Bubble Algae

[andre]

I have valonia bubble algae and it is starting to slowly spread. Is there any other way to eradicate it other than the use of an emerald crab? I do not want to risk a crab in my tank and don't want to loose any corals or snails because of a crab. And all emerald crabs do is pop the bubble algae (releasing the spores) to be able to fit it into its mouth, thus spreading the bubble algae around. Maybe getting rid of nutrients that the bubble algae needs? What do you guys suggest? I have a 3.6gallon medium CPR Aquafuge with LS and chaeto. I also have a small bag of purigen. on the retun in the fuge.

[DementedLullaby]

Remove the bubbles manually making sure not to pop them seems like the smartest idea to me.

[cyenna]

Getting rid of the excess nutrients won't get rid of the algea you already have... If you don't want to "bother" with an emerald crab then might I suggest some nice tweezers and steady clean hands? If you have nothing else in your tank then take out all the "infested" rock and scrub clean! I'm a newbie so all i can vouch for is the tweezers and the emerald crab. I tried the tweezers, was successful on one but felt another pop. However, I also have an emerald crab and I haven't seen any bubble algea since. A lot of people have had bad experiences with them but I find that as long as I feed my crab, he stays off my corals. On the other hand, i would think he'd get too big for your 3.6 gallon... HTH.

[andre]

Getting rid of the excess nutrients won't get rid of the algea you already have... If you don't want to "bother" with an emerald crab then might I suggest some nice tweezers and steady clean hands? If you have nothing else in your tank then take out all the "infested" rock and scrub clean! I'm a newbie so all i can vouch for is the tweezers and the emerald crab. I tried the tweezers, was successful on one but felt another pop. However, I also have an emerald crab and I haven't seen any bubble algea since. A lot of people have had bad experiences with them but I find that as long as I feed my crab, he stays off my corals. On the other hand, i would think he'd get too big for your 3.6 gallon... HTH.

 

 

I gues I'll go with a female emerald crab then try to return it to the LFS.

 

BTW my tank is about a year old and is a 10 gallon with a 3.6 gallon refugium.

[cyenna]

^^oooh. I reread what you wrote. noob mistake. good luck with the bubble algea.

[andre]

^^oooh. I reread what you wrote. noob mistake. good luck with the bubble algea.

 

Just rethought everything and I decided to pull the two rocks out that have the bubble algae and pull all the bubble algae off real quick to reduce dieoff and wash the part where the bubble algae was with tank water, then put it back into the tank. I should only take about a minute. What a fun day tomorrow is going to be. (sarcasm)

 

 

Thanks for the advice

[drbegalke]

Just rethought everything and I decided to pull the two rocks out that have the bubble algae and pull all the bubble algae off real quick to reduce dieoff and wash the part where the bubble algae was with tank water, then put it back into the tank. I should only take about a minute. What a fun day tomorrow is going to be. (sarcasm)

Thanks for the advice

 

 

I tried that method a few times, every time it grew back. Then I did that, and added an emeral crab. Haven't seen any bubble algae in months. And all my crabs and the corals in the tank are fine. The crab I added is about 3/4" 'diameter', maybe size makes a difference?

[andre]

I tried that method a few times, every time it grew back. Then I did that, and added an emeral crab. Haven't seen any bubble algae in months. And all my crabs and the corals in the tank are fine. The crab I added is about 3/4" 'diameter', maybe size makes a difference?

 

Have you noticed any missing hermits or snails? And is the emerald a female or male? Males tend to be the ones that rip up corals and the like. Females are supposed to be docile.

[banditfl]

I have valonia bubble algae and it is starting to slowly spread. Is there any other way to eradicate it other than the use of an emerald crab? I do not want to risk a crab in my tank and don't want to loose any corals or snails because of a crab. And all emerald crabs do is pop the bubble algae (releasing the spores) to be able to fit it into its mouth, thus spreading the bubble algae around. Maybe getting rid of nutrients that the bubble algae needs? What do you guys suggest? I have a 3.6gallon medium CPR Aquafuge with LS and chaeto. I also have a small bag of purigen. on the return in the fuge.

 

Welcome to club of successful Bubble algae farmers.

I have tried all the methods other than putting in an emerald crab. i even cooked my rock for 8 weeks to get rid of the hair algae. But the bubble algae survived even the cooking process. I finally broke down and bought 3 emerald crabs for my 30g with a 20g frag tank/sump. it took a little bit of time but they wiped out the bubble algae to a controllable and tolerable level. Mostly only grows on the power heads where the crabs can't get to.

 

I have had no significant loss of snails or Hermits from the Emerald Crabs

[bjc7487]

i have 4 emeralds in my tank, they leave snails and corals alone as long as i feed them....

[andre]

New plan. Since emerald crabs pop the buble algae then eat it, I will get another tank, toss an emeral crab in there, and the infeted rock as well. Then let the emerald do its work. When it is done, wash the LR and put back into the main tank. Then save the emerald for my future 2.5 pico.