Hrm , bubble algae ( pics )
- Thread starter Versus
- Start date
Versus
New member
Heading out to my holiday vacation but , I ended up getting rid of a fair amount of bubble algae. Still awaiting my replacement parts / wireless vortech controller , new pump for my skimmer etc. So all the soot etc is still fairly bad. I ended up putting everything in my sump and ( turning off the water supply of course ) turning the heat to 96 for 24 hours and 3 days without light . by that time most of the bubbles were alot softer and just "falling" off.. Unfortunately there was a down side. 1 is I have pulled a gallon and a half of bubbles from the bottom of my tank once the rock was back in .
and i still cant get them all , secondly some live rock had broken off and made its way to my return pump and its causing issues .
Tank is still overly dirty but I think after the equipment comes , a nice cleaning of the glass and a hearty water change I should be ok.
( mr. wiggles going for a swim )
glub glub
and i still cant get them all , secondly some live rock had broken off and made its way to my return pump and its causing issues .
Tank is still overly dirty but I think after the equipment comes , a nice cleaning of the glass and a hearty water change I should be ok.
( mr. wiggles going for a swim )
glub glub
Indermark
New member
I'm battling this bubble algae that is just as bad as the pictures in the first post. I just bought 8 emerald crabs for 8 dollars a piece. Now i'm kinda mad that some people are saying they are not that great. I'm beginning to think that I should take out the rocks and pop them all and then dip it in RO so that any spores on the rock will be somehow hurt by the fresh water. My other idea is to get some needles and some braided tubing or a gravel siphon and push the needs throught the tubing. Basically start the siphon and start poking everything and let it suck out the spores as you poke. I'm not sure How good of an idea this is I have some pretty big pieces of rock and are covered with corals so i'm afraid to do the dip method. More suggestions or comments on this horrible algae is appreciated.
Ryan
Ryan
Versus
New member
I really do not know where people came up with the emerald crab idea .. like you I had purchased a lot of them and nothing. I think the only thing they do is pick stuff off the top of the bubble and sometimes pop them.
The fox faces do work but its like a 1/10 chance the one you buy will actually start picking at them.
The fox faces do work but its like a 1/10 chance the one you buy will actually start picking at them.
Versus
New member
It is a siganus vulpinus ( common yellow with mr squishy zebra face ) ..
Oddly enough some problems have came up which probably have nothing to do with the bubble algae at least I do not think . The purple tang is fine with my fox face , unfortunately the female amphiprion clarkii is being overly mean to the foxface , I have had her for several years but she has never been "nice" ( has killed 4 fish in the past ) so I will be getting rid of her.
Anyway once my tank was stirred from moving around the rock and most bubble algae is gone I am developing a dark brown cyanobacteria .. Which is now making me have more issues , going to try for a 3/4 water change once I get another rubbermaid food container and add another di canister ( havent had one in for about a year )
But yes my fox face does not care for bubble algae which amazes me because he/she enjoys picking at zoo's yet some how knows to avoid my collections which produce some level of polyol toxin's. smart fish I guess
Oddly enough some problems have came up which probably have nothing to do with the bubble algae at least I do not think . The purple tang is fine with my fox face , unfortunately the female amphiprion clarkii is being overly mean to the foxface , I have had her for several years but she has never been "nice" ( has killed 4 fish in the past ) so I will be getting rid of her.
Anyway once my tank was stirred from moving around the rock and most bubble algae is gone I am developing a dark brown cyanobacteria .. Which is now making me have more issues , going to try for a 3/4 water change once I get another rubbermaid food container and add another di canister ( havent had one in for about a year )
But yes my fox face does not care for bubble algae which amazes me because he/she enjoys picking at zoo's yet some how knows to avoid my collections which produce some level of polyol toxin's. smart fish I guess
piercho
New member
It appears to me that Valonia and Ventricaria genus of bubble algae do spread readily by sexual reproduction. IMO avoiding popping them will not have much effect on wether they spread this way. The spores must happen to land at a site that is condusive to their growth. Ultimately, the best control for the spread of those two genus is making the tank less condusive to their growth.
Their are multiple genus of bubble algae and IME they don't share that much in common beside bubble-shaped vesicals. Some grow small in high current areas with high light, others grow large in low light and low current eddies where detritus accumulates. Some grow in tightly clustered colonies, others grow dispersed. When most people talk about bubble algae they probably mean Ventricaria or Valonia. Venticaria gets too tough and large for most grazers to handle, and can prosper in low light. The notion that an emerald crab or small tang can graze a large vesical of Ventricaria is like the notion that I can consume a rhino by walking up to one and trying to knaw a chunk out of it's living hide. On the other hand, some tender specie of Valonia may be controlled by a motivated crab or rabbitfish, IME. This is one reason you hear so much conflicting info on what "works" for "bubble" algae, IMO.
There is no magic bullet for all specie of bubble algae IME, and adding a big grazer to a tank with Ventricaria is likely to make the problem worse because the grazer pees poops and eats the competing algae.
Their are multiple genus of bubble algae and IME they don't share that much in common beside bubble-shaped vesicals. Some grow small in high current areas with high light, others grow large in low light and low current eddies where detritus accumulates. Some grow in tightly clustered colonies, others grow dispersed. When most people talk about bubble algae they probably mean Ventricaria or Valonia. Venticaria gets too tough and large for most grazers to handle, and can prosper in low light. The notion that an emerald crab or small tang can graze a large vesical of Ventricaria is like the notion that I can consume a rhino by walking up to one and trying to knaw a chunk out of it's living hide. On the other hand, some tender specie of Valonia may be controlled by a motivated crab or rabbitfish, IME. This is one reason you hear so much conflicting info on what "works" for "bubble" algae, IMO.
There is no magic bullet for all specie of bubble algae IME, and adding a big grazer to a tank with Ventricaria is likely to make the problem worse because the grazer pees poops and eats the competing algae.
piercho
New member
prezioso73
New member
I physically remove mine then syphon out any small clusters that I see.
