Bubble Algae growing ON/IN my coral. How to kill it without killing the coral?

sjm817 · 11/25/2006, 05:11 PM

This Bubble algae is from the Devil himself! Very frustrating. I keep my tank up pretty well, never once seen shred of HA, but this BA is killing me.

I have a new 180G up and running with all new LR for fear of transferring any BA in from the 90G. I have some nice LPS Torches, frogspawn's, hammer, etc that I want to move to the new tank. There is BA growing in the branches of the coral. I can clean out what is visible, but all it takes is one tiny leftover piece to infect the new tank. How can I be SURE the item is BA free before I move it to the new tank?

acmeguy · 11/25/2006, 08:06 PM

Emerald Crabs eat the stuff...

sjm817 · 11/25/2006, 08:16 PM

I have 5 of them. They haven't done anything. I dont need the BA removed from the tank. The 90G is getting torn down. What I'm looking for is a way to clean the coral I'm removing from the 90 that is gong into the 180. I dont want to risk introducing BA into the new tank.

foshizzle · 11/25/2006, 08:30 PM

Try removing all the visible BA from the coral and place in BA free "quarantine" for a while before moving to the new tank to make sure it is all gone. might throw the emerald crabs in there too

reefnetworth · 11/26/2006, 12:05 AM

i have a Foxface Lo that loves em. i had just couple bubbles, 5-8 and in one week they were gone. i wached him eat one of them. 90 gallon will be adequate room for one. they are slightly (dorsil fin) poisonous, somewhat like a bee-sting, so ive heard. mine is very dosil. just a thought. have a great weekend.

John,

sjm817 · 11/26/2006, 12:15 AM

Besides the 5 Emerald Crabs that haven't touched the stuff, I do also have a Foxface. It has no interest what so ever in the BA.

The "coral QT" tank is something I was thinking of. I may go that route.

kae · 11/26/2006, 07:25 AM

I used to see my yellow boxfish ate bubble algae.

Randy Holmes-Farley · 11/26/2006, 08:47 AM

I don't know of a way to be 100% sure that it is free of bubble algae spores or tiny bubbles short of bleaching it. But careful scrubbing with a brush can get most live rock fairly clean. But inside of branches of a coral? Maybe a toothbrush.

FWIW, this isn't really a chemical question, so I'll move it to the main forum.

sjm817 · 11/26/2006, 09:06 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Randy Holmes-Farley
I don't know of a way to be 100% sure that it is free of bubble algae spores or tiny bubbles short of bleaching it. But careful scrubbing with a brush can get most live rock fairly clean. But inside of branches of a coral? Maybe a toothbrush.

FWIW, this isn't really a chemical question, so I'll move it to the main forum.

I thought maybe a FW dip, or something like that or another "chemistry" answer would be available. Besides this forum has some really good talent, so I wanted to tap the expertise here.

jdieck · 11/26/2006, 09:15 AM

Actually if the coral is healthy BA will not grow on the branches. If you have some it might just be trapped from floating around.

sjm817 · 11/26/2006, 09:22 AM

The coral is very healthy, but the BA is growing in it, not just stuck in there.

You can see the LPS in this pic. The BA is growing in the branches. It also grows on the underside of that Cap.

sloshesv · 11/26/2006, 09:25 AM

Here's some cold water BA:

Kinda perty

easye123 · 11/26/2006, 09:39 AM

i had tonsof BA on my LR and just let it sit in FW for several minutes and srubbed the spots . i have never seen it since. but ur s was on your corals, so i dont know if you can dip the corals in fw for very long but if u can scrub it off that would help.

jdieck · 11/26/2006, 09:48 AM

Yes branches of Euphylias and Trumpeths will grow them, just use a cutter to pry them off and a good strong brsttle brush (I use a small stailess steel brush for the hard part of the branch.

Lev F. · 11/26/2006, 09:49 AM

Try using some thin forceps and gently picking the algae off the coral. Otherwise, I don't think It does very much harm to the coral, correct me if i'm wrong.

and one note about the Foxface Sting:

Quote:

somewhat like a bee-sting

More like getting your hand superglued into a hive of angry hornets for about 5 hours

Sk8r · 11/26/2006, 10:44 AM

Take it down to the lfs and ask them to let a big tang graze on it for the day. The fish will be happy and your piece will get clean.

sjm817 · 11/26/2006, 04:18 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Dragonet_Dude
and one note about the Foxface Sting:

More like getting your hand superglued into a hive of angry hornets for about 5 hours

Yeah. I am so looking forward (NOT) to getting him out of the 90 and into the 180.

Quote:

Originally posted by Sk8r
Take it down to the lfs and ask them to let a big tang graze on it for the day. The fish will be happy and your piece will get clean.

Thats actually a pretty good idea. Right now, I have them out of the tank in a BA QT tank. The BA cleaned off pretty easily, but I want to leave it in the QT for a week or so and be sure I didn't miss any.

Randy Holmes-Farley · 11/27/2006, 11:09 AM

I thought maybe a FW dip, or something like that or another "chemistry" answer would be available.

OK, that's fine. I just don't know of one.

Since the chemistry forum is now located right under the main forum, some folks mistakenly send it to chemistry when they intend the main forum.

11/25/2006, 05:11 PM	#1
sjm817 On Yer left! Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Northern VA Posts: 18,777	Bubble Algae growing ON/IN my coral. How to kill it without killing the coral? This Bubble algae is from the Devil himself! Very frustrating. I keep my tank up pretty well, never once seen shred of HA, but this BA is killing me. I have a new 180G up and running with all new LR for fear of transferring any BA in from the 90G. I have some nice LPS Torches, frogspawn's, hammer, etc that I want to move to the new tank. There is BA growing in the branches of the coral. I can clean out what is visible, but all it takes is one tiny leftover piece to infect the new tank. How can I be SURE the item is BA free before I move it to the new tank? __________________ - Scott

11/25/2006, 08:06 PM	#2
acmeguy Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Calgary, Alberta, Canada Posts: 72	Emerald Crabs eat the stuff... __________________ Nature has a cruel way of rebelling both inside and outside the glass box. Current Tank Info: 72x24x24 Starphire Glass, sump/ref combo, AQUA C 240 w MAG 18, MRC FMC 627 w GFO & Carbon, E. A. 40 W strlizr, Oceanlight 3 x 250, 4 x 39w T5, Tunze Streams.

11/25/2006, 08:16 PM	#3
sjm817 On Yer left! Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Northern VA Posts: 18,777	I have 5 of them. They haven't done anything. I dont need the BA removed from the tank. The 90G is getting torn down. What I'm looking for is a way to clean the coral I'm removing from the 90 that is gong into the 180. I dont want to risk introducing BA into the new tank. __________________ - Scott

11/26/2006, 12:05 AM	#5
reefnetworth Premium Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: U.S.A. Posts: 3,810	i have a Foxface Lo that loves em. i had just couple bubbles, 5-8 and in one week they were gone. i wached him eat one of them. 90 gallon will be adequate room for one. they are slightly (dorsil fin) poisonous, somewhat like a bee-sting, so ive heard. mine is very dosil. just a thought. have a great weekend. John, __________________ GIVE A MAN A FISH, YOU FEED HIM FOR A DAY. TEACH A MAN TO FISH, HE FEEDS HIMSELF FOR LIFE. (NEVER, underestimate another man's greed) Current Tank Info: SPS dominated barebottom display with BB sump since 2005, most consistant parameters in 19+ years of reefkeeping.

11/26/2006, 12:15 AM	#6
sjm817 On Yer left! Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Northern VA Posts: 18,777	Besides the 5 Emerald Crabs that haven't touched the stuff, I do also have a Foxface. It has no interest what so ever in the BA. The "coral QT" tank is something I was thinking of. I may go that route. __________________ - Scott

11/25/2006, 08:30 PM	#4
foshizzle Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 483	Try removing all the visible BA from the coral and place in BA free "quarantine" for a while before moving to the new tank to make sure it is all gone. might throw the emerald crabs in there too

11/26/2006, 07:25 AM	#7
kae Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Bangkok, Thailand Posts: 322	I used to see my yellow boxfish ate bubble algae. Last edited by kae; 11/26/2006 at 07:43 AM.

11/26/2006, 08:47 AM	#8
Randy Holmes-Farley Reef Chemist Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Arlington, Massachusetts Posts: 86,233	I don't know of a way to be 100% sure that it is free of bubble algae spores or tiny bubbles short of bleaching it. But careful scrubbing with a brush can get most live rock fairly clean. But inside of branches of a coral? Maybe a toothbrush. FWIW, this isn't really a chemical question, so I'll move it to the main forum. __________________ Randy Holmes-Farley Current Tank Info: 120 mixed reef

11/26/2006, 09:15 AM	#10
jdieck Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Maumee, OH Posts: 15,673	Actually if the coral is healthy BA will not grow on the branches. If you have some it might just be trapped from floating around. __________________ Did I write what I wrote? What the heck am I talking about! Well..... Nevermind. Current Tank Info: 225 gal reef, DSB, 40 g sump w/ LRT100 return, 37 g pre-sump, 3 MH 250 W 15K, 4 96 W PC dual actinic,ETS 1500 Skim.w/LRT70, 20 lb Ca R., 40 W UV, 1/3 HP chiller, two 350 W Htrs, Neptune II Cont., 330 P LR/ 330 P LS. 55 gal Refugium

11/26/2006, 09:22 AM	#11
sjm817 On Yer left! Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Northern VA Posts: 18,777	The coral is very healthy, but the BA is growing in it, not just stuck in there. You can see the LPS in this pic. The BA is growing in the branches. It also grows on the underside of that Cap. __________________ - Scott

11/26/2006, 09:25 AM	#12
sloshesv Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: ft myers, fl Posts: 723	Here's some cold water BA: Kinda perty __________________ It's just sloshesv, your Honor Current Tank Info: 55 gallon reef, 20 gal seahorse and leaf fish

11/26/2006, 09:39 AM	#13
easye123 Registered Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Dallas, TX Posts: 1,505	i had tonsof BA on my LR and just let it sit in FW for several minutes and srubbed the spots . i have never seen it since. but ur s was on your corals, so i dont know if you can dip the corals in fw for very long but if u can scrub it off that would help. __________________ Loading...... Current Tank Info: 90g BB sps 30g sump. 2x175w mh. 2x110w vho act. Vortech. tunze 6025. ER rs 135. TLF phos. ACjr

11/26/2006, 09:48 AM	#14
jdieck Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Maumee, OH Posts: 15,673	Yes branches of Euphylias and Trumpeths will grow them, just use a cutter to pry them off and a good strong brsttle brush (I use a small stailess steel brush for the hard part of the branch. __________________ Did I write what I wrote? What the heck am I talking about! Well..... Nevermind. Current Tank Info: 225 gal reef, DSB, 40 g sump w/ LRT100 return, 37 g pre-sump, 3 MH 250 W 15K, 4 96 W PC dual actinic,ETS 1500 Skim.w/LRT70, 20 lb Ca R., 40 W UV, 1/3 HP chiller, two 350 W Htrs, Neptune II Cont., 330 P LR/ 330 P LS. 55 gal Refugium

11/26/2006, 10:44 AM	#16
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	Take it down to the lfs and ask them to let a big tang graze on it for the day. The fish will be happy and your piece will get clean. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

11/27/2006, 11:09 AM	#18
Randy Holmes-Farley Reef Chemist Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Arlington, Massachusetts Posts: 86,233	I thought maybe a FW dip, or something like that or another "chemistry" answer would be available. OK, that's fine. I just don't know of one. Since the chemistry forum is now located right under the main forum, some folks mistakenly send it to chemistry when they intend the main forum. __________________ Randy Holmes-Farley Current Tank Info: 120 mixed reef