Algae & Pests bubble algae [Archive]

07-14-2006, 07:56 PM

RWalston

07-14-2006, 08:41 PM

In my experience nothing. Manual removal is the best remedy. Some people try emerald crabs but that is hit or miss. Emerald get large after awhile and start to go after sps polyps and other things. Good flow helps water changes help. with good water quality and removal they will disappear in time.

jerryc

07-14-2006, 09:25 PM

My tank has a really big group of bubble algae on the right side. I have read that a yelllow tang will eat but that is not the case here . I am trying to find a natural solution to this , as I speared them all I but somehow they have all come back with a vengence. Peppermint shrimp ate my aiptaisia, what will kill bubble algae (valonia)?

If by speared them you mean popping them?? don't you need to get them out with out popping them or you will just spread it.
Try vacuuming them out with a hose

lReef lKeeper

07-14-2006, 10:09 PM

you DO NOT want to pop the bubbles. if you do they release pores of smaller algae and you will have an outbreak before you know it.

ReefNeck

07-15-2006, 10:01 AM

Emerald Crabs have always worked for me.

lReef lKeeper

07-15-2006, 11:21 AM

emeralds work for me too. but as Rich said they are hit and miss. i think they work for me because that is all they have to eat in the tanks where i get them from. if you can find them eating bubble algae in the LFS tanks then they should eat it in you tank.

mutts

07-16-2006, 10:50 AM

my emerald didn't work for me. so my advice get that bubble algae out asap! i made the mistake of trying to find an easyer way to get them out and kept putting it off. well i have such a bad problem that when i get my new tank set up i am going to have to take down my 55 gal. there is bubble algae everywhere, not pretty. it has killed corals and my micro algae, i even have it on the backs of my snails!!!! so if i were you i'd get that stuff out

lReef lKeeper

07-16-2006, 10:53 PM

when you do a water change, use the old water to scrub the rocks that the algae is on. DO NOT put it back into the tank or sump. because when you pop the bubbles the send little bubble algaes out to start another colony. doing this you should be ok but if you have a major algae problem then it is gonna take a while. if it is major, just be sure to keep the rocks that you are not scrubbing wet to minimize die off.

07-18-2006, 07:14 PM

I have been gone for a couple of days, and was amazed to see all the replies. I have a thing with 3 prongs on it that a buddy made to get rid of a mantis shrimp. I used too use that too get rid of the bubble algae also,but now the shrimp is gone , I guess I should just step up the spearing process. Bobby said do not pop the bubbles but that has always kept them under control until now. Maybe I should just go postal and kill everyone of them in the tank. Before I would leave a small clump alive, stupid idea I guess.

lReef lKeeper

07-18-2006, 07:32 PM

if you pop them this is what happens. when the nutrient level rises enough for them to come out ... they do, and in serious numbers.

07-20-2006, 07:02 PM

I cant really take the rocks out they are on. One piece is 15 lbs. or so and the other small piece is below alot of other rocks. This would be a major event in the tank. Has anybody ever heard of injecting them with kalk or boiling water like aiptaisia?

jerryc

07-20-2006, 09:08 PM

Just take a 3/8 plastic tubing and siphon out with a water change
It will usual come off easily by just running the tubing over them

Sea~Horse~Whisperer

07-21-2006, 11:33 AM

If you can find the red emerald crabs, they don't tend to be as agressive as the green ones. My green ones picked on zoanthids and hammer. The strawberry ones never have. The strawberry ones ate all of the bubble algae in my tank. It never came back. (2 yrs. and counting)

07-21-2006, 06:38 PM

To respond to Jerry C's post these things are glued down tight. I have tried the siphon and they just look at me and laugh.Angie I am afraid of emerald crabs,what do they eat when they run out of bubble algae?Thanks Andy

Sea~Horse~Whisperer

07-21-2006, 09:24 PM

I fed mine pieces of silversides and nori. They will also scrape stuff off of the live rock.

jerryc

07-21-2006, 09:43 PM

ramoth41

07-25-2006, 10:51 PM

DO NOT POP THE BUBBLES!!!! they are TOXIC!!! they will kill your tank off!! about the only way to rid the tank is to remove the rock or get a crab. Reducing the lite will also help no light no algea.. but Valonia is nasty stuff!! We have had outbreaks ever since we set up 10years ago.. you never really get rid of it.. you can reduce but not get rid of it... If you can get them off with out breaking the bubble your ok but why chance it? Taking the rock out of the tank and picking them off and a really really really good rinse is about the only way.. There is a chance they might just go away..reduce the nutriants..

07-26-2006, 07:48 PM

I guess I will find out , Tuesday night7/24 I ripped all of them I could out by hand, and the ones I couldnt reach I stabbed with a long metal thing I had to get rid of a mantis shrimp.

08-10-2006, 06:40 PM

I killed all I could over a week ago, and the only one's left are the one's that were hard to get to ?

mutts

08-10-2006, 11:22 PM

sarah, never heard that they were toxic... i knew they spred if you poped them but i have poped a ton in my tank and have never had in problems besides more... hmmm... did you just read this somewhere or did it happen to you (just wondering what signs to look out for)

lReef lKeeper

08-11-2006, 10:51 AM

same here Amanda, i never heard or read of them being toxic. especially toxic enough to kill of a whole tank !! i would like to read this article !!

sarah, never heard that they were toxic... i knew they spred if you poped them but i have poped a ton in my tank and have never had in problems besides more... hmmm... did you just read this somewhere or did it happen to you (just wondering what signs to look out for)

ramoth41

08-12-2006, 09:01 PM

Hey folks..
Sorry it's taken so long to get back to ya on this.. I was trying to find the artical I read about Valonia algea being toxic.. wouldn't you know .. I can't find it! darn it!
Anyway I talked to a friend of mine, who was my saving grace when we started our tank and she confirmed yes they are Toxic... just a few shouldn't cause a problem.. but when you break open a bunch then you have problem. Her suggestions were
1st emerald crab: best bet to rid the algea
2nd VERY carefully by hand...
3rd a nudi that eats the stuff.. but when it's gone the poor thing will starve

I really trust her advise.. she has been doing this longer than I have and I've seen her tanks.. she also has work in a ton of stores one was one of the largest or maybe 2nd largest in Boca Raton Fl. She was also a moderator on 2 other sites untill it just got to be a bit much.. So she really knows her stuff!
But in the mean time I will continue to look for that artical...
s

mutts

08-26-2006, 10:17 PM

AHA!!! I figured it out!!!!

I was talking with my coworker about my bubble algae and its quest for world domination and she mentioned that when they pop they release ammonia and carbon dioxide into the water. This sounded plausible to me, after all you are killing something so there would be ammonia for death and because it is a plant there would be carbon.

Well I can’t prove the carbon dioxide theory but I can the ammonia.

I took a glass of water out of my tank and tested it… ammonia was a little high but that is besides the point. Then I added a ton of bubbles to the water and popped them. Guess what?! The ammonia was higher!

I will try this again with more solid numbers, but I would love others to try!

Fally

10-31-2006, 09:56 AM

What has worked for me is removing the rock and using a steak knife to scrape under the bubble. I carve into the rock a little to avoid popping the bubble. If the bubble does pop, I rinse the rock very well in RO/DI water.

This sounds like a pain, but having millions of those nasty bubbles all over your tank is much worse, don't let them get too big and pop!! It is much easier to get rid of a couple bubbles then hundreds...

saxman

11-03-2006, 02:50 PM

FWIW, our foxface LOVES Valonia...of course, foxfaces, are kinda like weedwhackers with fins. ;)

seahorsedreams

11-03-2006, 03:49 PM

I can't subscribe to the theory that valonia is toxic.... it's way to palatable to too many critters.

I have some in my fuzzy tank and I actually enjoy it being there. The large bubles say in check as far as numbers go. Maybe because of the other outcompeting macro algae or allelopathy. The single large bubbles are the ones I like. Now the stuff that grows in elogated shapes and in clusters I get rid of. This tends to be more prolific in my tank so I don't even let it get started.

Nothing I've ever read or nothing I've ever experienced has lead me to suspect they are toxic.

This sounded plausible to me, after all you are killing something so there would be ammonia for death and because it is a plant there would be carbon.

Ammonia is not a byproduct of death persa but more of a byproduct of decay. "Death" of a bubble wouldn't create an instantaneous appearance of ammonia after being popped due to it dying... that process takes time. Not saying you didn't see an increase in ammonia but it's not because of death.

Sweetpea

11-03-2006, 04:10 PM

Forgive me for not remembering where I read this... I hope it makes sense! ;)

Try fixing a needle to the end of rigid tubing, connect that to a flexible tube (like you would use for a water change) - get the siphon going for your water change, using the needle to pop the bubble - the "shtuff" should be siphoned straight out of the tank. You might want to shut off the powerheads to reduce the chance of the stuff being blown away before the siphon can grab it. You can use tongs or tweezers to remove the leftover bubble shell...

I've never tried it, so I can't say how it works. Just thought I'd toss another idea out there...

Amphibious

11-03-2006, 06:53 PM

Your going to find this strange. I had a minor bubble algae problem and stayed ahead of it by picking them out when I cleaned the tank. I would easily get 25 to 30 at a time. some I couldn't reach and they kept the population going. Two months ago I bought a 4" Sohal Tang and I feed him Gracilaria and Nori. He eats like a pig. The last time I cleaned the tank I had noticibly less Bubble Algae to remove but didn't think much of it. Just thought I was catching up with production. Today, I cleaned the tank again and could only find three pieces of bubble algae. I observed the Tang was excited and dashing around the tank and stopping right where my hand was grabbing the neutrally buoyant bubble algae. The Tang looked like he wanted to eat it. Remember, he eats like a pig and this behavior of dashing around and rushing the food I'm putting in is normal. When I got the pieces of algae out I burst one and dropped it into the tank. That Sohal came over and grabbed it like it was candy. I wouldn't believe it, if I hadn't witnessed it with my own eyes.

I've had Sohals in the past but, never witnessed this behavior before. Here's a pic of him at the Nori clip.