This is bubble algae, correct?

alcimedes

Member
I'll have to put it in a post after this, as it will only be my 10th post, and a link will make it moderated.

I put a rock into the tank that had a green blob on it. 48 hours later, it's looking way too much like bubble algae for my comfort. I'm going to eradicate it tomorrow, but I would appreciate it if someone could verify my ID, since I'm new to this and it doesn't look quite like any of the google images I pulled up. (but maybe it's just recovering from being wrapped in damp newspaper).

Thank you in advance for any help.

There should be a photo in the post to follow, if it's not there please PM me so I can have a mod approve it. I don't want to kill some cool green coral because I didn't ID something properly.

I believe the items in red are green bubble algae. I'm afraid the item in blue is popped green bubble algae.

Correct? Incorrect? Who knows but don't risk it?
 
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Thank you. :) After finding out they're just fine for the tank, I'm happy to see them showing up from the rock work.

Haven't seen any of the bad ones yet either. If that's the only rock that has it on it, is it better off to remove the rock entirely?
 
I scraped it all off about 20 min. ago, wiped the area where they were located with peroxide, and have it sitting in a bucket now. A brittle star came out while I was cleaning it off, moved it back to the tank.

I'll check the rock again in a few days and see if I missed anything. The tank is going to be empty of any life besides hitchhikers for months to come, so hopefully it wouldn't have much to eat.
 
Doesn't look like any valonia I've seen. Not sure what it is but that is some beautiful live rock. Full of life. Where did you get it?
 
Doesn't look like any valonia I've seen. Not sure what it is but that is some beautiful live rock. Full of life. Where did you get it?

Agree, this maybe different, doesn't look like any valonia I have ever seen, never seen an algea like this before so can't really give advice other than removal.
 
I agree that's not how standard bubble algae looks. It's usually separate bubbles. The one in the middle almost looks like some kind of egg sac, like tadpoles, though I don't know any specific critter that lays that way in our tanks.
 
in the hitchhiker ID thread I posted what it looked like from shipping, while it was dry. After a few days in the water it started to get a lot rounder/fuller. figured better safe than sorry if it was some form of bubble algae.

Is it OK forum rules wise to post where you ordered stuff from? I'm not looking to plug any particular company but this live rock so far has been pretty nice, and I wouldn't mind sharing if that's OK.
 
After a tad bit of research, looks to be Dictyosphaeria versluysii, Im not sure on if it is sexual or not, best bet would be to remove it, preferably outside the aquarium to avoid releasing potential spores, however, due to not being educated on its reproductivity I cant say removal outside the tank is needed or not, best to error on the side of caution though.
Hope this helps
 
Ha, I started researching the algae and the last link on the front Google result page brings me back to this thread. You weren't joking about not being too much out there about it. I removed it outside of the tank.

Thanks!
 
After a tad bit of research, looks to be Dictyosphaeria versluysii, Im not sure on if it is sexual or not, best bet would be to remove it, preferably outside the aquarium to avoid releasing potential spores, however, due to not being educated on its reproductivity I cant say removal outside the tank is needed or not, best to error on the side of caution though.
Hope this helps

Nice catch!
 
It's still "bubble algae" though right? Kind of like how people refer to a Sarcophtyon as a "leather coral?
 
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