what do i do about bubble alge

[an-enemy]

well i have some bubble alge. there is not alot so i dont want to wast my money and buy a emerald crab that wont last long. so is there anything else i can do?

thanks ryan

 

[steve.t]

if its on rock that you can get out just remove it and rinse it under cold water and brush it with a toothbrush. takes a bit of work but after a while you will start to gain ground and win the war.

I'm sure there are other ways to get after it , but that seemed to work best for me.

steve

 

[rkl303]

uhhh don't use freshwater unless you haven't cycled yet. I would go w/ the emerald crab personally(if I could find one, I'm looking for one right now)

 

[steve.t]

uhh do use cold fresh water , an emerald crab will pop the bubbles as it eats, a quick cold water rinse works much better breaking the bubbles and washing off the spores, and it won't hurt a thing.

washing a piece of LR in fresh water isnt going to make you have to cycle your tank again

 

["Umm fish?"]

Now, how do you get the emerald crab to eat the bubble algae? I have two and they have yet to touch any.

 

[tomu]

an emerald crab does not pop the bubbles, it swallows them whole. That's what I see my emerald crab doing. If you have good water quality and you acclimate it proper than it shouldnt be a waste of money. I'm with rkl303 on this one.

 

[djmod45]

See I have been advised that emerald crabs are great for eating bubble algae but I'm with Umm, fish?...I have 3 emerald crabs in my 75 gallon and I have yet to see any of the three touch my bubble algae. Plus I bought an arrow crabs to hunt down some of the bristle worms in my tank but he much prefers eating the shrimp I feed the fish

 

[vypr2002]

dj, why on earth would you want to get rid of your bristleworms?
they are a benificial part of the ecology we have in our glass boxes. they clean up the wastes. as far as an emerald crab swalowing them whole, I find that hard to believe as I have had some bigger than most crabs. I have had emeralds that eat it and some that dont. its hit or miss.
and there are occasions I have seen them tear a spore apart. so imo they do seed the tank to an extent. I think that is part of the wonder of nature. one animal is food for another but in the end it ends up procreating for the prey.(did that make any sense?)

 

[jimmyhof]

I don't know Vypr2002 I have had numerous emerald crabs and although mine never ate the bubble algea I do believe that they could swallow them whole. In fact my emerald crab once devoured a 10 inch derasa clam whole including the shell. Just one bite and gulp. The most unbelievable thing I ever saw. I did have it on video, but it got erased. sorry.

 

[castorpollux]

i have had them eat all the bubble algae and then die off when its all gone though. i think it just depends on the crab...