bubble algea

[J_Geisinger000]

my tank is getting way to much of this stuff what can I do to get rid of it?

and what causes it?

my params are:
ammonia 0
nitrate 0
nitrite 0
phosphates 0

I know my phosphate test shows 0 and I run phosban in a reactor????

I dont know where its coming from?

[nemofish2217]

i think emerald crabs eat the stuff....

[J_Geisinger000]

nah dont want any emerald crabs dont trust them

[roons]

mine didnt eat it anyways, i have 2 foot tweezers, if i can get to it i pop it then grab the skin and yank it(no comments from the peanut gallery )

[J_Geisinger000]

I'm wondering what is causing it to grow so much in my tank?

I have popped some and pulled it out during water changes but lately its been a never ending battle

[ron burgandy]

Popping them is what makes them spread. Trust me, I've been there. It's ok to manually remove them, but don't pop them. I bought a magnificant foxface and they suddenly went away.

[roons]

who knows, i run ozone, my chaeto is growing like crazy , no readings of any sort yet i still get the stuff..................after battling cyano pretty bad and winning the fight i can look at it and smile....................

[roons]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6772377#post6772377 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ron burgandy
Popping them is what makes them spread. Trust me, I've been there. It's ok to manually remove them, but don't pop them. I bought a magnificant foxface and they suddenly went away.


i havent found this but that doesnt mean it isnt true.............sometimes with the tuffer skinned ones i can twist em out like a marble

[J_Geisinger000]

so maybe if I just dont touch it at all

it will run its course and go away?

[jvetter]

I have a few dozen in my 30 gal tank. You really do not notice them unless you are really looking. They grow so slow that coralline algae often ends up overgrowing some of them. Every few months I twist and pull some of them off (without popping them). I have put several emerald crabs in the tank, but they do not come out much.

Everything I have read about them strongly states that you should not pop them unless you want to have a bubble algae tank.

It could be much worse, be glad that you do not have a hair algae problem.

[J_Geisinger000]

but has anyone had it go away?

[mbunaman]

Popping them is an old wise tale. There is no scientific backing on this. Figure when Emerald crabs eat them they pop them open. I had a problem with them on some marshall island rock I got in the begginging and my 4 emeralds ate all the bubble algae. It has been 8 months since I have last seen this stuff. I never had any problems with the emeralds around anything in my tank including corals, snails, shrimp or fish. Hope this can help you out.

[J_Geisinger000]

^^

[fgarvine]

pull them or twist them off gently. Popping them is not proven to spread them, but I would not chance it. It's not really a "bad" algae to have.

[ugination87]

either get an emeral crab, or gently twist and pull.. helps to have long fingernails so u can grab the base. but dont pop it in the water or spores will spread.

[sds]

I have had someone tell me it would run its course. I had and still have some bubble algae but it is starting to go away. I dont know why it is going away unless the emerald crabs I put in have finally started eating it. Good luck

[rags111875]

i too am interested if anyone has had this stuff go away. i have alot in my tank. mostly taking over some nice zoa's. my readings are same as your's. my foxface hasnt touched the stuff, nor have the emeralds i added.

[spidey07]

I just remove the rock, take them out carefully without popping and then rinse with ro/di.

when I did pop them they would always come back. when I didn't they wouldn't.

[graveyardworm]

Here's (http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-02/hcj/feature/index.php) a link that may help. I've been fighting BA for about 2 years. I've had very little luck. Emerald crabs helped alittle, foxface helped alittle. Manual removal works, but as you can see popping the bubbles is controversial. I did have some luck with a siphon to pull away possible spores while pulling them out. If you leave any part of the carcass it will grow into a new one. From what I can tell and have heard it can grow quite well even in a low nutrient environment. My next attempt is manual removal in conjunction with a flourishing refugium with various macro, and emeralds. My experience with emeralds is that they do help, but they will only work on the smaller more tender bubbles. The larger more mature/tough ones are up to you.

[elwaine]

Bubble algae, like Aptasia, can be controlled - but not eradicated (unless you are lucky). Don't freak out over it. Sooner or later you are bound to pick up bubble algae and Aptasia - unless you are fortunate enough to have a quarantine tank... and then, even so, you may wind up with these "pests." Simply remove what you can, and don't worry about the rest.

In my experience, emerald crabs do little to nothing about controlling bubble algae. They can, however, cause problems on their own. I like Emerald crabs; however, I will never again keep a hairy, large clawed crab in my tank - Just my $.02

[Minuteman]

Between my 2 emerald crabs and my foxface, I haven't seen a piece of valonia for months. I did pull a piece of LR and put it in my QT with a resulting huge appearance of it, which tells me there are still spores in my display, but the crabs and foxface are keeping it eaten down.

[fishdoc11]

FWIW bubble algae will hang on in lower nutrient systems but will really take off if nutrients get elevated. Running the Fe based P removers only takes out inorganic phosphate(Pi) not organic phosphate(P) from what I understand so the algae still has the P to grow(especially if you had a problem before you added the P remover and the source still exists). I have had good luck with manual removal along with a few emeralds. Some people have luck with foxfaces and sailfin tangs but lots fish that will eat it will not eat it if they are well fed otherwise.
hth, Chris