mcgallagherc
Active Member
Can anyone help ID what this may be?
Strange bubble under mushroom?
- Thread starter mcgallagherc
- Start date
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That’s bubble algae, and it’s considered invasive. General recommendations to get rid of it are emerald or pitho crabs, foxfaces, and sometimes tangs. Most people recommend the crabs or foxface though.
Anemone_Fanatic
Valuable Member
Bubble algae. Take the rock out, and scrap it carefully away. Afterwards, rinse it in some saltwater to get rid of any potential spores. If it returns after being scraped off, a foxface or some pitho crabs may eat it. I hope that this helps!
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mcgallagherc
Active Member
Would removing the mushrooms, throwing out this small rock and relocating to new rock be an option?
Joe31415
Valuable Member
I'm picking out bubble algae nearly every day and there's a lot of it in places I can't get to. My tank is only a 40g, so far too small for any kind of fish that's known for eating it.
I know I should pick up an emerald crab, but I'm worried about it going after my corals. I'm wish there was another solution to this problem.
One thing I've considered is picking up the smallest tang or fox face I can find and giving it back to the LFS as soon as it starts getting too big. But I'm not that thrilled with that idea either.
I have a feeling my best bet is going to be to pick up an emerald crab and letting it roam around the tank for a while. As soon as it starts going after the corals I could move it to my coral QT, since all the frags in there are mounted on racks suction cupped to the glass or on egg crates mounted on PVC pipes. I'm assuming it won't be able to climb the PVC or the glass so it should be okay in there.
I did pick up some Vibrant before I saw the Vibrant threads and ended up not using it, but I still have the bottle, so that's still a possibility as well.
I know I should pick up an emerald crab, but I'm worried about it going after my corals. I'm wish there was another solution to this problem.
One thing I've considered is picking up the smallest tang or fox face I can find and giving it back to the LFS as soon as it starts getting too big. But I'm not that thrilled with that idea either.
I have a feeling my best bet is going to be to pick up an emerald crab and letting it roam around the tank for a while. As soon as it starts going after the corals I could move it to my coral QT, since all the frags in there are mounted on racks suction cupped to the glass or on egg crates mounted on PVC pipes. I'm assuming it won't be able to climb the PVC or the glass so it should be okay in there.
I did pick up some Vibrant before I saw the Vibrant threads and ended up not using it, but I still have the bottle, so that's still a possibility as well.
Anemone_Fanatic
Valuable Member
That would work just fine. Just be careful not to rupture the bubble while it's still in the water. Some say that they spread spores when they pop. I don't know of any concrete evidence for this, but be careful just in case.
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mcgallagherc
Active Member
What conditions are related to seeing bubble algae?
Anemone_Fanatic
Valuable Member
Generally, bubble algae is caused by it hitchhiking into the tank on a coral or frag plug, not by any specific conditions. However, high nutrients can help it grow even faster.
