Algae bubbles how do i get rid of them

[charlie]

Kim, if you can possibly get them without popping them, go for it. I don't know about emeralds and small fish, but if you are shaky about it, maybe give Kevin a call and see what he has to offer up?

[kamar]

Oh, yeah - I've got my little tubing / attached pin-popping-system and faithfully go through the tank every week sucking all of them out that I can. I'm definitely shaky about adding something that might eat my fish, so I've just stuck with the safer manual removal. I was suspecting that people who didn't have problems, might have large fish.

[twisted]

have you tried tweezers? they work really well at not just getting the bubble but also its roots. if you dont get the root out, itll keep coming back

[charlie]

oh that sounds like it may hurt!!!!!:eek3::eek3::eek3:

[lostcreekreefer]

I was wondering, since I've got some bubble algae in my tank as well, and had considered adding just one emerald crab to see if it would help control it (knowing that it may never really go away), what size fish can coexist with an emerald. See, I've got small fish (royal gramma, flame angel and a clown) and I don't want to put an emerald in there only to have it catch my gramma while he's sleeping. I can continue to pop and syphon them out with water changes, but it would be nice to have some help. I have a feeling that emerald crabs are safe only with fish it can't catch. Am I right?

All I can say about the Emerald Crab-Fish interactions is I have never seen any. I have 5 new (small) ECs that I just added & 1 or 2 left over from a year ago, in a 270 gallon display tank. My Bubble Algae was taking over the first time I added ECs, they got the algae hacked down & eaten away to barely noticeable, then lately it was coming back. I figured adding a few new ones would help and it seems to be...the patches are getting smaller & no new ones are showing up.
I have a Flame Angel and I have a Royal Gramma also, the ECs have never gone after them or even waved as they swam by...At night the ECs are very active, but they are all over the rock doing their thing, prying off stuff that is too small for me to see & eating the Bubble Algae. My smallest fish is a False Percula Clown, also never bothered. I will say that the ECs go after SPS corals at first, but they really don't seem to do much to them and are feeding on the surface of the live rock or n the sand bed the vast majority of the time now. I have one giganto EC that has grown to about 1-1/4 - 1-1/2" across his carapace (body-shell). He looks pretty mean, but just goes after the same food, no fish. hope this helps! KevinD

[kamar]

Thanks Kevin - yes that gives me a lot more information. It sounds like you've got all of the same fish I do, only in a much bigger system (mine is 36g). The bubble algae isn't bad, I went through a bit of a bloom, but I was experimenting with how long my canister filter could go between cleanings, and now I know. I got quite a bit of it cleaned up, but I'm always open to a better way that preferably doesn't require a lot of effort on my part!

twisted- That's interesting about the roots - it does come back repeatedly in some areas and I wasn't sure why. I do have a pair of tweezers, but they're pretty small bubbles in some areas, so if I can get the rock out, I try to flick the bubbles away without breaking them, then do a scrub with a toothbrush. Otherwise the bubbles are too small to pick off. It's just annoying to know that stuff is in there, but I'm getting better at accepting that some of this is natural, and doesn't actually pose a threat unless completely out of control.

I might just have to give an emerald crab a try. I just had decided to "say no to crabs"! Now I'm rethinking it.

[charlie]

Kim, ya think we should start earlier next week, this is looking like it could turn into a long meeting.



Maybe we should bring extra adult beverages too:eek3::eek3::eek3:

[kamar]

Kim, ya think we should start earlier next week, this is looking like it could turn into a long meeting.



Maybe we should bring extra adult beverages too:eek3::eek3::eek3:

Well, sure Charlie! Should we move it to say, Friday?? We'll just have everyone bring sleeping bags, and then we'll hit it bright and early Saturday morning. Just let me know what you like for breakfast.

Seriously, whatever works for everyone is fine with me. I've got a binder full of stuff I've printed while researching different things, so you're welcome to take a look at it. Or, if you just want to sit around and watch fish with a beer in your hand, that's fine too. You NEVER get to do that, do you?

[charlie]

I may be down a bit early anyways Kim, I will give you a call Saturday morning, OK?

[kamar]

Sounds good - you're welcome to come over whenever you want. Do you have an idea how many people are coming?

[charlie]

no, I still have heard from about 5 people.

Typical

[DevonM]

I have between 5-7 Emerald Crabs for 3 years and I've never had a problem with them and fish. I'm pretty sure you could catch them if you noticed something wrong, they're pretty slow.

[cdearing]

I've had bubble algae here and there in my 29 and in my 80. I just carefully remove them, either with my fingers or if needed, tweezers. I always keep a turkey baster handy, in case it pops and releases all of it's spores. I think if you just keep them in check this way or with ECs then you should be okay.

P.S. And as for the little "tiff" at the top of the thread... I just think that some people take things too seriously and that it is easy to type in a comment that probably shouldn't be typed or spoken, for that matter. We are all here to help and be helped. I know that I have made a few comments on this forum and have been embarrassed by some of the "upperclassmen" who have made me feel like an idiot. You just have to let it go. Maybe they are having a bad day too cuz then they'll be nice to you tomorrow. (I'm not talking about CE).

Hope to see you at the meeting John. We will try to stay on task as I have been assigned to take notes! OMG!!!

[Parrothead]

I know that I have made a few comments on this forum and have been embarrassed by some of the "upperclassmen"
We will try to stay on task as I have been assigned to take notes! OMG!!!

sorry Cyntia, I mean A. Annie, sorry couldn't let that one slide,, I'm crying tears of happiness, love you Cyn, look forward to your notes, thats if I'm still on your good side after this post