Nasty Looking Stuff

[tonyg]

Greetings,
I first noticed this stuff on my rocks a couple of weeks ago. Its in 2 different places, it does'nt seem to be spreading or getting any bigger...yet. The single bubble in the first picture is about 1/4", the small group of bubbles in the second picture is about 1/2" long.

Possibly bubble algae? How concerned should I be? Should I be taking action to remove it somehow?

 

[ErinCahir]

Looks like bubble algae to me. You can just pick it off... but be careful not to pop it.

 

[Waddi]

+1 Erin.

 

[tonyg]

Sweet, thanks for the replies!

Best to take the rocks out before trying to clean it off then?

 

[Waddi]

When you pop them they release a liquid, which you cant see, and basically it grows from there.
What i do is a take a big turkey baster, place it over the bubble, twist and suck it in to the tube then dump all that water out and the bubble into a container you dont use.

 

[sen5241b]

I have three Emeralds in my BC29 and they eat most of it.

 

[tonyg]

I have three Emeralds in my BC29 and they eat most of it.

I like the Emerald crabs. Though I decided against them. I have numerous small hermits in my tank, and they are real jerks. The bigger ones have killed several snails either to jack their shells, or just for fun. I keep plenty of extra shells in the tank, but it does not seem to matter. At night I see the smaller crabs harassing even smaller snails by turning them upside down. They don't even seem to be interested in their shells. They just flip them over as they walk by.
After observing their jerk-like behavior and hearing the opinion of several other members, I've decided to remove all but two or three of the crabs, and replace them with more friendly snails.

 

[NanoReefer]

yeah i hate emeralds. three literally gangbanged one of my clowns in a cave.... but as everyone said its easy to manually remove

 

[DAvis]

+1 Waddi
I had this and used a pair of forceps while running a siphon hose and removed them during a water change. This way you just siphon off the bubble algae, and if you make a mistake and pop them, you will also suck up all the spores.

I also have emeralds. I wouldn't worry about them and the hermits, they can fend for themselves! I have been bubble algae free for over a year and a half.

Good Luck!

 

[tonyg]

I ended up taking the rocks out of the tank to remove this stuff. I used a small flat head screwdriver to scrape it off. It was extremely easy to remove. When I find more using a siphon method while scraping in the tank will work just fine.

Thanks for all the advice!

 

[AmberSunrise]

I like the Emerald crabs. Though I decided against them. I have numerous small hermits in my tank, and they are real jerks. The bigger ones have killed several snails either to jack their shells, or just for fun. I keep plenty of extra shells in the tank, but it does not seem to matter. At night I see the smaller crabs harassing even smaller snails by turning them upside down. They don't even seem to be interested in their shells. They just flip them over as they walk by.
After observing their jerk-like behavior and hearing the opinion of several other members, I've decided to remove all but two or three of the crabs, and replace them with more friendly snails.

Hermits are assholes. I prefer the snails