While Ive used Vibrant successfully, I have then grabbed a small needle and have 3/8 tubing ready and attach to end of tubing with rubber band and pop each one and siphon at same time- You will have removed all spores and foreign material in area.
I have about 7 emerald crabs in there and they don't really pick it off the rocks
Often they go after food and coral first which is why I stated I do not trust them.
The whole ‘spore’ thing has been debunked. Valonia sp. does have a spore phase in its life cycle, but they only produce them at certain times when conditions are right and they are produced on the outside of the bubble. If when removing them, you pop them and leave or release into the water column one or part of its rhizoids (which is the part where it connects to whatever surface it is growing on), then a new one can regrow, but simply popping one will not release spores or anything that will produce another cell (they are single cells with multiple nuclei). Emerald crabs have to pop them to eat them, they’re not swallowing them whole.
so do mine
. They are very taxing I find them in my wavemaker daily
Mine not only cover the rocks, but also clog my mp10s. I use bone cutters to clear the areas where my acros are growing, but that’s about all I can manage.so do mine
Do not worry about popping the bubble algae as there is no proof that it releases spores. This has been discussed a few times with a recent talk on reef beef by Rich. It is similar to my experience when popping them - nothing happened nor did it spread.
you think it is okay to have my hand in the tank for that long? do you turn off the flow pumps during this? Ill give it a shotManual removal. Only buy the crabs if you want them in your display. Same applies to any potential fish that may, or may not, get recommended. Crabs, fish, may eat it, or may not. Thus me saying only purchase if you planned on having them. As an aside I personally know a few hobbyist who have had good luck with pithos crabs.
In any case you have a 40 breeder. Great sized display. My suggestion is to just spend a couple hours here and there and remove manually. Similar approach to GHA. Within a couple weeks it will more or less be managed or all together removed.
- Put on some calm music of your choice
- Few towels
- Bowl of rodi water to rinse
- Nitrile or glove of choice
- Step stool or ladder if needed
- Net
- Small scraper, dental pick, with handle to scrape rock
Pass 1 - net any floaters
Pass 2 - focus on larger pieces, reach in, gently take hold, and pull while slightly twisting left to right - it will come off
Pass 3 - focus on hard to reach pieces, reach in, take hold if you can, if not pinch to pop, and pull off piece you can
Pass 4 - focus on difficult pieces to reach or that are small, use scraper, dental pick, tool, and scrape off
Pass 5 - net any debris
Rinse fingers in bowl as needed
This is more or less what I did when I had an outbreak in my 29 gallon biocube. It was so bad that I had pieces floating around in the currents
The long and short of it is that buying so called natural predators may, or may not, work. So only buy them if you want them. Other than that practice nutrient control and manual removal. The algae will be gone in no time spending a couple hours a week on it.
Honest.
My bubble algae regrows after a couple of days. I swear that this stuff is the absolute worst.
My foxface and scopas tang both eat them as fast as they appear.
