What in the world is this?

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SEAF

New Member
Ok, I found something new in my 20 gallon reef tank. If I can remember how to post a pic here, I'll show it. Looks like a smoked green glass ball... that hard too. It is securely fastened to the rock and and as hard as the rock. Anyone know what it is?

I don't know how long it has been there... maybe forever! I just noticed it today. It is about 1/8" in diameter and translucent.
 
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Spyral

New Member
I have some on a polyp frag too. I think it is just macroalage. Got any crabs in your tank?

Here is mine..

IMG00100-20101001-2229.jpg
 
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SEAF

New Member
Wow, yours look just like mine. They look kinda cool actually. I just wanted to make sure it wasn't going to be a problem.
I have six hermit crabs... 3 different species. A couple of them I rarely see.
I also haven't seen my Nassarius Snail for several weeks now. Hope he's okay.
 
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Spyral

New Member
Toss an emerald crab or a sally light foot crab (urchin crab) in there, they will take care of it. My emerald crab was munching on it today.

It's bubble algae from the genus valonia according to the GF.
 
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lilfishie

New Member
The green algae you have in this picture is call Valonia. It is best known as green bubble algae. It is a nuisance algae. DO NOT POP IT....Take the rock out of your tank and pick it off without breaking it. If it breaks, you will want to rinse the rock real good before putting it back. You will not be albe to get all the spores off the rock. It will come back in the hundreds and be next to impossible to get rid of. Some say emerald crabs will eat it, but I have yet to see mine eat it.


SEAF said:
Ok, I found something new in my 20 gallon reef tank. If I can remember how to post a pic here, I'll show it. Looks like a smoked green glass ball... that hard too. It is securely fastened to the rock and and as hard as the rock. Anyone know what it is?

I don't know how long it has been there... maybe forever! I just noticed it today. It is about 1/8" in diameter and translucent.
Click to expand...
 
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lilfishie

New Member
Unfortunately there are quite a few nuisance algae’s and bad hitchhikers. For the most part they can be dealt with or lived with. As your tank matures you will probably have to deal with all of them at one time or another. Keep a close watch on your water parameters. And don’t overfeed!
 
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Spyral

New Member
I removed my polyp frag and removed the bubble algae, I didn't pop it. I also removed the mexican plant thingys and some long green hair algae.

Ok, I DID POP THEM!!!! but in the sink after the frag was back in the tank...lol
 
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lilfishie

New Member
Spyral said:
Ok, I DID POP THEM!!!! but in the sink after the frag was back in the tank...lol
Click to expand...
This from the same person that had to taste IO... lol ... I wouldn't have expected anything different. ;)

They are kinda tough, arent they?

Unfortunatly, I had one growing in a crevas in the rock at the bottom of my tank. Impossible to get it out. Well, it popped and now I am dealing with little ones all over. Slowly pealing them off and getting rid of them, but it seems like a never ending battle. I'm determined though.
 
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lilfishie

New Member
SEAF said:
I also haven't seen my Nassarius Snail for several weeks now. Hope he's okay.
Click to expand...
Put a couple pieces of mysys shrimp on the sand bed. If they fish dont eat it, the nassarius will smell it and surface to eat it. They bury themselves in the sand and stick what seems to be their nose up out of the sand.
 
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baglel10

New Member
o i heard that you can take boilding watter and kill them like that. but i would just take it out of the tank and take the boiling water (use a turky baster) and boil them off what do yo think lilfishie :king:
 
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lilfishie

New Member
baglel10 said:
o i heard that you can take boilding watter and kill them like that. but i would just take it out of the tank and take the boiling water (use a turky baster) and boil them off what do yo think lilfishie :king:
Click to expand...
That can work, as long as you dont have coral on the rock. And remember you will also be killing off the bacteria in that area and possibly other critters. It could cause an amonia spike.
Just be careful you dont hit a large area. You can pick up small syringes in the pharmacy area that are used for administering babies medicine. They will work better to target the aiptasia. But yes if you can take the rock out of the water you can do that. You can also scrape them off if you take the rock out. You will have to go deep because they set their foot deep in holes.
 
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SEAF

New Member
Okay, I got rid of the bubble algae the same way Spyral did and I think I have successfully eradicated my Aiptasia (see my post in Diseases and Disasters). I guess time will tell there. Now I have another UAO (unidentified attached object). I sold a piece of live rock, because I had too much in the tank. That's when I noticed this white membrane-looking stuff (black arrows) across some holes in a previously hidden piece of live rock. Please tell me it is not another malicious hitchhiker I have to get rid of! I did finally see my Nassarius Snail again after opening up some tank space in the front and dropping in an African Cichlid sinking pellet. The snail loves those things if he can beat the Hermit Crabs to them.
 
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