Bubble algae

[Lavey29]

Not the worst algae to have but sure seems to be in everyone's tank at some point. I've been manually pulling small patches out for months. It doesn't really grow fast or cover everything like other algae.

For those looking for a possible solution, I've recently discovered that my larger size scarlet leg hermits like to eat it. In the middle of the pic next to my torches you can see a hermit there on top of a small patch of bubble algae munching away. Hopefully all my hermits and yours develop a taste for it.

 

[Idoc]

I tried AlgaeBarn's Emerald Crabs that are guaranteed to eat Bubble algae...well, they didn't. They just attacked my Duncan and had to be caught and removed. My bubble algae was then getting quite a bit out of control and in places I couldn't reach to remove it. So, I resorted to Vibrant that worked great. I wouldn't use Vibrant for a small amount of bubble algae, though.

 

[Lavey29]

I tried AlgaeBarn's Emerald Crabs that are guaranteed to eat Bubble algae...well, they didn't. They just attacked my Duncan and had to be caught and removed. My bubble algae was then getting quite a bit out of control and in places I couldn't reach to remove it. So, I resorted to Vibrant that worked great. I wouldn't use Vibrant for a small amount of bubble algae, though.

Emeralds didn't work for me either.

 

[Spicy Reef]

I added an emerald and noticed after a couple months bubble algae was almost all gone... I could not understand, however, because my tank is 150g 29" tall lots of rock, how could this one little crab that I rarely see take care of so much bubble algae...
I later discovered some articles that lead me to believe it is in fact my Sailfin Tang that is taking care of the bubble algae removal.
What it does not remove, I use this straw and syphon method...

 

[Jekyl]

Emerald will eat as a last resort it seems. One spot fox face did better.

 

[landlubber]

It should be a guarantee that under-fed crabs will more likely go for bubble algae because as most hobbyists find, if you feed your tank reasonably well its likely to be ignored.