Algae ID

[6-line]

This algae sprouted out of my Marco rock.
It's been 4 months or so since my upgrade to the 60 cube from the 28. None of this algae seems to be on the small amount of the rock from original tank. Mostly all on Marco rock.
This stuff even seems to release brown powdery spore which covers rocks and glass. Ugh.
I recently started growing chaeto in my sump and I run a phosban reactor.

 

[6-line]

Out of the tops of the algae are faint, nearly translucent tendrils which create the foggy aura above the mat

 

[Bogue Chitto]

It looks like some kind of macro algae, not sure though, others may help figure this out for you.

 

[Dkuhlmann]

PM member Cloak and see what he has to say. That's a very strange looking algae, has polyps too. That fog looks pretty eerie

 

[Quiet_Ivy]

Huh, that looks like a spp of Acetabularia, which I didn't think survived in reef tanks. It's common in biology class experiments. If it is, everything and its sister should eat it.

hth
ivy

 

[6-line]

It seems as if my kole tang nibbles on it and sea hare floats on it but it doesn't seem like it's losing because of it.
I researched and the best thing I can come up is a variety of the mermaids cup because some of the polyp type things are nearly white and twice the size

 

[cloak]

It does kind of look like that mermaids cup algae, but is it just that or are there multiple types of algae growing there? The third link below might be in the picture as well.

http://www.saltcorner.com/AquariumLibrary/browsespecies.php?CritterID=2014

https://images.search.yahoo.com/yhs...=yhs-att-att_001&hspart=att&hsimp=yhs-att_001

http://www.saltcorner.com/AquariumLibrary/browsespecies.php?CritterID=2024

 

[6-line]

Thanks!
the first link is an image I saw yesterday and thought of all the ones I've seen, mostly resembles it. Are there other algae growing there mixed together, i don't know? I don't understand the green polyp-y type of stalks unless they are juvenile forms of the mermaid cup 'fronds'? And the hazy stalks that emanate from the tops...i don't know... It would kind of make sense that mermaids cup is a key west/Florida type of Macro algae and this is Marco rock mined from that area...many years ago so how could spores have lasted that long?

 

[cloak]

Will that "haze" go away if you were to take a power head to it? Are you sure it's not just a fungus or perhaps a bacterial mat intertwined with the algae?

http://chucksaddiction.thefishestate.net/ (Info Links > Hitchhikers > Algae)

 

[6-line]

No it doesn't. They are actually stalks almost like dandelions that will not blow off. I'll try to get close up

 

[cloak]

Hydroids perhaps?

 

[6-line]

Similar I think but hard to discern. Perhaps a coincidence it's in the mat of algae. I'll take a close up when I get home

 

[6-line]

Similar I think but hard to discern. Perhaps a coincidence it's in the mat of algae. I'll take a close up when I get home

 

[6-line]

Here's some closeups. As you see the fuzzy halos are sort of like a transparent polyp or flower...

 

[cloak]

Hmm.. After a little research I found this picture, but I'm not really seeing the stalks in your picture.

Cymopolia Barbata

 

[6-line]

Well, hmmm, I don't know. I wish it looked that good.

 

[cloak]

I'm stumped too... I'll bookmark this thread and if I see anything that looks somewhat familiar I'll let you know.

 

[6-line]

Thanks for the help... I'm going it starts fading soon

 

[Quiet_Ivy]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acetabularia

Note the whorls of ferny white hairs around the stalk?
Hermit crabs should eat that stuff up.

ivy

 

[6-line]

Ivy, thats about the as close of a representative pic that I've seen yet.
I don't have any hermits.
Nothing does a great job on it.
I don't have near the amount of the cup stalks as the picture, however