Turning my Coral Around

[ktkreegs]

So I was doing a water change over the weekend, and I knocked loose my torch from the frag rack. So I picked it back up and put it back up on the rack and I noticed this. Note: the coral is usually a lot bigger than this and I don't look at the back of the tank often.



Can I take the coral out of the water and pick these off?

Thanks. Kevin

[CleveYank]

yep, I have used fingers and even an exacto for tight places and scraped them right off into the sink and put the coral right back in the tank.
SPS can hack it I am sure the torch...wave your hand over it until it completely receeds or closes up before you take it out of the water. Any of those LPS torch/frogspawn can on occasion sting or you can tear the tissue. But yeah the bubbles will come off. I have also gotten them off of the coral plug or the baserock and then used an artist paint brush and carefully at that, use kalk paste and paint the plug to prevent a growback. But you have to watch you don't get it on you or eyes while up close and of course keep it off of any of the tissues of the coral.
Enjoy.

[Rhodophyta]

What about using green emerald crabs?

[Kreeger1]

Clean it outside the tank. Emerald crabs are to slow, you can rid the coral of the bubbles in seconds. Just try not to get any of the bubble juice back into the tank. Thats how they spread. just scrape them off.
Erik

[Rhodophyta]

Originally posted by Kreeger1
Clean it outside the tank. Emerald crabs are to slow, you can rid the coral of the bubbles in seconds. Just try not to get any of the bubble juice back into the tank. Thats how they spread. just scrape them off.
Erik

The GEC's are slower than scraping, but more thorough and persistent. As long as the Valonia is where it can be scraped off without harm to the nearby life, scrape it off, being careful not to inoculate the tank with baby Valonia from the burst cells. But the GEC will insure that you don't have to keep coming back and rescraping, as often.

[Kreeger1]

Mitrax craps can also harm corals and steal food.
And there not a forsure thing when it comes to eating Valonia.
not sure how there more thorough and peristent. I've had then not even touch the stuff. Its all hit or miss. Pulling it and scraping it off is pretty straight forward.
erik

[Rhodophyta]

Originally posted by Kreeger1
Mitrax craps can also harm corals and steal food.
And there not a forsure thing when it comes to eating Valonia.
not sure how there more thorough and peristent. I've had then not even touch the stuff. Its all hit or miss. Pulling it and scraping it off is pretty straight forward.
erik

Pretty safe to say any crab has its dark side. Some of the prettiest ones, other than looks, have lots of dark side. Still GEC are persistent because they are always in the tank looking around for something to eat/do. But we have to go to work, meetings, all that other stuff besides scraping bubble algae, or forgetting to, or missing some in an area hard to see.

And some of the bubble algae is more innocuous. The ones that look like tubes or spaghetti seem less invasive, and some are not even Valonia and don't attach to anything solid. They may not be eaten by the same animals. don't know if it's atate/nutrition thing, or if the technique used to eat the Valonia depends upon there being an attachment point. The pic sure looks like Valonia so don't count on this one being a lookalike.

[Kreeger1]

Its on just one coral Dan, Im not sure a mitrax would be useful in a fraag tank like that

[Rhodophyta]

Originally posted by Kreeger1
Its on just one coral Dan, Im not sure a mitrax would be useful in a fraag tank like that

If it's all plastic eggcrate, you are right. They might not even climb it. but if there are other areas in the tank, they might control the bubble algae there.

[Kreeger1]

not needed, waste of 4 bucks

[oldreefer76]

I agree a waste, we have a small 1 that has wiped out 3 different stylo frags and I have not seen that little bast#rd in weeks

[ktkreegs]

I have one emerald crab in the tank and he goes near the stuff but he only eats the bryopsis that I have in the tank. I have one other coral that has three bubbles on it.

I'll try scraping both of them off, with trying not to burst any of the bubbles. What happens if one of them pop?

I was thinking of doing this at my next water change, and dipping the coral in the waste bucket to make sure that nothing gets left on it, if a bubble pops. Is this over kill? Should I just do it now?

Thanks. Kevin

[oldreefer76]

I would do it now before a bubble pops in the tank, I usually hold the rock etc. over the sink pull them off and go over the area with a tooth brush and back into the tank

[Rhodophyta]

When mature, the bubbles pop naturally, releasing tiny duplicates of the parent plant. Some of these find suitable spots to settle down and grow. When you rupture bubbles while scraping them off you might be releasing the next generation of bubble algae. They might also be too immature to develop so that's why people report very different results depending on their luck. Safest to follow the directions earlier in this thread so that any "juice" does not return to the tank. As the article linked below says, if you don't remove the bubbles, the spores will be released.

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/20...ture/index.php

Grinding a chisel point on the end of a screwdriver gives you a tool that can scrape off the Valonia right at the base, reducing the odds it will regrow or that you'll rupture many bubbles. The best screwdriver for this modification is the kind used to put the screws into an electrical outlet or switch cover. They are thin narrow and shoulderless. letting you manuver them into some tight spots.

[Kreeger1]

I've always had luck with the pick them right off method. they come off the rock fairly easy.

[oldreefer76]

Originally posted by Rhodophyta
When mature, the bubbles pop naturally, releasing tiny duplicates of the parent plant. Some of these find suitable spots to settle down and grow. When you rupture bubbles while scraping them off you might be releasing the next generation of bubble algae. They might also be too immature to develop so that's why people report very different results depending on their luck. Safest to follow the directions earlier in this thread so that any "juice" does not return to the tank. As the article linked below says, if you don't remove the bubbles, the spores will be released.

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/20...ture/index.php

Grinding a chisel point on the end of a screwdriver gives you a tool that can scrape off the Valonia right at the base, reducing the odds it will regrow or that you'll rupture many bubbles. The best screwdriver for this modification is the kind used to put the screws into an electrical outlet or switch cover. They are thin narrow and shoulderless. letting you manuver them into some tight spots.

I don't understand why Dan has to make simple matters so complicated? pick them off out of the tank, use a toothbrush to the area like we do and put them back in, has always worked for us

[scottfarcuz]

Do the GEC swallow them whole? Never could figure out how they eat them without popping them open....

[Kreeger1]

yeah, they pop them and spread the spores more. don't think he gets that part.

[johndawg]

I've had pretty good luck using my siphon tube when doing water changes to suck them off the rock (as long as not too big!) and into the drain...if they break...it goes with the waste water. Otherwise I use my finger and gently push off the rock and remove.
John

[Burgman]

Hi All,

I like that idea John, or if you can place the coral or live rock in a container with tank water and remove then just put the coral back into the tank. Some of the bubble algae does not want to come off and others come off real easy.

Dave