bubble algae

cruzin94066 · 02/27/2006, 09:28 AM

I have a 12 gallon nano reef tank with some polyps, leather, frog spawn, zenias and mushrooms. What can I put in there to help take care of or minimize bubble algae besides an emerald crab because I am scared that I may not have enough food for it after awhile and it may turn on to eating my invertebrates(peppermint shrimp,hermit crabs), fish(yellow tang, bicolor blenny, six line wrasse, and pecula clown) or my corals.

PoukieBear · 02/27/2006, 09:39 AM

Nothing else will eat it (not that I know of anyways...)

And Emerald crabs are a 50/50 chance that they will eat it too. your best option is to pull it off the rocks yourself.

Make sure that you take the rocks out of your tank first, because if you pop a bubble in your tank, it will release spores and you'll get even more of them.

20 20 · 02/27/2006, 09:58 AM

I use a piece of airline tubing to get out bubble algea. I start a siphon with it, draining into a cup or bucket, and use the end in the tank to loosen the bubble algea. If it bursts, most of what's inside the bubble, along with the bubble 'skin', gets siphoned out. If it doesn't burst the bubble either gets stuck on the end of the tubing and I can just pull the tubing out, or if it's small enough the bubble itself just gets siphoned out. Give that a try, it works great for me.

FDinPA · 02/27/2006, 05:14 PM

A foxface rabbitfish is a decent bet to control a bubble algae problem. Mine is murder on any type of algae. You will not be able to keep one in a 12g tank though. Emeralds are iffy (IME).
I agree with the others that manual removal is your best option. Take care not to rupture the bubbles or you will release the daughter cells. Syphoning while extracting is preferred but will present some challanges for you because of the small tank size. Knock out patches each time you do a water change. Pay attention to bubbles that go clear and get them first. You will probably not be able to eliminate this low nutrient scourge completely but you should be able to control it over time. It is the unseen bubble that pops that will set you back from time to time.

02/27/2006, 09:28 AM	#1
cruzin94066 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 116	bubble algae I have a 12 gallon nano reef tank with some polyps, leather, frog spawn, zenias and mushrooms. What can I put in there to help take care of or minimize bubble algae besides an emerald crab because I am scared that I may not have enough food for it after awhile and it may turn on to eating my invertebrates(peppermint shrimp,hermit crabs), fish(yellow tang, bicolor blenny, six line wrasse, and pecula clown) or my corals.

02/27/2006, 09:39 AM	#2
PoukieBear Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Ottawa Posts: 2,067	Nothing else will eat it (not that I know of anyways...) And Emerald crabs are a 50/50 chance that they will eat it too. your best option is to pull it off the rocks yourself. Make sure that you take the rocks out of your tank first, because if you pop a bubble in your tank, it will release spores and you'll get even more of them. __________________ Michelle ~Poukie, I'm proud of you for throwing up that cake. ~~Mikey~~ ~You're not drunk if you can lay on the floor without holding on. ~Save the earth, there are no princesses on Mars.

02/27/2006, 05:14 PM	#4
FDinPA Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Reading, PA Posts: 34	A foxface rabbitfish is a decent bet to control a bubble algae problem. Mine is murder on any type of algae. You will not be able to keep one in a 12g tank though. Emeralds are iffy (IME). I agree with the others that manual removal is your best option. Take care not to rupture the bubbles or you will release the daughter cells. Syphoning while extracting is preferred but will present some challanges for you because of the small tank size. Knock out patches each time you do a water change. Pay attention to bubbles that go clear and get them first. You will probably not be able to eliminate this low nutrient scourge completely but you should be able to control it over time. It is the unseen bubble that pops that will set you back from time to time. __________________ Illegitimous non-carburendum Current Tank Info: 120

02/27/2006, 09:58 AM	#3
20 20 Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Stewartstown, PA Posts: 1,246	I use a piece of airline tubing to get out bubble algea. I start a siphon with it, draining into a cup or bucket, and use the end in the tank to loosen the bubble algea. If it bursts, most of what's inside the bubble, along with the bubble 'skin', gets siphoned out. If it doesn't burst the bubble either gets stuck on the end of the tubing and I can just pull the tubing out, or if it's small enough the bubble itself just gets siphoned out. Give that a try, it works great for me.