Anyone really have success against bubble algae?

wharfrat48 · #1 11/27/2007, 11:19 AM

I recently upgraded from a 75 to a 180 and am starting to have some issues with bubble algae (Valonia?). I had some of the algae in my 75 and during the transfer, removed all the algae that I could see. Now it is back. All parameters are good, sparsely stocked tank, fuge with Caulerpa and Cheato, and I run Phosban occasionally. I did put in 6 emerald crabs, but haven't seen them touch the stuff. So is there anyone who has had success against this pest? Maybe an urchin or 2? Any help will be very much appreciated.

Thanks

Sk8r · #2 11/27/2007, 11:24 AM

An urchin will wear it but not eat it; mithrax can't keep up with it; neither can scarlet hermits or a purple tang; fuge is your best hope. Learn to think of it as an interesting texture for your tank. Many visitors admire it and think it quite beautiful---if they don't know better. I've had it for 6 months and it's beginning to give way to the fuge, but it is less reliant on phosphate imho than any other algae, or it holds onto it tighter. My own opinion: the old saw about 'never pop a bubble, but pick it off' is impossible: eventually you'll pop a bubble. Mithrax and scarlets definitely pop bubbles when they eat the stuff. Give up. It'll run it's course and then something else obnoxious will turn up unless you have a good big fuge going.

sabodish · #3 11/27/2007, 11:43 AM

i too am battling this..i have a fuge and it hasnt done a thing in over a year. i have resorted to manual removal and just popping them and taking my chances. i have a large skimmer and do frequent water changes, hopefully the spores wont have a chance to settle and grow.

wharfrat48 · #4 11/27/2007, 11:43 AM

That is sort of the way I have been going about it. However, it is starting to outcompete some of my corals (zoos mostly) for space. It is also starting to fill all of the larger pores in my LR and some of the smaller spaces in between the rocks. Do you think it would be a mistake to continually try manual removal knowing that >50% of the bubbles will break during the removal process?

unclejed · #5 11/27/2007, 11:54 AM

I have had great success with emerald crabs. They took care of all of it. The thing I really liked about them is they won't bother anything else. As long as there is algae or the sort for them to eat.

u418936 · #6 11/27/2007, 12:55 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by unclejed
I have had great success with emerald crabs. They took care of all of it. The thing I really liked about them is they won't bother anything else. As long as there is algae or the sort for them to eat.

I've had great luck with emerald crabs as well.

tentacles · #7 11/27/2007, 07:27 PM

I had a very small patch of it until my naso tang found it. He wiped it out and it never returned.

Craig Lambert · #8 11/27/2007, 07:57 PM

wharfrat48,

Bubble algae is really difficult to deal with because it has the ability to thrive where other forms of algae don't. It requires little in the way of nutrients. It is important to have a low nutrient tank while battling it, and running a phosban reactor is a good and cheap way to keep phosphates low. Manual removal works well, and you don't need to be overly concerned about popping a bubble here and there. Some animals might be useful, like an emerald crab which usually works on the smaller bubbles. Some fish may be helpful as well. Here is n article that might help:

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

pfish · #9 11/27/2007, 08:22 PM

I added 6 emeralds to my 240 and they didn't keep up. Then I added 6 more and popped and pulled out the bubbles and the emeralds are keeping up now and the bubbles are disappearing.

saltycreefer · #10 11/27/2007, 08:26 PM

Just add at least 12 more emeralds. They WILL work.

Conesus_Kid · #11 11/27/2007, 08:27 PM

I just scrape away at them and pull the bigger ones when I do a water change. My rabbitfish occasionally nibbles on it, and I've never seen my emeralds touch it.

I try to look at it in a positive light: Sure, it's pretty darn persistent for an algae, but it's the least unsightly.

I don't worry about popping bubbles either. Life's too short to drive myself crazy over them.

Hopefully, they'll go away some day.

WarrenAmy&Maddy · #12 11/27/2007, 11:42 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by u418936
I've had great luck with emerald crabs as well.

i have heard from quite a few people that as these crabs get bigger - they will swipe a few fish out of the water

any experience w/ this?

regards

HBtank · #13 11/27/2007, 11:52 PM

It is the only "pest" left in my tank.

I have emeralds and a rabbit, neither really care. There are different types of bubble, and mine, the big bubbles, just do not seem to be on anyones diet. They take forever to grow and will become encrusted in coraline before they are done, sometimes impossible to tell from rock except for the shape

Anyway, I think time and low nutrients are the key.

As my coral grows in there is less visible space to occupy (it is a poor competitor IMO) and it grows much slower now. I pick it maybe once every two months, and the rest of the time it is not bothersome and actually kind of neat...

Overall i find it pretty benign. THe only time it bugs me is if I were to place a frag near a small one, and the bubble will grow and possibly dislodge it later.

Frick-n-Frags · #14 11/28/2007, 08:31 AM

I finally packed it in and pulled all my LR from the display and replaced it with some pretty well cooked stuff that's been in the sump for a long time. And I am still chasing flushes of spores that grow a hundred new bubbles on a frag rock or whatever.

But the infestation is not continuing as I get the last remnants over time. this has been going on for over a month now too and I don't see being able to stop for a while yet. the bubbles even grow on snails, so I have to mug all of them as I see them too.

I think the mithrax will be OK on the really small ones or the balloon animal ones.

Reef'in Colorado · #15 11/28/2007, 09:46 AM

My scribbled rabbitfish eats bubble algae.

JokerGirl · #16 11/28/2007, 10:17 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Reef'in Colorado
My scribbled rabbitfish eats bubble algae.

That's funny because mine won't touch the stuff!

SaltyNovice · #17 11/28/2007, 10:40 AM

I had a bad outbreak of the stuff about a year ago. I tried most of the things suggested here. I got four emerald crabs and bought a FoxFace Lo. After about 6 months, I started manual removal. And after a month I stopped worrying about popping them and just did the best I could. I popped several. I did several water changes and removed it for about two months. Then they seemed to stop getting big. I still have a few small bubbles in cracks, but they don't seem to last. So I believe something is eating them, but I never see anybody consuming it. I'm just happy it's basically gone - so it can be done

wharfrat48 · #18 11/28/2007, 11:11 AM

Tried manual removal last night-- I got maybe 10% out and gave up. They sure are tough little buggers. Maybe thats why the emeralds aren't touching them-- maybe I have a particularly tough variety. ANy other suggestions out there?

Agu · #19 11/28/2007, 11:44 AM

I have had success using emerald crabs in the past.

But a few weeks ago I added an emerald to one tank and it began eating right away, eating an expensive blastumossa. It's now in the sump !

Also have a mithrax in another tank. It doesn't eat valonia or corals, don't know what it eats. However it's gotten large enough to knock over several corals. That one I haven't been able to catch............

Just a heads up that sometimes a solution can create new problems.

shootist · #20 11/28/2007, 11:13 PM

Stop popping them you willnever get rid of them. Use a fine gauge syringe stick it in them and suck the juice out of them,but dont spill any. You wont see them again.