Emerald Crabs vs. Bubble Algae

[Frost_Hydra]

I'm starting to have an issue with Bubble algae in my tank recently, and a lot of people have told me that emerald crabs would eat them.

The part that I'm confused about is how this fixes the problem. To my understanding, when bubble algae pop it releases all its spores. So wouldn't an emerald crab trying to eat it just spread the algae even more? am I suppose to use them in combination with another method or medication?

 

[kevin21]

Supposedly, the way their claws are, they can scoop and eat the bubble algae without actually popping it and releasing the spores.

 

[jgraz]

I'm starting to have an issue with Bubble algae in my tank recently, and a lot of people have told me that emerald crabs would eat them.



The part that I'm confused about is how this fixes the problem. To my understanding, when bubble algae pop it releases all its spores. So wouldn't an emerald crab trying to eat it just spread the algae even more? am I suppose to use them in combination with another method or medication?

Yes the bubble will pop so to speak when they try to eat it.
Even if they manage to remove the bubble from its mounted location they will indeed need to eat it in pieces.
And not all emeralds will necessarily eat it.

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[jgraz]

Supposedly, the way their claws are, they can scoop and eat the bubble algae without actually popping it and releasing the spores.

Let's say they manage to do as you suggest. How then will they ingest said bubble without popping it?

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[Joe0813]

Following.... My wife is getting bubble algae and we need it gone

 

[murphreef]

Best way to deal with it is try an emerald to help out and then manually remove as much as you can as delicately as possible using a pair of tweezers.

 

[kevin21]

I am not suggesting anything. I said "supposedly". I have own read from others experiences that emerald crabs can eat the algae without pooping and spreading the spores. I am sure others will chime in with their emerald success or failure. I personally never had an emerald that ate the stuff, but I have read of plenty of people who did have them that ate it.

Let's say they manage to do as you suggest. How then will they ingest said bubble without popping it?

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[ReefWreak]

The short answer is that it depends on who you ask, and while there is probably an exact answer out there, you'll likely spend the rest of your life sifting through opinions to find it.

Some emeralds help, some don't. I was starting to get a nasty bubble algae infection in my brand new tank (it was problematic in my old nano, and must have transferred on my ONLY SURVIVING SNAIL). So I started losing my mind, and bought 6 emerald crabs, as well as dosed vibrant. I don't know which worked, but honestly I'm leaning towards the Vibrant.

In a 100g tank, I started with 18mL/week of Vibrant for the first few weeks, then 10mL per week after that, and used almost the entire bottle. Bubble algae was gone after 4 weeks, and never came back.

I still question whether it did the trick, because I would hate to be duped by snake oil, but honestly, I'm still leaning towards that Vibrant was what killed the bubble algae. It also spiked my nutrient levels (~25ppm Nitrate) because there was no algae to take it up. I had to move to carbon dosing and water changes after the vibrant to bring down nutrient levels and keep them low. But, no algae has come back, only slight green on my sand bed.

I had a hard time keeping corals for a while too, probably because of the nitrate fluctuations. Now I'm doing okay though, and am bubble algae free.

 

[jimbow]

They worked for me.

 

[rffanat1c]

Emeralds always work for me. Worth the $20 shot


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[devimik]

Emeralds never worked for me, but a One-Spot Foxface got rid of it all in relatively short order.

 

[WVH]

Emeralds have not worked this time around for me. Had a terrible outbreak in a newly restarted tank. I know I am a newbie here, but was at this for a long time years back. Here is the best I have found , plus it helps with partial water changes. Tubing no bigger than 3/8th id. Big enough to suck them up the little buggers but not so big as to drain down a 5 gallon bucket too quickly. Cut the end at a acute angle, the point will pop them lose and even if a few burst you are sucking up their spores. If there are ones you can't dislodge this way use a pointed tip taped or glued to the point to aid in suck them up. Atnantitage is after a few buckets full of water you partial is done for the week and the little buggers are in your thrown away water.