Green bubbles

[mr.flameangel]

I was just looking on my lr and i saw 3 little green bubbles on the rock. they seem to be a little bigger than a pen tip. if any 1 knows what this is could you help. I am new to the live rock. so you will have to forgive me. thanks
mike

 

[y2says]

It's probably bubble algae. Emerald crabs will eat them up. Whatever you do, don't pop them. That will release it's spores and spread all over the tank.

 

[mr.flameangel]

thanks i will make sure not to pop them. they only crabs i have are bumble and blue tips you think they will get rid of it?

 

[y2says]

The only thing I see eat them are the emerald crabs and tangs. The other crabs may eat them.

 

[ed r]

Some emerald crabs help with bubble algae, but others don't. I think manually removing it is better. I have heard the "don't break them" statements many times. I try not to do so, but think that the small ones (BB size and under) would not contain any mature spores even if bigger ones MIGHT. I break the bubbles loose during the start of a water change and siphon them out. If you have only a few, it is not hard to do. Good luck.

 

[sterling]

If you don't want to chance them spreading, I pulled my rock out and popped them off with a toothpick and rinsed the small area with a little fresh water, never to see them again.

 

[mr.flameangel]

i was just looking at the tank and on the filter rod and the back glass i am seeing what i thought was air bubbles. they are clear though. are these the same thing? and is it a bad thing to have these?

 

[frankl15207]

How long has your tank been setup and are you running a protein skimmer yet?
What you are describing on the back glass sounds more like bubbles trapped under some film algae. I had this show up at about three months into my setup and the bubbles just disappeared on their own. Your last post describes something other than bubble algae which sound like what you have on the live rock.