Removing movie clips in arrays

Question

Hi there
I have this code in my Flash file:
for(bubble in bubbleArray){
     bubbleArray[bubble]._y -= 3;
     if(bubbleArray[bubble]._y < 370){
          bubbleArray[bubble].removeMovieClip();
I'm wondering, when I remove the movie clips should I also be popping them from the array?
I have an onEnterFrame function that attaches the movie clips and pushes them into the array, so I'm worried that if I don't pop them the array will continue to increase in size and slow down the movie. Is this the case, or will they be automatically removed from the array by the removeMovieClip() method above?

Answer 1

Looks like I spoke too soon. I imagined that removing them from the array would be easy, but I'm struggling.
The movie clip that is removed from its parent clip and should be removed from the array will not always be the first element in the array, and I'll need to remove multiple clips at a time. I've put in a trace action to trace the length of my array, and after about ten seconds it contains about 2500 elements, most of which have already been removed using the removeMovieClip() method. I'm worried this will slow down the movie.
So to clarify: How can I remove these elements from my array when I remove them from the stage?
I tried to include something like:
while(bubbleArray[0] == undefined){
     bubbleArray.shift();
but it caused Flash Player to freeze up. Also, if I trace bubbleArray[0] it is only "undefined" before something is pushed into the array. Once the clip has been removed from the stage, the trace just returns a blank line, not "undefined".
I'd appreciate any help.
Here is all my code:
stop();
splash.stop();
var i:Number;
var j:Number = 0;
var minBubbles:Number = 10;
var maxBubbles:Number = 20;
var bottomBubbleLimit:Number = 0;
var topBubbleLimit:Number = 1;
var bubbleNumber:Number;
var bubbleX:Number;
var bubbleY:Number;
var bubbleScale:Number;
var bubbleMinScale:Number = 30;
var bubbleMaxScale:Number = 100;
var fewerBubbles:Number;
var ring:String;
var ringArray:Array = [ringAnimation.ring1, ringAnimation.ring2];
var bubbleArray:Array = [];
ringAnimation.onEnterFrame = function(){
    for(ring in ringArray){
        if(ringArray[ring]._y > 370){
            bubbleNumber = (minBubbles + (Math.random() * (maxBubbles - minBubbles)));
            for(i = 0; i < bubbleNumber; i++){
                bubbleX = ((ringArray[ring]._x - (ringArray[ring]._width / 2)) + (Math.random() * ringArray[ring]._width));
                bubbleY = ((ringArray[ring]._y - (ringArray[ring]._height / 2)) + (Math.random() * ringArray[ring]._height));
                bubbleScale = bubbleMinScale + (Math.random() * (bubbleMaxScale - bubbleMinScale));
                ringAnimation.attachMovie("bubble", "bubble" + String(j), this.getNextHighestDepth(), {_x:bubbleX, _y:bubbleY, _xscale:bubbleScale, _yscale:bubbleScale});
                bubbleArray.push(ringAnimation["bubble" + String(j)]);
                j++;
    for(bubble in bubbleArray){
        bubbleArray[bubble]._y -= 3;
        if(bubbleArray[bubble]._y < 370){
            bubbleArray[bubble].removeMovieClip();
    trace(bubbleArray.length);
    if(ringAnimation._currentFrame == 6){
        splash.gotoAndPlay(1);
    }else if(ringAnimation._currentFrame == 12){
        splash.gotoAndPlay(1);
fewerBubbles = setInterval(reduceBubbles, 600);
function reduceBubbles(){
    if(minBubbles > bottomBubbleLimit){
        minBubbles--;
    if(maxBubbles > topBubbleLimit){
        maxBubbles--;
    if(minBubbles == bottomBubbleLimit && maxBubbles == topBubbleLimit){
        clearInterval(fewerBubbles);