Well, just thought i'd bump this up and see what kind of response I'd get. I currently am having a problem with this taking over my tank, at first I didn't mind it on a rock or two but i'd say it's covering about 1/6th of my rock now, and in a 125, that's quite a bit. Anybody ever come up with a good solution for taking care of this junk?
Lobophora Variegata Erradication VIA Mithrax Sculptus?
- Thread starter Rowdy
- Start date
6-line
New member
All I can say is good luck (and that won't help). I figured or hoped when I transferred my tank from the 90 to a 65 that it would somehow magically disappear but it came back and with a vengence. I know of no means for removal other than manual erradication...
Sorry...anyone else have any input?
Sorry...anyone else have any input?
I think that consensus eventually distilled down to urchins as far as predators are concerned. They seem to be the best equipped to keep this pest under control. I would consider reef urchins (the ones that look like maces) before Diadema sp. as they don't appear to be as dangerous to fish and keeper.
DJ
DJ
DC321
Member
I have it too. I did not know what it was called, or knew anyone else who had it.
I added a naso that was on my fish wishlist and he tore it up. I still have it along the vertical length of my overflow on both sides of my 180. It is at the point of being an entire sheet covering them. I was afraid to peel it off, as I thought it might fragment and lodge onto a rock and begin again. I still have a fat and healthy Naso, though. He won't touch it on the overflows.
TANK PARAMETERS:
Alkalinity 2.56 mEq/L
pH 8.3 ppm
Nitrate 0.05 ppm
Nitrite 0.00 ppm
Phosphate 0.00 ppm
CA 400
1.026 SG
Mg 1350
I added a naso that was on my fish wishlist and he tore it up. I still have it along the vertical length of my overflow on both sides of my 180. It is at the point of being an entire sheet covering them. I was afraid to peel it off, as I thought it might fragment and lodge onto a rock and begin again. I still have a fat and healthy Naso, though. He won't touch it on the overflows.
TANK PARAMETERS:
Alkalinity 2.56 mEq/L
pH 8.3 ppm
Nitrate 0.05 ppm
Nitrite 0.00 ppm
Phosphate 0.00 ppm
CA 400
1.026 SG
Mg 1350
fishcraze2002
Premium Member
this algea infested my tank at one time. I bought a blond naso tang and it went for this algea like crazy. so I bought another to help clean up this algea in the frag tank too. These tangs really get rid of this algea whereever they can get to. The only place that still has a lot of this algea is inside the overflow box. I peel a little bit of these once a week to feed the tangs and making sure I don't over harvest them since these algea is a great treat for the tangs
yup.....naso tangs will clear lobophora up in no time.<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10483445#post10483445 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by fishcraze2002
this algea infested my tank at one time. I bought a blond naso tang and it went for this algea like crazy. so I bought another to help clean up this algea in the frag tank too. These tangs really get rid of this algea whereever they can get to. The only place that still has a lot of this algea is inside the overflow box. I peel a little bit of these once a week to feed the tangs and making sure I don't over harvest them since these algea is a great treat for the tangs
OK, so how do you get rid of Lobophora if your tank is too small for a Naso? I have a 53 gallon tank. I know I could get a Naso for a few months and then return it, but I'd like to avoid that. I have one Emerald Crab, and I've never seen him touch the Labophora. I've used RO/DO water only since I set up the tank 13 months ago (high end Spectrapure Maxcap). TDS output has always been zero. I have a Elos nk550 Skimmer and skim wet. I am running a Two Little Fishies Phosphate reactor with Phosban. I only have 4 small fish. Try not to overfeed. Rinse my food. Feed frozen food only, cut out all flakes and pellets. I don't add any extra food for corals etc. No other nusciance algae. 150MH Elos 10k bulb, which is about 10 months old and I'm ordering a new one today. 4 T5 bulbs which I swapped out about 6 weeks ago. I scrub the rocks inside my tank, and even if I clean a spot right down to the rock, it eventually comes back. I've read a long spined sea urchin (diadema) will go after it, but others say their's didn't. Someone even said their green chromis ate it. Not sure if anyone else has seen their green chromis go after it. Any other ideas? It never seems to get to the point where it lifts off the rock. Just some small pieces do. It's not a horrible problem yet, but I find it ugly, and am afraid of it overtaking everything.
My parameters are:
Reef Crystals Salt - Salinity: 1.025
Ammonia, Nitrites: 0
Nitrates: 2.5
Phosphates: undetectable with salifert since I started running Phosban. Before that, it was .1 .
Temp: 80-82 now that summer has hit.
Calcium: 390-400
Mag: 1170
Alk: 7-8 dHk
My parameters are:
Reef Crystals Salt - Salinity: 1.025
Ammonia, Nitrites: 0
Nitrates: 2.5
Phosphates: undetectable with salifert since I started running Phosban. Before that, it was .1 .
Temp: 80-82 now that summer has hit.
Calcium: 390-400
Mag: 1170
Alk: 7-8 dHk
fishcraze2002
Premium Member
I have tried several method to get rid of that algea and non were effective except the naso tang! Emerald crabs and sea urchin would eat but to little/ and too slow to be able to control once this algea starts to spread fast. The crabs/urchins may help if you just get a new rock w/ some of this algea. Once this algea is in your tank for a while and starts to spread, it's almost impossible to stop it. But - a naso tang will clean EVERY SINGLE BIT of that algea that it can get to.
As I mentioned in an earlier reply, I bought a blond naso tang last year and it helps keep my main tank pretty much free of this algea (only a little left in the very back corners where the tang can't get to. I also have this algea in my 40gal frag tank (which is connected to my main tank). Therefore, I have to catch the naso tang to put in my frag tank every couple months to let him clean up this algea. He will clean most of the algea off within a week and I put him back to the main tank. It sounds like a lot of work to swap the tang like that but not in my case since I can catch this little pet by my hand All I do is holding a small piece of this waffle algea to lure him to an upper corner where he has to swim on his side to get to the surface then i just scoop him out with my hand! Once he's in my palm, he just lay there, don't even try to jump while i walk over to the frag tank to drop him there - since he know he is going to get a great treat
Here is a pic of that blond naso tang - my favorite pet
As I mentioned in an earlier reply, I bought a blond naso tang last year and it helps keep my main tank pretty much free of this algea (only a little left in the very back corners where the tang can't get to. I also have this algea in my 40gal frag tank (which is connected to my main tank). Therefore, I have to catch the naso tang to put in my frag tank every couple months to let him clean up this algea. He will clean most of the algea off within a week and I put him back to the main tank. It sounds like a lot of work to swap the tang like that but not in my case since I can catch this little pet by my hand
All I do is holding a small piece of this waffle algea to lure him to an upper corner where he has to swim on his side to get to the surface then i just scoop him out with my hand! Once he's in my palm, he just lay there, don't even try to jump while i walk over to the frag tank to drop him there - since he know he is going to get a great treat Here is a pic of that blond naso tang - my favorite pet
Magnus6208
New member
I also could not get rid of Lobophora algae in my 47 gallon tall tank. Finally someone on my local forum said that his Lobophora algae started clearing up after he stopped doing water changes for a while as Lobophora actually thrives the cleaner your water is. I stopped doing water changes for a couple of months (usually do 10% weekly), got a short spined urchin and went in every couple of days and scrubbed it with a tooth brush. I have now gotten rid of about 90% of it and for the most part what is left is what I cannot reach to peel off. I guess the urchin soon will eat it!!
Good luck.
Good luck.
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