Anyone have any ideas for removal or best way to rid or slow growth? I don’t really have a major problem yet but don’t want it to get outta control. I usually carefully manually remove what I can, but I have some in the crack and nooks of my rock and don’t wanna pop them. I have tried emerald crabs but they don’t touch them. Any suggestions are appreciated!
Bubble algae?
- Thread starter atticus
- Start date
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Dsnakes
Knight Reefer
My emerald crab didn't do a lot a first. Then he slowly just started to eat it, and over time it disappeared. I believe some people use a product called Vibrant. I have seen it recommended on here before.
jsker
Reefing is all about the adventure
Having been testing you nitrates and phosphates? Phosphates should be around .02 to .03 and nitrates 3 to 5 or a little bit higher
How old is the system. I the system is newer balancing out the nutrients will help alot.
jsker
Reefing is all about the adventure
what else to you have going on in the system? example dosing anything?
I don't know how big your system is but I've had greatest success with tangs. In my 350G, I've seen my naso and my purple go after the stuff, and I'm sure some of the 8 others follow suit as well. In my 90G frag tank I have a foxface who goes to town on the stuff. Before I got the foxface I had a fire urchin that ate BA as well, although he wasn't as effective as the foxface is now. There are many natural predators, but each fish is an individual and you may have to try a few before finding the one that works for you. Good luck.
Bubble algae does not follow the rules of other algae. Although low nitrates and phosphates will slow down the spread, manual removal or a predator is the best recourse. Keep trying emeralds until you get a good one. I keep a hard working emerald in my 90, every year or so he ends up dead and I'll see a bubble here or there. Then I'll add a couple more and sometimes it takes a couple of tries, then I'll find another good one. It only takes one hard worker to keep my 90 totally clear.
Jakepen
Few beers and I'll frag anything...
I wouldn’t recommend vibrant, had a nasty cyano outbreak after I stopped using it. I would just pop them myself....how do you think emerald crabs eat them? They don’t ingest the entire bubble at once.
hyprc
Well-Known Member
Another vote for an emerald crab. Mine didn't do much at first either but he's made short work of the few pieces of BA that have popped up since I bought a duncan frag I missed them on (took him about a month before I started seeing bubble algae disappearing).
CoralReefer1019
Well-Known Member
sometimes emerald crabs can go rogue...the Vibrant doesn’t cause any issues if you dose according to the directions it has cleaned up my system very nicely and I have stopped using it for a few months now. I would suggest running GFO along with it and “0” TDS water for top off and water changes
Barrett
Well-Known Member
They are to control BA not eliminate it.
WWIII
2500 Club Member
Vibrant will get rid of it eventually. May take a few doses over a couple months to completely rid the tank. People then sometimes have issues with cyano after using Vibrant, but that can be dealt with as well. Depends on how bad you want rid of the bubble algae.
My foxface and goldrim tang eat what they can get to, but bubble algae still survived. I used Vibrant and it now is gone completely. I did have to adress cyano after using Vibrant, but it wasn't bad.
My foxface and goldrim tang eat what they can get to, but bubble algae still survived. I used Vibrant and it now is gone completely. I did have to adress cyano after using Vibrant, but it wasn't bad.
It's actually a crack up watching a beast emerald munch down bubble algae. I've watched my favorite one set up camp and grab a bubble, pull it from the rocks whole, and pop them down like jellybeans. They pop some but they also eat them whole; over time they will eradicate all of them. If you pop them with nothing in the tank to continue to eat them, you'll eventually be in a continue cycle of clearing them. Best way to remove them is to turn off all your flow, get a small tube large enough to suck up the largest of them; using a flat edge tool gently pop them off the rocks while allowing the tube to suck them out, controlling the water flow at the other end of the tube and trying not to pop them.
I doubt very seriously if vibrant or any other form of carbon dosing will eradicate bubble algae, it's just not the same as other algaes. I've heard people online say it does, but in real life it just doesn't happen.
I doubt very seriously if vibrant or any other form of carbon dosing will eradicate bubble algae, it's just not the same as other algaes. I've heard people online say it does, but in real life it just doesn't happen.
