Confirm Bubble Algae

[eliaslikesfish]

 

[19Mateo83]

Yep, it’s bubble algae. I have 3 emeralds in my 50g and still have bubble algae. They do help though

 

[paragrouper]

I keep 3 emeralds in a 32 gallon tank. I had to help them by removing what I could in the beginning, but they got in the groove and now mine is under control

 

[tharbin]

Yup, that's bubble algae. Emerald Crabs, Pitho Crabs, Foxfaces and even some Tangs will help but manual removal will almost for sure also be needed. It is one of the algae that is very hard to totally eliminate but it can be controlled with herbivores and manual intervention quite effectively.

 

[mbmax]

confirmed.

 

[BubblesandSqueak]

That’s also a lot.

 

[BubblesandSqueak]

I’ve heard but can’t confirm yet. Pitho crab better than Emerald

 

[Rjukan]

Came back from vaca today and found some lovely algae, just want to confirm before I go out and invest in some emeralds, would 1 be enough for 40g ?

Wow how long were you away for? That's quite the infestation.

Tbh, nothing will make a dent in that much bubble algae imo. It's going to be you picking them out one by one, or clumps at a time for you to win that war. Possibly having an emerald who actually eats algae and not corals, will help keep it at bay as you manually remove them. Or... that crab might decide your LPS or softies are a better meal.

 

[Kodock]

That’s a lot to have popped up over a vacation, unless it was a really long one. If it wasn’t a 40g, I’ve had a scopas and a gem tang eat and/or pop them and eradicate them from my tank. I never had luck with anything else.

 

[eliaslikesfish]

it’s gonna be a long sunday… how should i go about picking them out?

 

[slingfox]

it’s gonna be a long sunday… how should i go about picking them out?

Remove rock from tank and scrape them with some sort of metal tool or hard bristle brush..

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

it’s gonna be a long sunday… how should i go about picking them out?

Personally I have found the fastest way is to get a butter knife or something and shave the rock then vacuum them out. Turn the flow off while doing this of course.

 

[Rjukan]

it’s gonna be a long sunday… how should i go about picking them out?

I would just pick and pop them, like a teenager
But seriously, they don't contain spores or anything to worry about them spreading more than they already are. Give the rock a nice toothbrushing when you're done. Further manual removal becomes easier after the large mass is removed.

 

[eliaslikesfish]

Personally I have found the fastest way is to get a butter knife or something and shave the rock then vacuum them out. Turn the flow off while doing this of course.

taking the rock out is gonna be a bit difficult, i have an anemone on it as well as a duncan and a hammer, what should I do about that?

 

[seahuy]

My friend, that is plague proportion, u need to take ur rock out and over the course of 2-3 months, spray them with h2o2 diluted to combat them

 

[Rjukan]

I wouldn't take such extreme measures until you tried in tank solutions first.

Little bubbles like that are a pain, since they are harder to pry out with your fingers. I would either let them get larger then remove, or use a wood skewer for bbq kabobs.. and pry them loose with the non pointy end.

 

[eliaslikesfish]

I wouldn't take such extreme measures until you tried in tank solutions first.

Little bubbles like that are a pain, since they are harder to pry out with your fingers. I would either let them get larger then remove, or use a wood skewer for bbq kabobs.. and pry them loose with the non pointy end.

thank you, once i pry them off the rock i assume i’ll need to siphon them out once they’re off the rock?

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

taking the rock out is gonna be a bit difficult, i have an anemone on it as well as a duncan and a hammer, what should I do about that?

Shave the rock while it’s in the tank. Then use the syphon to vacuum out the bubbles. They are very light and easily siphoned. Like doing water change

 

[eliaslikesfish]

Shave the rock while it’s in the tank. Then use the syphon to vacuum out the bubbles. They are very light and easily siphoned. Like doing water change

thank you! i didn’t think taking everything out was going to be necessary (yet), glad you could confirm.

 

[Rjukan]

thank you, once i pry them off the rock i assume i’ll need to siphon them out once they’re off the rock?

I've always kept a small container near the top of the tank and dropped them in by hand as I removed them.