Emerald Crabs

[greenmonkey51]

Over the last couple days I had a population explosion of bubble algae (Bornetella sphaerica). I tried to scrape some off when doing a water change and was pretty successful til I looked at a back rock and saw a ton. I figured that manual and chemical eradication wasn't going to work. I've heard of emerald crabs eating bubble algae, but I'm not sure if they'll eat this species and I'm concerned whether an emerald crab will go after my wrasses. Any experiences?

 

[reidcrandall]

They will probably not go after any fish if they are kept fed, but it is a risk. I have decided to hve a crab-free setup in the tank I'm setting up now.

My personal preference would be to remove manually, and remove whatever nutrients are causing the bloom. I know it's a pain in the ***, but it's the safest bet.

Plus, there is no guarantee that the emerald you get will touch the bubbles. It can be very hit and miss.

 

[greenmonkey51]

I will take care of extra nutrients. I've been slacking a bit with the vodka dosing and water changes. If its that simple then I will not bother with any crabs.

 

[partsguy247]

I was in the same situation and I added a male emerald crab(bigger front claws) and other than righting knocked over corals it has worked out great. Good bye bubble algae.

 

[Jeremy0322]

The nice thing about emeralds is when eating the bubbles they tend to pop them, which makes the bubbles spread, but then they get eaten again by the crabs, continuing that cycle, meaning that your crabs will most likely stay well fed. However, all crabs are evil, and you never know when they will randomly decide to eat a fish or snail or something like that.

 

[dixienut]

i had a e,crab and have bad bubble algea, and he never touched it,. then a fewm onths ago i couldn't find him, athen i found his claw, he was little and got killed probably in some rocks that i might have moved a while ago,. but buble al. is still here,.. so hit and miss,..now i have fish and a blennie and i don't want to chance another crab in my small tank,.

 

[acrouse]

My emerald crab never touched bubble algae. I only had a small amount of bubbles, so I removed them manually with a pair of tweezers. Just make sure you are gentle and don't squeeze too hard and break the bubbles or you defeat the purpose. The bubbles were much tougher coated then I expected and were fairly easy to remove.

Best of luck
jolene

 

[LockeOak]

I had a small patch of bubble algae a few months ago. About a week after adding an emerald crab he wiped it out in one night. Unfortunately the crab didn't survive more than a few months, despite lots of other algae and excess food to eat.