ID needed please

[dankent]

Can anyone tell me what this is .. and what to expect from it.

im looking for ID on the little green bubble on my live rock. there are about 5 -8 of these on the same rock ... no where else though. there are about 2 in this picture.


dan


Thanks in advance.



dan

 

[Fluff]

It looks like valonia. aka bubble algae. it will spread. If you want to get rid of it, you can twist them off the rock. Be very careful not to pop it though because it will release spores and spread it even farther. It's best to remove the rock to do this. If you can, have a bucket of sw ready and rinse the rock after removing the algae before putt the rock back in the tank. Other ways to get rid of it you could try are competing macros like cheato. They will out compete the algae for available nutrients. Or, lots of water changes. If you aren't using RO/DI water for your top off and water changes, switching to that will help.

 

[neilster1]

emerald crabs generally eat bubble algae along with other "leftovers".

 

[ianrich147]

i had bubble algae i got 2 emrald crabs havent had any since

 

[Fluff]

Emerald crabs are not always a guarantee. My emeralds never touched the stuff and I've read just as many posts that they won't eat it as posts that they do. It's a crap shoot and sometimes you get lucky. I'm always against adding fish or critters to control issues that can be controlled by just adjusting husbandry practices. But, that's just me.

 

[dankent]

well its easy enough to take the rock out and remove it manually and rinse it .. so i will do this .. I do use Ro/Di water, and do 20% percent water change every week .. my nitrates were 0 as of last test as i write them all down when i do them ... wonder what else could be causeing this.

 

[Fluff]

Algaes of all types are normal and some are actually attractive. Keep doing what you are doing to control it, remove if you feel that's necessary or it's spreading quickly. The algae will work as a nutrient export the same as other macros and could be why your not getting a nitrate reading. Personal experience, I have had bubble algae twice. Once was on new live rock and once it popped up on a new coral frag. Neither time did I bother to remove it. It died out on it's own over time and all I did was a few extra water changes.

 

[dankent]

ok thanks ... will give it some time ... its not bothering me just leaving it, will see as next week the tank will be moved and i will emptying the water to a rubermaid container for the fish and crabs/snails/hermits and the live rock will be in there as well .. hehe maybe 2 rubermaids .. hehe now that i think of it, So will see how it goes .. Thanks again all for the responses.