Quote:
Originally Posted by Fly Guy
bump.......
im still curious as to anyones inpout as far as the emerald crabs simply breaking the bubble open and making it spread whilein the process of eating it
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From what I understand, the larger bubbles are the mature ones that contain all the spores. The larger ones are also the easy ones for the crab to eat (thin walls), so yes, there will be some spreading as the crabs eat. I don't think that an
emerald crab will be of much help if there is a major
bubble algae problem, there is only so much he can eat! Also, keep in mind that not every emerald crab will eat the bubble algae. I learned this the hard way with my first reef tank - totally overtaken and destroyed by bubble algae. If I had to do it over again, this is what I would recommend. Use ro/di water and be vary careful about lowering the nitrate and phosphate levels in the tank. If you have an old sandbed (more than 5 yrs), consider replacing it with fresh aragonite. Remove each individual rock and carefully remove every bubble that you can find. Most of the time, they will "pop" right off. I think the smaller ones are easier to remove since their walls are tougher and lesslikely to break. Rinse the rocks off with saltwater to get rid of loose spores, and then replace the rocks. You will need to clean the rocks every week or two for at least a few weeks. It is much easier to go all out on the bubble algae now, than to wait until it is choking off your corals.
