trobin4787
New Member
I have a 24 gal nano tank and I'm starting to get some bubble algae. It's isolate to one rock and I'm wondering if it's a problem and if I should do something about it? Any comments or suggestions would be appreciated.
Bubble Algae
- Thread starter trobin4787
- Start date
stanlalee
Active Member
it can become a problem in the presence of high nutrients. it can take off rather quickly. In low nutrients rarely becomes problematic. to remove when possible I wait until a water change. then after I have a bucket of tank water I remove the rock its on from the tank scrape of pick it off with tweezers then dunk and rinse off the rock in the tank water. You dont want to bust them attempting to remove them in the tank although I have many times and never had a serious outbreak. overall you want to remove them then keep your nutrient levels down (applies to any algae for that matter). emerald crabs eat it too but I'm not fond of crabs.
rtzx9r
Member
If you have a sump, I have run a siphon from the tank to the sump and put pantyhose over the line in the sump. You can then suck the bubbles off the rocks (careful not to break them) and get them out in this manner.
It is safer to do as part of a water change so the bubbles go directly into the waste bucket, but depends on your preference.
It is safer to do as part of a water change so the bubbles go directly into the waste bucket, but depends on your preference.
gmann1139
Active Member
I had the same issue in my 12 when I first set it up, where th bubbles were isolated to one rock, but the count was growing.
I waited until a WC where the water level was low, then pulled that one rock out and took it to the sink.
I picked off the bubbles with a fork. Some came easily, some were connected to the rock with some kind of root.
I ended up popping two, so I washed off the rock a couple times with the waste water afterwards to remove any trace of spores.
That took care of it. Haven't seen a bubble since.
I waited until a WC where the water level was low, then pulled that one rock out and took it to the sink.
I picked off the bubbles with a fork. Some came easily, some were connected to the rock with some kind of root.
I ended up popping two, so I washed off the rock a couple times with the waste water afterwards to remove any trace of spores.
That took care of it. Haven't seen a bubble since.
masterhobbyist
New Member
I have always been told to burn it off with a small torch. If you use a small flame, it wont deaden to much of the live rock but there is no risk of spread.
floridacatfish
Member
I have one rock at the bottom of a pile that has just a little of this. Due to it's location I'd have to tear my whole mountain apart to get it out. I also don't want to do too much work in the tank d/t my new fish - don't want to stress them out.
Do Emerald crabs really work well on this? I love having little critters running around, so adding some would be welcome anyways. Any no-no's on emerald crabs - ie are other small hermits going to bother them or things I should know before picking some up tomorrow or Tuesday?
Do Emerald crabs really work well on this? I love having little critters running around, so adding some would be welcome anyways. Any no-no's on emerald crabs - ie are other small hermits going to bother them or things I should know before picking some up tomorrow or Tuesday?
gmann1139
Active Member
Originally Posted by Floridacatfish
http:///forum/post/2856591
Do Emerald crabs really work well on this? I love having little critters running around, so adding some would be welcome anyways. Any no-no's on emerald crabs - ie are other small hermits going to bother them or things I should know before picking some up tomorrow or Tuesday?
The chance of success with Emeralds is probably about 1/3, I tried that first too.
I've also found that Emeralds aren't the most hearty creatures, sometimes they just waste away in the tank.
Oh, and 'some' probably aren't necessary. One should be fine in your tank.
http:///forum/post/2856591
Do Emerald crabs really work well on this? I love having little critters running around, so adding some would be welcome anyways. Any no-no's on emerald crabs - ie are other small hermits going to bother them or things I should know before picking some up tomorrow or Tuesday?
The chance of success with Emeralds is probably about 1/3, I tried that first too.
I've also found that Emeralds aren't the most hearty creatures, sometimes they just waste away in the tank.
Oh, and 'some' probably aren't necessary. One should be fine in your tank.
J
jojo727
Guest
Originally Posted by Floridacatfish
http:///forum/post/2856591
I have one rock at the bottom of a pile that has just a little of this. Due to it's location I'd have to tear my whole mountain apart to get it out. I also don't want to do too much work in the tank d/t my new fish - don't want to stress them out.
Do Emerald crabs really work well on this? I love having little critters running around, so adding some would be welcome anyways. Any no-no's on emerald crabs - ie are other small hermits going to bother them or things I should know before picking some up tomorrow or Tuesday?
i'm having the same problem, a big rock that is the support of the rock structure has one algae bubble on it. i cant bare to take the whole structure apart, i've heard of folks bursting the bubble and using a turkey baster to suck out the spores but i'm unsure of it. i recently set up a algae turf scrubber and my my nitrates are very low with everything else being zero so the BA wouldnt have much to feed on.
http:///forum/post/2856591
I have one rock at the bottom of a pile that has just a little of this. Due to it's location I'd have to tear my whole mountain apart to get it out. I also don't want to do too much work in the tank d/t my new fish - don't want to stress them out.
Do Emerald crabs really work well on this? I love having little critters running around, so adding some would be welcome anyways. Any no-no's on emerald crabs - ie are other small hermits going to bother them or things I should know before picking some up tomorrow or Tuesday?
i'm having the same problem, a big rock that is the support of the rock structure has one algae bubble on it. i cant bare to take the whole structure apart, i've heard of folks bursting the bubble and using a turkey baster to suck out the spores but i'm unsure of it. i recently set up a algae turf scrubber and my my nitrates are very low with everything else being zero so the BA wouldnt have much to feed on.