Bubbles

Bubbles are your reputation on Underground Aquarium. They build up automatically as you take part: posting in the forums, sharing tanks, contributing to the species library, finishing courses and simply showing up. Bubbles aren't money. You can't buy, sell, transfer or spend them; they show other members how much you've put into the community.

Where can I see my bubbles?

Your bubble badge shows under your name on your own profile and on your public profile, for example "320 bubbles · Lagoon (level 5 of 21)". On a computer, hover over the badge to see your exact balance, your tier and how many bubbles you need for the next tier, for example "180 to Coral Reef". Other members see the same badge on your public profile. For tiers, see Bubble tiers and milestones.

How do I earn bubbles for visiting?

While you're signed in, the first page you load in each period earns a bonus:

• Daily: your first visit of each day.
• Weekly: your first visit of each week (weeks start on Monday).
• Monthly: your first visit of each calendar month.

Days, weeks and months are counted in UTC (Coordinated Universal Time), so a new day starts at midnight UTC, which is late afternoon or evening in the US. Each bonus can only be earned once per period.

How do visit streaks work?

Your streak counts how many days in a row you've visited while signed in. Visit on consecutive days and it goes up by one each day; miss a day and it starts again at 1. Reaching a 7-day, 30-day and 100-day streak each earns a bonus. Each streak bonus is a one-time award, so you earn each of them once.

How do I earn bubbles in the forums?

• Starting your first thread.
• Making your first forum post (a thread or a reply).
• Reaching 10, 50 and 100 forum posts in total. Threads you start and replies both count.
• Receiving your first upvote, then reaching 50, 250 and 1,000 upvotes across all your forum posts.
• Every Float up another member gives your forum posts adds to your balance (and every Sink takes away).

See Forum voting.

How do I earn bubbles from tanks and water tests?

In the Tank Builder:

• Saving your first tank.
• Saving a tank with at least one species in it.
• Sharing a tank publicly for the first time (ticking Show this tank on my profile and in the feed and saving).
• Logging your first water test on a saved tank.
• Logging at least one water test each week (once per week, weeks starting Monday).

Votes on your shared tanks count too: Float up adds and Sink takes away. See Tank votes, likes and comments.

How do I earn bubbles from the species library?

• 50 bubbles when a species photo you submitted is chosen for a species page. See Submitting species photos.
• 75 bubbles when a breeding video you submitted is used. See Breeding videos.
• 25 bubbles when a species you requested is added to the library. See Requesting a species.

Each photo, video or request can only earn bubbles once.

How do I earn bubbles from courses?

You earn bubbles when you complete a course, once for each course you finish. See Courses.

Do I get bubbles on my account anniversary?

Yes. Every year on the anniversary of the day you joined (starting on your first anniversary), you get two awards: one for the anniversary and one for being a member in good standing for the year. They're added automatically; you don't need to visit that day.

Do classified ads earn bubbles?

Not at the moment. Posting free classified ads doesn't add bubbles directly, but it does count toward the Classifieds trophies. See Trophies.

Can I lose bubbles?

Yes, in two ways:

• When other members tap Sink on your forum posts or tanks, or take back a Float up they gave, your balance goes down.
• Our team can add or remove bubbles by hand, for example to fix a mistake or when rules are broken. Every manual change is recorded with a reason, and you get a notification with the amount and the reason: You earned bubbles when bubbles are added, or Bubbles adjusted when they're removed.

Losing bubbles never drops your tier. Once you reach a tier you keep it. See Bubble tiers and milestones.

Will I be notified when I earn bubbles?

• Awards of 10 bubbles or more send a You earned bubbles notification showing the amount and what it was for, for example "+50 bubbles" and the reason. Tapping it opens your profile.
• Smaller awards, like everyday visit bonuses, are added quietly so they don't flood your bell.
• For species photos and breeding videos, the notice that your photo or video was used mentions the bubbles, so you don't get a second notice.
• Votes on your posts and tanks don't send notifications.
• Reaching a new tier always sends a New tier notification and an email.

You can turn bubble notifications off under Bubbles in your notification settings. See Notifications.

Can bubbles be earned twice for the same thing?

No. Every award is tied to a specific milestone or period (a day, a week, a course, a photo), so repeating the same action doesn't pay out again. Deleting and re-saving a tank, for example, won't earn the first-tank bonus a second time.

Is there a bubble leaderboard?

There's no site-wide bubble leaderboard. Bubbles show on each member's profile. (The Society has its own points leaderboard for breeding; see Society leaderboard.)

Common problems

My daily bubbles didn't show up. Visit bonuses are only counted while you're signed in, on a fresh page load. If you kept a tab open from the day before, reload the page after midnight UTC. Remember the day changes at midnight UTC, not your local midnight.

My streak reset. You missed a UTC day. Because the day changes at midnight UTC, visiting late one evening and early the next morning your time can land on the same UTC day, and skipping an evening can break the streak.

I didn't get a notification for an award. Only awards of 10 bubbles or more send a notification. Check your balance on your profile. Also check Bubbles is switched on in your notification settings.

My balance went down. Someone sank one of your forum posts or tanks, or removed an earlier upvote. Your tier stays the same.

I did something and got no bubbles. Many awards are one-time firsts or milestones you may have already earned. If you think an award is missing, email support@undergroundaquarium.com with what you did and when.