Bubble algae or caulerpa? How do I kill it?

Mombo · Apr 22, 2018

Tiny little bubbles all over the rock. They are firm/hard when you touch them. Not sure what it is I don’t have caulerpa in my fuge but maybe this stuff survived a dip and came in on a frag

On the Duncan’s plug as well

DeniseAndy · Apr 22, 2018

bubble algae!!! Do not break them open in the tank unless you want more. Couple ways to get rid of them. Once, take the infected rocks out, scrape them off best you can and pour a 1:1 H20and H2O2 solution over the rocks and let sit a few minutes. Rinse well in saltwater bucket (not tank).
Emerald crabs are great at eating this stuff FME. Lastly, depending on the size of tank, foxface or rabbitfish feed off this algae.

Just a few ideas.

Mombo · Apr 22, 2018

Foxface it is then! Been looking for a reason to get one. I have been considering the one spot foxface. My tank is a 120g 4x2x2. Do you think that would be ok for it?

Mombo · Apr 22, 2018

I was planning on getting a yellow tang down the road but it seems like the foxface and yellow might not be the best of friends? Maybe switch to a Kole Tang.

DeniseAndy · Apr 23, 2018

It should be okay if there is plenty to eat. I had one with a kole tang for years (till one died of old age). My yellow tang would object, but if you get the foxface first you should be fine. I would worry a bit with only a 4' tank for the yellow though. Have to provide tons of algae spots to eat and lots of swimming area.

Mombo · Apr 23, 2018

Oh you think the foxface would fit the 4ft tank better then the yellow tang?

DeniseAndy · Apr 23, 2018

Neither is ideal in a 4' tank. I think you can get more cool fish in there without the larger guys, and use emerald crabs to do the cleaning up. JMO

Oldsalt01 · Apr 23, 2018

The only issue with Emerald crabs is that they bust open the BA, releasing spores into the tank and actually helping spread the stuff. I had that exact experience last year and ended up swapping my LR to my LFS for some very cool cycled rock (the BA was EVERYWHERE. My fault. I didn't inspect a new frag closely enough and didn't realize how quickly it can spread in a high nutrient situation). He popped the BA rock into his tang tank and they went to work immediately on the stuff. I know some people will take exception to the idea of a crab spreading the stuff, but I'm just going from personal experience. If you think about it though, it makes sense. The crab is inadvertently planting future food sources for itself.

DeniseAndy · Apr 23, 2018

Good point. I have had luck in small tanks with crabs, but in my 210g I did have a foxface that was great for clearing it away. Try cleaning the rock outside the tank first. May help. you can also put in dark for a week or two to kill it all. Of course that means no corals on the rock either. (I will put infected rock in my sump in the dark section and eventually all algae dies, but rock still live.)

Mombo · Apr 24, 2018

Yaaaaa this stuff spread like wild fire while I was on vacation and the person tank sitting of course had no idea. It’s seriously everywhere so I doubt I’ll ever get all of it.

I’m going to start with a small foxface and see how it does and I’ll sell it to my friend with a 400g tank when it gets to big. Ive removed the tangs from my list as well so he will be the only large fish.