Green bubble balls???

Discussion in 'ID This!' started by ranger2806, Jan 2, 2009.

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  1. ranger2806

    ranger2806 Fire Shrimp

    Joined:
    Dec 7, 2008
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    Location:
    rockford IL
    i have these green balls that look like bubbles on my zoo polyps i dont know what they are. they are hard to the touch but when i pull them off and i threw one of them into my empty bucket it broke like an egg. i dont know what they are and there are more. i dont know if there good or not. i will try to get a pic on here later.
     
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  3. RHorton

    RHorton Pajama Cardinal

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    It's called bubble algae,(yes they are undesirable algae), you don't want to pop it in the tank as this is how it can spread.you can try to pull them off and most of the time they will come off without popping.
    what are your parameters? phos, nitrate ect..
     
  4. ranger2806

    ranger2806 Fire Shrimp

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    rockford IL
    im waiting for my new test kit to come in the mail but last i knew the phos was high so i put a phos blocker in and i havent been able to check
     
  5. NU-2reef

    NU-2reef Montipora Digitata

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    grab a turkey baster and just suck him out should just release, mine do. and i dont have many just one every 4 months or so
     
  6. Crimson Ghost

    Crimson Ghost Blue Ringed Angel

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    I have always been told that Emerald Crabs will eat Bubble Algae, but I don't like that as a solution since you are not resolving the problem. Plus they break open the bubble and the spores are released to spread.

    If you recently added live rock to your system that's probably where the spores came from. In which case, no worries pull um out and that's that. If not then its an abundance of nutrients in your water column - usually nitrates and phosphates. If that's the case you need to address the cause before you are faced with something more challenging.

    Just one other comment. I often hear people say “I have this algae problem but my water parameters are pristine” Quite often that algae is thriving off the excess nutrients at the same pace that the tank is providing them. So the algae is happy and unfortunately thriving but your water checks out. This is the same principal as a refugium, just the algae is growing outside of your display. Just thought I would toss that thought out to you incase your water checks out and it make it more difficult to identify the cause. Good luck !