What is this brown bubble in my tank?

[dphess]

I noticed this in my tank over the weekend. It's fairly new - no more than a week old. It looks like a bubble, maybe one cm in diameter, growing in the surface of the coral. That particular piece of coral has been in the tank for over nine months. The tank has been up and running for about a year. Residents are clownfish, green chromis, a cleaner shrimp and assorted snails.

Does anyone have any guesses? I'm new to the hobby so please let me know if more information is helpful. Thanks in advance for any assistance.

 

[James M]

Bubble algae. Remove it and make sure not to pop it

 

[dphess]

Ok many thanks. I'm now off to google "how to remove bubble algae"!

 

[W1ngz]

Don't do it in the tank.
Remove the rock and do it over the sink or in a bucket of old tank water. You can likely very very gently pick it or pry it off with the tip of a blunt knife. Try not to pop it. You want to roll it off it's attachment point, don't stab or squeeze it.

Treat the area with a few drops of hydrogen peroxide.

 

[W1ngz]

Looking closely at the rock you may also want to do something about what looks to be pulsing xenia on the right of your photo. That stuff can spread very quickly to surrounding rocks. I keep some, but it's on an isolated rock down in the sand to limit it's ability to spread.

 

[Westside Guy]

Don't do it in the tank.
Remove the rock and do it over the sink or in a bucket of old tank water. You can likely very very gently pick it or pry it off with the tip of a blunt knife. Try not to pop it. You want to roll it off it's attachment point, don't stab or squeeze it.

Treat the area with a few drops of hydrogen peroxide.

Out of curiosity what happens if you pop it?

 

[W1ngz]

It's like blowing on one of these and then thinking you can catch them all.

 

[Westside Guy]

Sounds like time to introduce an emerald crab.

 

[Paleozoic_reefer]

I saw ONE in my tank years ago and thought..."awe; that looks cool! I'll keep it!"
Now I'm dealing with this...

 

[Westside Guy]

I saw ONE in my tank years ago and thought..."awe; that looks cool! I'll keep it!"
Now I'm dealing with this...

Place a few emerald crabs in your tank and they will have a feast with the bubble algae!

 

[Paleozoic_reefer]

@Westside Guy been there done that! The emerald crabs I've gotten have all been more interested my coral or fish food after a few months of eating BA. At this point I'm doing manual removal and cutting down on nutrients keeping it at bay. Overall it doesn't look that bad....I least that's what I keep telling myself...

 

[link81]

i thought the "don't pop it" was just an old wives tale.
I've popped them many times pulling them off, and it never started an outbreak.

 

[ScottR]

It's like blowing on one of these and then thinking you can catch them all.

Laugh of the day.