, and small fish become targets. Your ahead of the game in just knowing he's going to cause problems.
I just looked at some older pictures of my tank, and I had waaaay more lobophora than I remembered. Based on the dates of the pictures, I had it for at least as far back as when the tank was 3 months old, and I battled it for a good year until I added the Sally. The Sally is a danger, but I still think it's worth the risk considering that he hasn't killed any fish, and he's almost decimated the lobo in two months. I still will try to catch him and return him to the LFS when he finishes the job with the lobo.
Before adding the sally, I had tried scraping the heck out of the lobo and it came back quickly every single time.
Pam,
Before adding the sally, I had tried scraping the heck out of the lobo and it came back quickly every single time.
Pam,
Don't take the rock out and dry it and kill all the beneficial life in it.
Listen, I had a BAD algae problem. I had green hair, sea lettuce, brown wafer, and a couple other varieties of nuisance algae. It drove me nuts, almost to the the point where I was ready to quit a hobby that I had enjoyed since I was 12 years old. I couldn't understand it. I had good water parameters, good equipment, did water changes etc and nothing worked. I added UV and a Phosban reactor and that didn't help. So, I called GARF and bought their Reef Janitor package. The mess has been decimated and the only thing left is a small amount of the lobophora. But they are slowly but surely getting rid of that too. It is to the point where i have to add some cooked broccoli to the tank to keep the crabs and snails alive.
I don't know if this will work for you, but it didi for me. Don't give up!!!!!!!
Listen, I had a BAD algae problem. I had green hair, sea lettuce, brown wafer, and a couple other varieties of nuisance algae. It drove me nuts, almost to the the point where I was ready to quit a hobby that I had enjoyed since I was 12 years old. I couldn't understand it. I had good water parameters, good equipment, did water changes etc and nothing worked. I added UV and a Phosban reactor and that didn't help. So, I called GARF and bought their Reef Janitor package. The mess has been decimated and the only thing left is a small amount of the lobophora. But they are slowly but surely getting rid of that too. It is to the point where i have to add some cooked broccoli to the tank to keep the crabs and snails alive.
I don't know if this will work for you, but it didi for me. Don't give up!!!!!!!
Garage1217
GET OFF MY LAWN
If it is isolated to one area, then suck up boiling water in a turkey baster with a small tip and spray it with boiling water. Works 110% on aptasia as well 
I tried the boiling water trick. It definitely killed the Lobophora, but it quickly came back in that same area. Same thing happened when I brused the Lobo off the live rock with a wire brush. The Sally Lightfoot is the only thing that has worked for me, and I've heard of others having really good luck with the Naso tangs. My lobo is probably 95% gone now. Bye. Pam
Fitchguy
Member
I have a 240 Gallon Reef, and I had a break out of Lobophora. Unfortunately, there is not a lot of info about this type of algae. The one thing I did find out, which is highly discouraging, was from Julian Sprung, saying that Lobophora likes very clean water. Anyways, I got 4 Globe Urchins, they are cousins of the Tuxedos Urchins. I have had them in the tank for a week now and almost all lobophora algae is gone, they have been just mowing it down. It was great to see
