I popped an algae bubble. What can I expect?

[Broadfield]

Yep, I pop a lot of them without any noticeable repercussions.

 

[BlueCursor]

It amazes me how widespread this lack of scientific fact has spread. Bubble algae does not reproduce by spores, like a fungi. Popping it does not help it reproduce and spread. Just the opposite.

A bubble algae bubble is actually a single cell. If you pop it you disrupt the cell membrane. Popping it is bad for the bubble algae, not the aquarium.

Reproduction, as with many single cells, occurs by asexual cell division, which become separate from the mother cell. This is why a cluster of bubbles occurs if left unchecked.

This bubble algae popping nonsense should have died with the idea of only using under gravel filters in saltwater aquariums. An antiquated idea that also plagued the hobby.

 

[Bdog4u2]

I pop them whenever I see them in my main tank it's the next best thing to bubble wrap it just can't resist it.

 

[donnievaz]

It amazes me how widespread this lack of scientific fact has spread. Bubble algae does not reproduce by spores, like a fungi. Popping it does not help it reproduce and spread. Just the opposite.

A bubble algae bubble is actually a single cell. If you pop it you disrupt the cell membrane. Popping it is bad for the bubble algae, not the aquarium.

Reproduction, as with many single cells, occurs by asexual cell division, which become separate from the mother cell. This is why a cluster of bubbles occurs if left unchecked.

This bubble algae popping nonsense should have died with the idea of only using under gravel filters in saltwater aquariums. An antiquated idea that also plagued the hobby.

How does it spread? In other words how does one seemingly appear out of nowhere on the other side of the tank from an existing cluster. Not questioning you, genuinely curious.

 

[Oldsofty]

Well i would recommend almost any method but emerald crabs! Had one once and he chased my hand everytime i put it in the tank. He had it out for me! No more crabs in my tank...but maybe you will get a nice crab.

 

[BlueCursor]

It spreads by dividing. But the new cell (bubble) is super small and can detach and float to other areas of the tank.

You do want to manually get the bubbles out of your aquarium if possible, but avoiding popping them is a waste of time. Popping does nothing to promote the spread of bubble algae.

 

[BlueCursor]

Well i would recommend almost any method but emerald crabs! Had one once and he chased my hand everytime i put it in the tank. He had it out for me! No more crabs in my tank...but maybe you will get a nice crab.

Funny. I always go for the small emeralds. They don't pinch as hard as the big ones, and the LFS likes it better capturing the small ones. Unfortunately, they sometimes grow big.

 

[lotus]

Pop them all the time, never had an outbreak. All the rhetoric about not popping them or else you'll be plagued with new ones is , based on reports of unscientific observers. I'd add further, someone, somewhere, at one time thought this up and it caught os as fact. Fact is it false. I've been in SW aquariums for 51 years and have never had an outbreak from popping bubble algae. It's fun, go ahead and pop them suckers. Enjoy life without worry.

I agree but mostly like the "enjoy life without worry" part !!