bubble algae/emrald question?

[yellowtail]

someone told me to get 2-3 emrald crabs to clean up my bubble algae in my tank... so...
are they reef safe?
do i need to feed?
how many to get?
thanks!

 

[kpk]

yep i would try 2 and maybe after you get rid of the bubble algae trade them in or feed them sheets. a few of mine died from starvation i think.

 

[bentrue]

just a note of caution...i have had emeralds that completely ripped apart a sand sifting star before. i have also had some that peacfully co-existed. go figure, i guess that is part of this hobby.

 

[kpk]

oh yeah and they like snails too, but they did tak right to the bubble algae. give em a try and then trade them in.

 

[clarkiiboi]

I got a bit mad (for a cleaned up word) at mine. It scrapped at my coralline and made my LR look horrible. I soon traded it in......so with that said, I learned something new since then. You need to look for ones with orange/reddish joints, those seem to be the reef safe ones. I traded mine in before knowing this and have no idea if it had these joints or not. Just something to consider. HTH

 

[yellowtail]

thank you all so much:joy: . so i should get 4? would it be ok to only get 2 or would it take forever to get rid of my bubble algae?
also would they be ok without algae sheets until the bubble is gone?
last question.............i promise(

).when you say they like snails will they eat mine?
(listed above)