Weird "bubbles" on Strawberry Shortcake

[Nerdist Aquarist]

I noticed these strange bubbles on my frag of Strawberry Shortcake. Started as 1 or 2, but they seem to multiply over time. They've been present for a few months now. Any clue what these are?

 

[gentlefish]

They would look mobile to me in the water flow. It looked like bubble algae. You want to dislodge them into a siphon to make sure that no spores remain. Emerald crabs have been reported as well, I have never tried.

 

[gentlefish]

Oh by the way, I am a bit jealous of your beautiful colony!

 

[C. Eymann]

This is usually described as mucosal cell hyperplasia in corals, if the underlying skeletons formation also shows growth anomalies I have heard Borneman refer to it as calicoblasticepithelioma.

Not much solid information o
is out there regarding what causes it, some in the hobby believe its due to excessive UV light, but that is purely speculation.

In some cases have seen it come and go without and damage or distress done to the coral, but a few times though, it became the starting point for tissue recession and required "amputation" of the affected branch to save the colony

 

[2021 reefer]

Bounce sps?! Mind blown. Never seen one before. Maybe it will fetch insane prices like the bounce mushrooms lol