Green Bubble Algae?

[revhtree]

I am seeing alot more of that green bubble algae in my tank lately.
What is it?
What causes it?
How do I get rid of it?

Thanks!

 

[revhtree]

Here is a very crude and bad picture of it, but you get the point.

 

[SquishyFish]

Its just a type of nuisance algae. It feeds off the same things that other algaes feed off of. PO4, trates, silicates...that type thing. They reproduce by breaking open and releasing the spore into the water column. So, obviously you dont want to do that. I would suggest trying to gently remove them by hand. Have a hose primed and ready to pull out some of the surrounding water if you happen to break a few. If I'm not mistaken...emerald crabs will eat them too.

Squishy

 

[SoylentGrundy]

After adding emerald crabs to my tank, the bubble algae went from being trouble to virtually non-existant. Although if you think crabs are evil, i've also heard of plucking the bubbles off and using the siphon tube to suck up the spores.

 

[Overstocker]

What happens to the emerald crabs when the algae is gone? Are they reef safe?

 

[Atari]

It's an omnivore so it's not going to stop at algae...

 

[Biggen]

I have the same garbage growing in my tank. I try and remove the larger pieces by hand. You would be surprised how tough the skin on those bubbles are. They don't break easy but you should still be careful handling them so they don't pop.

Every time I go into the LFS, I am tempted to purchase those emeralds to see if they will take care of it. But I am very leary of crabs. The hermits I have make me nervous at times.

 

[SoylentGrundy]

I supplement my emeralds w/ dried kelp and they mow algae off of LR. They've never picked on my snails....yet?....

 

[revhtree]

Well the bubbles are ever increasingly on the rise!!! What can I do? They are tough and spread out on the rocks.

 

[jamal-188]

My 4 emerald crabs don't really eat my bubble algae. Every once in a while I have a few pop up but that's about it. BTW, to my knowledge I've never had any issues with the emeralds bothering anything in my reef tank.

Rev, I'd try to just remove as many as possible by hand. In time the numbers sould begin to dwindle. As others mentoned try not to pop them!

 

[Overstocker]

I bought an emerald crab and it has not touched the bubble algae. It has not touched the shrooms or polyps either though......Now that I think of it I'm not sure what it is eating..

 

[seaham358]

I had 3 emeralds in my 125 and when I had BA they never ate it. I removed them by hand.

 

[BlueDolphin]

One of my rocks had bubble algae covering it - and I was tempted to try and remove it (although I thought it was pretty at the same time), but I just left it alone. Currently the rock is completely free from the algae ... :|

 

[SoylentGrundy]

Was in a LFS the other day and saw an emerald crab in a tank nipping the ends off of a rock flower anemone. Again and again. Didn't know they'd do that! What crabs aren't evil... (other than a dead one!)

 

[BillyZ]

What crabs aren't evil... (other than a dead one!)

one thats fed. In most cases, animals have a "preferred food" and will eat that whenever it's available. if it's not available, it still wants to survive and will take whatever it can get. If your crabs have enough of its preferred food it will leave your other critters alone.

In regards to the bubble algae; I like them! 8O I've only pulled out a few that have gotten extremely large (3-4 inches in diameter) but have left the rest alone and I do not have a problem with them in my tank (as in i don't have very many). My 55 has probably.. 3 or 4 that might be around 1" and maybe a dozen or so less than 1/2" (which is hardly noticeable) If you're going to remove them then the sooner the better. Their skin is quite firm, but the larger they get the thinner their skin becomes. Simply grab hold of them and twist slightly while wiggling them back and forth until their root lets go of the rock.

 

[flynnternet]

Interesting. My experience is the opposite. The small ones break easier in my tank, but the large ones are tough and can be easily removed.

I have also been fighting a losing battle with the stuff. I just remove some every week. Hopefully one day it'll be gone.