Help identify

TNix · Feb 5, 2023

I’m very new to reefing
Found this on my Duncan after in my tank for 2 weeks
There was also one down inside
Can you help me identify? Thanks

ISpeakForTheSeas · Feb 5, 2023

TNix said:
I’m very new to reefing
Found this on my Duncan after in my tank for 2 weeks
There was also one down inside
Can you help me identify? Thanks

Assuming you're talking about the little ball on the coral, it looks like bubble algae to me. Most people consider bubble algae a pest algae, as it tends to spread relatively quickly and not much eats it. So, manually removing any you can see would probably be the recommended course of action (most people would probably recommend removing it in a tub of saltwater outside of the display tank - I don't know that it's necessary, but that's what most people would probably recommend).

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

Kaisentlaia · Feb 6, 2023

Agree with @ISpeakForTheSeas. I have a bunch of bubble algae I've been trying to get rid of and it's a chore, try to act before it becomes a problem.

Removing it outside the tank is a good idea to prevent spores/pieces floating away and attaching somewhere else. If you can't, siphoning them out during a water change would be the best course of action. I do that by attaching a metal tool suitable for scraping on the end of the tubing I use to siphon out water, and when I scrape the bubbles they get sucked out.

If you can remove the frag and want to be extra sure to get it all out, I've found that 3% peroxide kills my BA in a couple of days. Get some saltwater ready (I use old water from a WC), some peroxide, a pipette or a syringe, take out the frag, scrape away the bubbles (underwater works better, I use a small bowl with some old SW for that), dribble some peroxide on the frag plug (AVOID coral tissue), let it sit there in the air for a minute, put in a small container/cup with some old SW and let it sizzle for another 3-4 minutes, rinse well with more SW and put back in the tank.

Edit: be extra careful and do multiple rinsing if you have BTAs, xenia you don't want to kill or Lysmata shrimp, I've read they're expecially sensitive to peroxide.