Wade Posted April 14, 2014 Share Posted April 14, 2014 I know a little super glue on the tip kills them, but what if you have a one on an SPS? I must have 100 or more all over my tank all of a sudden and I want them gone. I've heard that Emerald crabs eat them and I've also read that Aptasia X will kill them as well. Will Aptasix X hurt coral as well? If I scrape them off my overflow will they just land somewhere else? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted April 14, 2014 Share Posted April 14, 2014 Tbh I've heard of them being so numerous they'll clog overflows and kill off corals...not been my experience. I had an explosion of them also. Everywere. Spikes all over the rocks. Made it painful to handle anything in the tank, they colonized the walls of the sump, skimmer body, heaters, you name it. They eventually just kinda went away now I don't think I have any that I see anywere. Their shells even dissolved over time. I dunno man. I didn't intentionally introduce any predators or anything. I think the only significant change I made was running biopellets, but I seem to remember them dying off before that started, plus that should have actually encouraged them to grow because with pellets you've got to over feed so I've become very heavy handed with feedings. Sorry can't be more help. Just know that it's possible for them to exhaust whatever it is they're eating and then die off 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jestep Posted April 14, 2014 Share Posted April 14, 2014 Might be able to break them off with some large tweezers. I find they bug the heck out of anything they are near. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dean Posted April 14, 2014 Share Posted April 14, 2014 I have two tanks. My 29 gallon biocube has them in it but my 65 does not. I occasionally move rocks with coral back and forth between the two experimenting with lighting results and still do not have any in the 65. I believe that this directly correlates with having a Yellow Coris Wrasse in the 65. After reading up on these snails I have found that others believe that the yellow coris is responsible for the demise of their vermitid snail infestation. I have a fish trap on order thatI plan to use to catch my coris and move him to my biocube to see if he will in fact take care of them. I hope to swap him over this next weekend. - Dean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wade Posted April 14, 2014 Author Share Posted April 14, 2014 Cool. I've got a six line wrasse and apparently he could care less about them. I guess they'll run their course and be gone on their own. In the mean time I'll pick them off of the coral they're on or near any and just try manual removal. Keep us updated on the yellow coris. That would be good information to have on hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted April 14, 2014 Share Posted April 14, 2014 I've never had a problem with them irritating corals. Bubble Tip Anemones I've had kill a lot of valuable corals. This tank below is a perfect example. There are dozens of the larger species that has a tube about a 3/16" diameter and numerous ones that stay about 1/16" diameter. It's the friggin BTAs that kill stuff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wade Posted April 14, 2014 Author Share Posted April 14, 2014 Yeah I'm still waiting on my toadstool to recover from it's run in with my anemone. It's been since the week before the frag swap and it's still drooped over on it's side. Not sure it's going to make it, but I do see some very slight PE every now and then which gives me hope that it might snap out of it. This pic is about a week ago. It's lying all the way over on it's side now and it's trunk is thinner now too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sascha D. Posted April 15, 2014 Share Posted April 15, 2014 Snails That Worm Their Way Into Tanks CBB, Hermit Crabs, and Sally LIghtfoot are known hunters of these snails. CB shrimp and Arrow Crabs, as well as, any other predatory invert will also eat them. The problem is that crabs and shrimp that will hunt them will always go for the easier meal first, which is normally left over food from feeding the fish. I would beware the Green and Red Corris Wrasse though. They get very large and are not reef safe. I saw a Green Corris Wrasse at a fellow reefers house last month that was over 12" and unrecognizable. Just about all of the color fades. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wade Posted April 15, 2014 Author Share Posted April 15, 2014 I'm about maxed out on fish at the moment. I've got some bubble algae to deal with and need to get a couple of emerald crabs anyway. What's CBB? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dean Posted April 15, 2014 Share Posted April 15, 2014 I may try the arrow crab.. - Dean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted April 15, 2014 Share Posted April 15, 2014 Copperband butterfly fish. I would advise against that for now as they are sensitive fish and don't acclimate well to reef tanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wade Posted April 15, 2014 Author Share Posted April 15, 2014 Ah, thanks. An arrow crab may be an interesting addition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sascha D. Posted April 15, 2014 Share Posted April 15, 2014 Arrow Crabs are known hunters as they get larger. The diameter of the legs can get up to about the size of a dinner plate. Smaller ones aren't bad, but they will eat hermits, snails and tube worms. They're known to attack sleeping or slow fish and may attack CBS, Cleaner or Blood Shrimp. I've never had luck with Emerald Crabs actually eating Valonia. Reef Cleaners says on their site that they guarantee theirs will eat it. IMO the best method is to put the crabs in the sump or a HOB and put infected rocks in there one at a time until they are clean. That will keep them in close proximity with the Valonia and also limit their food supply. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jestep Posted April 15, 2014 Share Posted April 15, 2014 Copperband butterfly fish. I would advise against that for now as they are sensitive fish and don't acclimate well to reef tanks. If they do acclimate, their diet isn't mutually beneficial to a reef tank either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wade Posted April 15, 2014 Author Share Posted April 15, 2014 Good idea Sascha. The lighting on my sump is a 6500k CFL. I've got a PAR38 LED fixture I could swap it out with to keep the light good for any frag I put down there for a few days. How fast can a emerald clean up some Valonia? I like the idea of "training" it to eat the Valonia and then maybe it will look for that when put in the DT. Maybe that's what RCs does. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sascha D. Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 Maybe about a week. It depends on the size of the bubbles, how big the crab is and if there is any other food present. They always go after the smaller bubbles first. I'm guessing the larger ones are harder to eat? I bought a rock from RCA that was covered in all sorts of mess. I took a screwdriver and dislodged a lot of it before I even put it in the tank. Try not to pop them though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wade Posted April 17, 2014 Author Share Posted April 17, 2014 I took out a zoa and a candy cane frag when I did my recent wc to remove all the bubbles from them. I kept them in a small container of tank water. I did end up popping several of the bubbles trying to use tweezers to pick them off before I realized that I could just pry them off and they'd come off in clusters. Hopefully I got the frags rinsed off well enough that not too many of the spores remained on them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 Ask around on this, but I don't think popping the valonia is as bad as is made out. Just think about it. If you have one or two that snuck in, and you can catch them, sure try to gently remove them, but if they manage to take hold and spread, manual removal without popping becomes all but impossible. My back and arms would give out in the time it would take to get every last one. They'll keep growing until their spores are at absolute ideal ripe maturity, then will burst on their own. Fish and crabs pop them when they eat them anyway. It's impossible to avoid once you're infested. I actually intentionally pop them when they're tiny as often as I can, and that has caused my infestation to recede. I'm now at about 20% rock coverage with valonia, whereas before I was at almost 100%. Popping them before maturity should reduce the spores viability, especially if your water is cleaned up. Just a theory I read that made sense to me and has worked in practice. I'd be afraid to do that with one or two, but if you get enough and they start crowding out zoas an such, I was ready to try anything. Has worked out for me. Seems like with most algae outbreaks at first we freak out an want it all gone, but eventually just accept it and manage it. Haven't tried emeralds since they're difficult to get ahold of here locally. Only shop is petco and they have poor survival rates and often get only males in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+SChrisEV Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 I have a fair number of these in my tank, I never really found them to be a problem.... but just some info, I have two Emerald crabs and they don't appear interested in them at all. I also have a CBS again, no apparent interest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sascha D. Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 Ask around on this, but I don't think popping the valonia is as bad as is made out. Just think about it. If you have one or two that snuck in, and you can catch them, sure try to gently remove them, but if they manage to take hold and spread, manual removal without popping becomes all but impossible. My back and arms would give out in the time it would take to get every last one. They'll keep growing until their spores are at absolute ideal ripe maturity, then will burst on their own. Fish and crabs pop them when they eat them anyway. It's impossible to avoid once you're infested. I actually intentionally pop them when they're tiny as often as I can, and that has caused my infestation to recede. I'm now at about 20% rock coverage with valonia, whereas before I was at almost 100%. Popping them before maturity should reduce the spores viability, especially if your water is cleaned up. Just a theory I read that made sense to me and has worked in practice. I'd be afraid to do that with one or two, but if you get enough and they start crowding out zoas an such, I was ready to try anything. Has worked out for me. Seems like with most algae outbreaks at first we freak out an want it all gone, but eventually just accept it and manage it. Haven't tried emeralds since they're difficult to get ahold of here locally. Only shop is petco and they have poor survival rates and often get only males in. I don't agree that this can be effective long term. Even the small bubbles can have mature spores. They just don't have as many as the large ones. Valonia spreads by spores released from the larger bubbles. The spores free float until they attach to something. If there is light and food then they can grow. However, even if the absence of light the spores can live on dormant. That's the reason things randomly grow out of your LR months and, sometimes, years after your purchase it. If you spend months popping bubbles and each one released even one spore that attached to the live rock then you'll have a constant problem as long as you have the tank. I have a fair number of these in my tank, I never really found them to be a problem.... but just some info, I have two Emerald crabs and they don't appear interested in them at all. I also have a CBS again, no apparent interest. Cleaners always go for the easiest meal. If there is food in the sand, why go to all the trouble to go after the algae? The same thing happens to people when they buy Peppermint Shrimp for their aiptasia problem. Sure they are known to eat it, but most of the time they'll just wait for you to feed the fish and grab what's left. I said the same thing as you. I had a few bubbles and thought it wasn't very bad. One day I moved some rocks and the whole backside of my tank was covered. Thousands of bubbles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sascha D. Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 Once my tank was so covered in Valonia that I removed all of the live rock and recured it. I removed all of the corals and put it into a Brute trashcan with a powerhead. After about two weeks the bubbles started to die and disappear. I took it out after a month and the rock was pretty white and didn't have any algae on it. It won't kill the spores that haven't bloomed yet but it may help you get it under control in an extreme case. About three months ago I went through my tank and removed every bubble I could see. Yesterday I noticed four new ones sprout up right in front of the tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wade Posted April 17, 2014 Author Share Posted April 17, 2014 It's not in crisis mode yet, but I'm trying to get a handle on it before it gets there. Gotta get me an emerald or two today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sascha D. Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 Patience is a virtue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+SChrisEV Posted April 18, 2014 Share Posted April 18, 2014 Uhm, did I miss the topic change? I was referring to vermatid snails, I'm seeing stuff ab out bubble and algae. I must have missed something. I was talking about my Emeralds not touching the vermatid snails. LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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