Hard, Green Bubbles on LR?

[reef dude]

Recently i have begun to notice these green bubbles appearing on my LR and powerheads. They range from the size of a pea to the size of a large marble and occasionally i will see one pop and it turns to a white, empty shell. I have heard that these are some type of nussiance algae or aptasia like creatures. What are these and should i get rid of them????

 

[saltyrich]

bubble algae. It will spread. Sometimes emerald crabs will eat it.

 

[reef fool]

As said above, bubble algae. Remove them before they get too big. Take ot whatever rocks and equiptment you can out of the tank and remove the bubbles outside the tank. As for emerald crabs, according to a post that I put up around 3-4 weeks ago, one in every 100 eat it. Mine is one of the 99 others!

 

[nm reef]

Definitely sounds like valonia(bubble algae)...and it can become a problem if not kept under control. I've found that emeralds will eat the small ones but do nothing for the larger ones. Manual removal works but try to insure that they don't burst while removing them...they'll release spores which will lead to even more of them.
Here is a link to info on them...hope it helps.
Valonia(bubble algae)

 

[sterling]

Bubble algae. Pretty easy to remove without bursting. I just took two off that were growing under one side of my xenia. They're hard, not soft, so you can usually pick them off.

 

[reef dude]

Yup, thats deffinately it!!!!! Thanks for the great link NM reef, i think i'll start removing the bubbles tomorow... is the easiest way to remove them just taking each rock with the bubbles on it and plucking them off in a basin of clean saltwater/tank water?

 

[iceburger]

use a needle and syringe (sp.) to suck out all the stuff out of the larger ones so when you remove them there is no chance that they will bust...

 

[slothy]

ot: what makes bubble algae bad ? eye sore ?

 

[fshhub]

eye sore, also gets out of hand
and lastly, it is strong, strong enough to unstabilize or even topple your rock pile.
It can easily be removed and some fish may eat it(few and not particularly by species but more the individual fish. Another eater of valonia is the emerald crab, most of them seem to love it

 

[jonthefb]

the sores that they release can attatch themselves to the base of coral skeletons, and can actually encroach upon them and cause the tissue to receed. this is really about the only thing that they can do in our tanks, plus they are an eyesore in high numbers
good luck
jon