mrtcool Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 hay guys, i have had my tank for some time now. i am getting dark green beads foarming on the rocks. can some one look and tell me if they are good or bad? and what they are. thanks mrtcool Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mooric Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 It's bubble algae. Supposedly Mithrax/Emerald crabs like to eat it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dav_nolen Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 yep.. bubble algae. id try to get as many out as you can; without popping them in the tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrtcool Posted March 9, 2010 Author Share Posted March 9, 2010 Thanks guys..... i am getting them everywhere, time start removing them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesL Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 Moving this to the reef discussion section. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muddybluewater Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 Take the rocks out of the tank and scrub them with a tooth brush, rinse the rocks off and the return to the tank. I wouldn't try to clean the rocks in your tank they will just spread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muddybluewater Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 And Welcome to ARC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rgwiz11 Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 Emerald Crabs are a great and reef-safe way to keep it in check. We had a bunch on our rocks when we finished cycling, put in 2 crabs and they had it cleared up in about a week. If you go with Emeralds though...look for ones on the smaller side. Fairly certain "Big Bertha" ate one of our chromis once the bubble algae was gone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill B Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 Emerald Crabs are a great and reef-safe way to keep it in check. I think 'keep it in check' is the key words on Emerald Crabs. These bubbles are full of spores to make other little baby algae. So when they pop the bubbles to eat them they are actually releasing many spores back into the water. This is why there was another suggestion of removing them carefully without poping them - with practice you can figure out which are 'ripe' to be picked. If practical IMHO removing the rocks, and scrubbing them is a better solution, though I scrub the spot they where they attached with a steel brush or quick buff with a dremel. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesL Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 I have never had a bubble algae outbreak from adding emerald crabs... I think the key is to nip the problem early before you have tons of bubbles around the tank releasing spores (like you mentioned). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisfowler99 Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 My emeralds have done a great job with the bubble algae on the rocks...except for three spots. I've got three bubbles that are in excess of 1/2" and one that's approaching 1"...and the emeralds haven't touched them. I think they're intimidated. I keep wanting to pull them off, but I'm afraid they're gonna burst and contaminate the whole tank again. Need to clean out the inside of my vortech too...it's getting full of bubble algae. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FragsandMore Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 I used to have these too, got rid of them all via Emerald crabs, and by hand Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NonSequitur Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 I've noticed that the smaller emeralds are better for bubble control than the big ones, and then they prefer the smaller bubbles. As Bill said, they're better to keep the bubbles in check rather than try to eradicate a large infestation, not only because of the spores (which can indeed be a problem) but also because of the damage that a large number of crabs can do once they run out of bubble algae (snacking on fish, decorative macro, hermits, etc) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viet-tin Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 What ive done in the past is during a water change hold the siphon over the bubbles and remove them if it pops most should be siphoned out and taken care of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisfowler99 Posted March 9, 2010 Share Posted March 9, 2010 What ive done in the past is during a water change hold the siphon over the bubbles and remove them if it pops most should be siphoned out and taken care of. Good idea! I'll have to try that for the big ones on my next water change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+o0zarkawater Posted March 10, 2010 Share Posted March 10, 2010 Good idea! I'll have to try that for the big ones on my next water change. Make sure the bubbles are definitely smaller than your siphon tube, I've had them get stuck halfway up the tube before doing this same thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisfowler99 Posted March 11, 2010 Share Posted March 11, 2010 Make sure the bubbles are definitely smaller than your siphon tube, I've had them get stuck halfway up the tube before doing this same thing. I was just looking at one and comparing. I think I'm ok...barely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meteorflower Posted March 11, 2010 Share Posted March 11, 2010 I've treated big bubbles that won't fit into my siphon hose by slicing them open with a razor blade and then immediately sucking it up. Works great. Then I got a Naso tang that loves to eat it, and I've never seen it again... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
offroadodge Posted March 11, 2010 Share Posted March 11, 2010 ya, i had a REALY bad outbreak in my old tank... To much feeding not enough water changes and poor lighting. Try using some stuff called Marine SAT, it a beneficial bacteria and cant be overdosed. I poured 2 bottles in my 72 bowfront and within 4 month the bubble algae was almost gone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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