How do you get rid of bubble algae?

[PatrioticReef]

Hi, my tank has been set up for about 2 years now and has just recently been plauged with bubble algae which is growing on the corals and killing them. I have never had bubble algae before and was wondering how to get rid of it. Thanks

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[HumbleFish]

Emerald crabs will eat it. So will a foxface but you need a large aquarium for that fish.

 

[Daddi0]

Seems all of my fish will eat it. I took the tip of a hypodermic needle and scrubbed the bubbles off my rocks, pumps, etc...I did one area, 10-20 bubbles a day. The fish were all crazy for them. Most people say not to pop them but I have had no issues and am bubble free.
Cheers! Mark

 

[fcmatt]

Emerald crabs as another already mentioned.
Also lower nutrients in the tank. Gfo or what not can assist.
Manual removal if easy. Cleaning the rock off if it can be removed easily outside the tank.

Patience helps when doing the above. It will be a multi month process.

 

[KafudaFish]

Bamboo skewer to pop up and a net to catch if you cannot remove the rock work. One of the easiest pest algae to beat.

 

[MondoBongo]

i siphon in to a filter sock. manual removal coupled with nutrient reduction will be your best weapons, but bubble algae is tough. i've even found it happily growing under other algae. not sure where it was getting enough light from, but it didn't seem to mind.

 

[Uncle99]

Seems all of my fish will eat it. I took the tip of a hypodermic needle and scrubbed the bubbles off my rocks, pumps, etc...I did one area, 10-20 bubbles a day. The fish were all crazy for them. Most people say not to pop them but I have had no issues and am bubble free.
Cheers! Mark

I agree.
When I scrape them off, my YT eats them.

 

[heritage]

None of my fish ate it, including a yellow tang and fox face. Finding something to eat it is hit or miss.

Manual removal is your best bet. For me it got so bad that I broke the tank down, dried out and bleached the live rock. Sterilized the tank and equipment and replaced all plumbing. All lps (torch, duncan, wall hammer) coral were cleaned and I sprayed the base of the corals with peroxide before the all went into quarantine and did the same when moving them back into the main tank.

Tank has been up and running now 2 years and no sign of it. It was a tremendous amount of work but worth it in the end.:dance:

 

[nigeldcat]

I try to attack it with my weekly water changes. When I do water changes I use an acrylic pipe attached to my siphon to target cyano/algae issues, Never have succeeded in eliminating bubble , but it has never overrun the tank. Added two emerald crabs last week (one small one larger) into an 8 year old established system. I also have a one spot Foxface in QT at the moment from someone who was upgrading a tank.
One emerald was tiny and the other was larger. I have see the larger out and about a few times and he seems to be clearing out an area about 1ft. in diameter. He is still working but not seeing any bubble in his general vicinity. So I am thinking he is doing good so far. I am pretty happy so far as looking for gradual changes not drastic. He has 5ft more to play with so he is not going hungry.
I got a couple more weeks before Foxface goes in. I'll let you know if that guy/gal makes a dent once introduced.

 

[alton]

There are many strains of bubble algae and why everyone gets different results when trying to remove it. Vibrant works great but you have to be careful. Once you notice the bubbles subsiding stop its use. The following are few of the strains;
Valonia ventricosa, if you ever get bubble algae this is the easiest to remove. They get large and have very thick skin.
Valonia macrophysa - smaller clustered elongated bubble algae
Boergesenia - clustered, though less dense in numbers and elongated bubble algae shapes
Dictosphaeria ocellata - usually smaller grouping slimey looking bubbles, can be a lighter shade of green
Dictosphaeria cavernosa - encrusting like growth forms with pitted looking bubbles

 

[Bpb]

Foxface eradicated mine. He goes after them very aggressively. Occasionally I'll see a small cluster glistening in the lights but it'll be tucked in a deep nook of the rock work that happens to get a small amount of light which the fish cannot reach. It also grows on the top side of my return nozzle and heater cord coming out of the tank. Yes, it grows in open moist air likely just wicking moisture from the water with fine threads or something.


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[Our Coral Reef]

Vibrant slow and steady
I have seen changes after about 1-3 months

 

[David MC Lee]

My purple tang would eat it.

 

[Our Coral Reef]

My purple tang would eat it.

Funny thing my sailfin does too but only if it's green and easy to pull off

 

[Sk8r]

Removal by fish depends on how large your tank is and how compatible with the species that will eat it. I've had a rabbit turn up his nose at it and an emerald crab took a piece of my mandarin's tail, but ate one bubble and quit. My advice would be take a look at your tank size and your skimmer. An algae bloom past the first year of tank life often means the skimmer isn't keeping up with the crud. You say corals, so I assume your nitrates are under 10, but a test might help. Blooms are profiting from some situation, and the way to get them tamed is sometimes to perfect your water balance, or to use an agent to remove excess nutrient from the system and cause the skimmer to uptake it better than it was doing.

 

[paal]

My purple tang would eat it.

Funny thing my sailfin does too but only if it's green and easy to pull off

Yeah, my purple tang eats the stuff, but only the most available and good looking pieces. I have a few patches with small "grey" bubbles that he ignores. The only green healthy ones at this point are in places he cannot reach. If I scrape off a fresh bubble for him he eats it right away.
From what I've read before though; Sailfins are more likely to eat the stuff than PTs are. (no personal experience with sailfins though, so...)

I used to have a foxface. He ate the stuff much more aggressively than the PT. Back then I could not really see any bubble algae at all inside the display.


(Don't get any of the mentioned fish unless your tank is well over 100G though IMO. For smaller tanks I would probably try some emerald crabs + siphon out all you can reach during water changes)

 

[Dimidiate]

Emerald crabs and various sea urchins will voraciously eat bubble algae but will probably also eat expensive invertebrates like corals. Some sea hares will eat bubble algae and nothing else.