Who has had this stuff and been successful in beating it?
Mine started out as a little patch on a new rock with some zoanthids on it a little over a year ago. It has since exploded and taken over every rock in the tank. Same with the refugium.
At first I thought this stuff was a sp. of Gelidium, but I soon learned that was not the case. Ater a lot of research I have come to the conclusion that this stuff in none other than Asparagopsis taxiformis in the sporophyte state.
I was able to glean a lot of information from this thread in Eric's forum.
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=30618&perpage=25&pagenumber=1
In this thread Edsreef talked about a sample of his he sent to Dr. David L. Ballantine from the University of Puerto Rico Dept. of Marine Sciences. Here was the Dr's response:
Hi Ed:
The red algal sample made it to me this morning safely. Your red
alga is something that used to be called Falkenbergia hillebrandii.
However, it was found to be a morphologically different life history
alternate of another red alga (approx. 20 years ago) that had been formally described earlier, Asparagopsis taxiformis. So by taxonomic rules of priority the latter name is correct. So your plant is the sporophyte (or diploid) generation of Asparagopsis taxiformis. It is quite a common alga in reef environments and growing on mangrove roots throughout the Caribbean. It gets as far south as Brazil and as far north as Florida and Bermuda. One of its interesting biochemical features is that it concentrates bromine. This probably makes it inedible to most herbivores - so that would complicate its control. It undoubtedly accompanied in a reduced state, one of your additions to your aquarium that originated in Florida or the Caribbean. Other than physical
periodic removal, I wouldn't know how to get rid of it. Sincerely,
Dave Ballantine
David L. Ballantine
Department of Marine Sciences
P.O. Box 9013
University of Puerto Rico
Mayagüez, Puerto Rico 00681
I have also gathered from conversation with other hobbyists that there are a few expierenced reefers out there who fought the battle and eventually gave in and tore their systems down. In my quest for a fix I have tried all the standard pest algae controls you can think of.
I am looking for any and all expierences anyone may be able to provide.
Mine started out as a little patch on a new rock with some zoanthids on it a little over a year ago. It has since exploded and taken over every rock in the tank. Same with the refugium.
At first I thought this stuff was a sp. of Gelidium, but I soon learned that was not the case. Ater a lot of research I have come to the conclusion that this stuff in none other than Asparagopsis taxiformis in the sporophyte state.
I was able to glean a lot of information from this thread in Eric's forum.
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=30618&perpage=25&pagenumber=1
In this thread Edsreef talked about a sample of his he sent to Dr. David L. Ballantine from the University of Puerto Rico Dept. of Marine Sciences. Here was the Dr's response:
Hi Ed:
The red algal sample made it to me this morning safely. Your red
alga is something that used to be called Falkenbergia hillebrandii.
However, it was found to be a morphologically different life history
alternate of another red alga (approx. 20 years ago) that had been formally described earlier, Asparagopsis taxiformis. So by taxonomic rules of priority the latter name is correct. So your plant is the sporophyte (or diploid) generation of Asparagopsis taxiformis. It is quite a common alga in reef environments and growing on mangrove roots throughout the Caribbean. It gets as far south as Brazil and as far north as Florida and Bermuda. One of its interesting biochemical features is that it concentrates bromine. This probably makes it inedible to most herbivores - so that would complicate its control. It undoubtedly accompanied in a reduced state, one of your additions to your aquarium that originated in Florida or the Caribbean. Other than physical
periodic removal, I wouldn't know how to get rid of it. Sincerely,
Dave Ballantine
David L. Ballantine
Department of Marine Sciences
P.O. Box 9013
University of Puerto Rico
Mayagüez, Puerto Rico 00681
I have also gathered from conversation with other hobbyists that there are a few expierenced reefers out there who fought the battle and eventually gave in and tore their systems down. In my quest for a fix I have tried all the standard pest algae controls you can think of.
- Manual harvesting does not work. Algae has a tenaciuos grip and is somewhat like valonia in that if one little strand gets away from you....well, you know that story.
- No luck in finding a natural predator...snails, fish, crabs, limited success with urchins (but, they can only stomach so much before they move on
- Tank nutrient control has little to no effect (strong skimmer in place, tank feeding decreased drastically, boatloads of water changes)
I am looking for any and all expierences anyone may be able to provide.