Pitho vs. Emerald crab

[Bigfish502]

I have some bubble algae that has been starting to appear in my 35 cube reef tank despite my efforts to manually remove it. The tank is obviously too small for a foxface and I'm not sure if I'm desperate enough to risk using Vibrant (I've heard of a lot of people killing their corals with that stuff and I can't get the creators of the product to respond to my inquiries which concerns me). I know a lot of people will recommend emerald crabs but I've also heard they can kill small fish (I have nano gobies in the tank) and eat corals. I've heard of pithos as a potential alternative but I don't have enough information to tell for certain if they would be a more reef safe alternative to emerald crabs. What is everyone else's experience? Are pitho crabs safer and just as effective or more effective at eating bubble algae?

 

[Kasrift]

I have some bubble algae that has been starting to appear in my 35 cube reef tank despite my efforts to manually remove it. The tank is obviously too small for a foxface and I'm not sure if I'm desperate enough to risk using Vibrant (I've heard of a lot of people killing their corals with that stuff and I can't get the creators of the product to respond to my inquiries which concerns me). I know a lot of people will recommend emerald crabs but I've also heard they can kill small fish (I have nano gobies in the tank) and eat corals. I've heard of pithos as a potential alternative but I don't have enough information to tell for certain if they would be a more reef safe alternative to emerald crabs. What is everyone else's experience? Are pitho crabs safer and just as effective or more effective at eating bubble algae?

I don't have an answer, following to find out the same thing. From my research, male and female pithos are very different anatomy and females may be better algae eaters.

 

[Lavey29]

I have 2 pithos and they are bubble algae destroyers

 

[Kasrift]

I have 2 pithos and they are bubble algae destroyers

Which male or female with the large claws?

 

[codenfx]

I have a few emerald crabs big and small none of them touch bubble algaes. Also a few pitho crabs but not sure if they’re male or female, they’re kind of big with small claws, they do nothing but hide on the sand and eat snails when they’re flipped, there’s plenty of algae in the tank but they ignore it, I had to feed it nori daily. If anyone is going RAP this weekend and wants my pitho let me know, maybe they’ll work in your tank.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

I wouldn't worry about emeralds eating fish, fish can easily swim away, crabs can't swim.
When a fish dies, the crab does its job and eats the dead fish, which is what people see, and they make the incorrect connection that since the crab is eating the fish it must have killed the fish.......

For me, my emeralds ate the bubble algae, and then started working on some corals when the algae was gone.

 

[penguinexdeus]

Have had both, never saw either go for bubble algae. Had emeralds eat zoas and pithos left coral alone.

Tangs were only thing I've had take care of bubble algae, but I'd definitely try pithos again. Pithos are also more fun to watch than emeralds.

 

[jkcoral]

I have pitho crabs. Got them for the first time a few months ago after years of emerald crabs. And I am a 100% believer in pithos now. Never seen an emerald crab eat as much bubble algae as these pitho crabs have. I’ve also never seen a single instance of the pithos messing with fish or any coral.

Here was a rock with a few acans that I got from a friend. They had bubble algae on them that quickly spread. The pitho got on the rock and obliterated it all over the course of a day and a half.

 

[blaxsun]

Emeralds are notoriously lazy when it comes to algae. In fact, they're kind of "tank snobs", ie: when something tastier appears, they shift their diet accordingly. Can't exactly fault them for this (it's like going from dumpster diving to fillet mignon).

 

[JoJosReef]

Emeralds are notoriously lazy when it comes to algae. In fact, they're kind of "tank snobs", ie: when something tastier appears, they shift their diet accordingly. Can't exactly fault them for this (it's like going from dumpster diving to fillet mignon).

My experience exactly. I now have a hard to get emerald that I target feed TDO pellets in the hopes it doesn't go after my corals. Pithos I target feed too (not enough algae), but they're OK in my book.

OP, I also have a tank too small for a foxface or tang, and only thing that has worked for me so far is Fluconazole at 4x dosage used for bryopsis--macros go bye-bye, but corals, inverts and fish all did fine.

 

[Uncle99]

I used Vibrant.
Took 16 weeks but 100% gone.
Nothing affected.

 

[Lavey29]

Which male or female with the large claws?

Probably females because I don't see large claws but the crabs are good size at least an inch around. They move very carefully among the corals and don't damage everything but seem to be territorial. They stay in an area and keep it algae free. I have hand placed them in other parts of the tank to do work.

 

[Bigfish502]

Have had both, never saw either go for bubble algae. Had emeralds eat zoas and pithos left coral alone.

Tangs were only thing I've had take care of bubble algae, but I'd definitely try pithos again. Pithos are also more fun to watch than emeralds.

Did you have male or female pithos or both?

 

[shakacuz]

i’ve had both. pithos are definitely much better at their job. emerald crabs are hit or miss, unless you get a female emerald crab. allegedly they’re less likely to go after corals

 

[exnisstech]

only thing that has worked for me so far is Fluconazole at 4x dosage used for bryopsis--macros go bye-bye, but corals, inverts and fish all did fine.

While this can work there can also be negative side effects. I used flucanizole once and the cyano that followed was much worse than the algae destroyed. Just mentioning it as a precaution to those considering it.

 

[JoJosReef]

While this can work there can also be negative side effects. I used flucanizole once and the cyano that followed was much worse than the algae destroyed. Just mentioning it as a precaution to those considering it.

Yes, very important to point that out. Don't just go in chemicals blazing without some prep work. Add airstones, get ready to dose nitrates and/or phosphates if needed to keep from bottoming out nutrients, and start adding biodiversity to take up the space left behind: bacterial supplements (I used PNS probio), natural supplements like reef mud (not miracle mud, but rather Fiji Mud, IPLS, etc). Should have mentioned all that.

 

[penguinexdeus]

Did you have male or female pithos or both?

had one of each. didn't see any difference in behavior.