IF YOUR REEF AQUARIUM IS MORE THAN FOUR MONTHS OLD AND THE MAIN PROBLEM ALGAE IS A LIGHT GREEN FILM GROWNING ON THE GLASS AND ROCKS - YOUR REEF HAS A GREEN ALGAE BLOOM. GREEN ALGAE CONTROL

IF YOUR REEF AQUARIUM IS MORE THAN FOUR MONTHS OLD AND THE MAIN PROBLEM ALGAE IS A DARK PURPLE RED SLIME ON THE GLASS AND ROCKS - YOUR REEF HAS A CYANOBACTERIA BLOOM. RED SLIME ALGAE CONTROL

IF YOUR REEF AQUARIUM IS MORE THAN FOUR MONTHS OLD AND THE MAIN PROBLEM ALGAE IS A DARK GREEN HAIR ON CORALS AND ROCKS - YOUR REEF HAS A HAIR ALGAE BLOOM. HAIR ALGAE CONTROL

IF YOUR REEF AQUARIUM IS MORE THAN SIX MONTHS OLD AND THE MAIN ALGAE IS LIGHT PINK AND PURPLE SPOTS ON THE GLASS AND ROCKS - YOUR REEF HAS CORALINE ALGAE .

Clibanarius digueti

Species is usually red in appearance with expanded chromatophores forming blue spots over their cheliped (claws) and walking legs. The antennae and antennules are bright red. The tips of all legs are also red or orange.

This small crab is the best algae eating hermit crab we have tested. Chibanarius digueti feeds on algae that grows on the rocky substrate and mangrove roots.
C. digueti occupies a large variety of shells. This hermit crab is found in the oldest coraline incrusted shells. I have found entire colonies in broken sand worn shells. The crabs from La paz often occupied such a strange assortment of shells that I could identify the colonies before I looked at the crabs.
Both the Blue leg hermits and the red San Sabastion crabs always are collected in clean fresh shells. Both of these crabs have eaten snails in my reef tanks. I have kept C. digurti in reef tanks in colonies of over 10 crabs per gallon with many types of snails.

These red legged crabs are very effective at eating hair algae. I have observed many small C. digueti settle in the center of patches of hair algae and stay there for several days until they have cleared a patch over one inch in diameter. This small hermit crab will clean red sponges and small polyp colonies and not damage them in any way. I have watched these crabs clean red cyanabacteria from new woods polyps and not damage the cuttings.
In nature C. digueti feeds by scavenging the algae that has started to decay from being exposed at low tide. I often find large groups of these hermit crabs on algae covered rocks.

A very important item are the Mexican Red Leg Hermit Crabs. These little suckers are amazing! I had several rocks which had Cyanobacteria red slime algae covering them from the old system.

The morning after adding the crabs I witnessed "Herds" of about 6 or 7 crabs each that would concentrate on a rock at a time, totally eliminating the Cyanobacteria I have never heard of a cyanobacteria eating critter like this and it seems they actually prefer it! A week later, my tank was almost completely free of red slime.

I have not seen them harm anything in the tank. I even tested this in another tank. I placed a small rock fully covered in Cyanobacteria and 8 crabs in a 10 gallon tank for 4 hours. In 4 hours, the rock was about 50% clean!*

* Letter from The Sea Star
        A monthly publication for the
         marine aquarium hobbyist
    by the  President - Tim L. Weidauer
Wasatch Marine Society in Salt Lake City, UT.

MIXED ALGAE EATING SNAILS OUR FINEST MIXTURE OF HARDY VEGETARIAN MARINE SNAILS THAT CAN CLEAN BETWEEN THE ROCKS AND KEEP THE GLASS FREE OF ALGAE THIS MIXTURE CONTAINS THE PROPER BLEND OF ALGAE EATING SNAILS

CERITH SNAIL Family Cerithiidae (CERITHS) Cerithium strercusmuscarum

NERITE SNAIL Family Neritidae Nerita funiculata

Brown and black round algae eater. Active glass cleaner This species of Mexican Nerite is the best one we have tested. IT STAYS IN AQUARIUM
Compared with astraea, it is slower and much better at removing all the algae and diatoms from the rocks and glass. This snail does not leave an algae film on the glass. It is also listed in Julian Sprung's Reef Aquarium as a good algae eater.

One half inch round shell with ridges. Found only on smooth rocks below average lowest tide. The choice of reef expert Larry Read.
COST EACH $2.98
SUGGESTED RETAIL

TURBAN SNAIL
Family Trochidae
(TROCUS)
Tegula subaperta

Brown rounded turbin shaped algae eater 1Ó. Active glass cleaner and sand stirrer. Cleans glass like astrea and cleans sand. This small black snail will not move rocks or damage any invertebrates. This is my pick for algae control - LeRoy. This is the only snail we have tested that divides itÕs time between cleaning the glass and digging in the sand. Long lived reef aquarium janitor!! COST EACH $2.49
SUGGESTED RETAIL

REEF AQUARIUM JANITOR ORDER FORM

GARF GRUNGE* HAS A VERY LARGE NUMBER OF CORALINE ALGAE SPECIES IN IT.

NO WILD LIVE SAND CAN HAVE THE BIODIVERSITY FOUND IN THIS ACTIVATOR!

Reef aquariums require a large variety of organisms to filter the water properly. Aquarium habitat is very different from ocean habitat.

Live Sand from a natural reef is good for starting marine aquariums, but each location on a reef has a limited number of species. Poor packing and shipping methods further deplete this fragile wild population.

We have been keeping an unbroken chain of successful reef aquariums in Idaho since 1977. Several times during this period we have had over 100 aquariums. We have researched captive breeding of such diverse species as Chambered Nautilus and Acropora coral.

LIVE ROCK RESEARCH

During the last year I was able to purchase over 1000 lbs. of the live sand and rubble from the bottom of the live rock holding tanks at several of the most famous live rockers.

This mixture was much more than just live sand!! Hundreds of invertebrates from the tons of live rock held in these tanks are now reproducing here in Idaho.

RESEARCH COLLECTING TRIPS

Last year Tom Frakes and I Explored Coronado Island in the Sea of Cortez. We found a bay with sand made up of branching coraline algae fragments. This coraline is the fastest growing dark purple and blue types I have found.

TRY LIVE SAND ACTIVATOR

0NE POUND FOR EACH THREE GALLONS WILL ACTIVATE TWO INCHES OF ARAGONITE SAND
ADD ONE POUND PER 10 GALLONS TO IMPROVE WILD LIVE SAND!

Òthe most important part. This is a "Grunge" from G.A.R.F. What the stuff contains is a culture of sand, coral rubble, small reef rocks, macro-algae, annelid worms, small pieces of sponges and corals, snails and crabs that is some of the coolest stuff I have ever seen!

I still keep seeing different things I didn't see before. We got 10 pounds about a week after the system was set up and mixed it in with the top layer of sand. This really gave the reef a pleasing natural look since it is very coarse and has a lot of color to itÓ *

Letter from The Sea Star
     A monthly publication 
    for the marine aquarium hobbyist
 by the  President - Tim L. Weidauer
Wasatch Marine Society in Salt Lake City, UT.