Green ribbon algae - what do you think?

[mandarin417]

My 120ish gallon tank is a bit over two months old now. It was built using dry rock which has probably leeched all sorts of phosphates and has given me a real treat of different algae phases in the tank. At one time I could see the green film algae grow on the glass in just 15 minutes! Glad that is over!

Things have settled down but I now have a macro algae that is very prolific in the tank. It was probably introduced with the few corals added, riding the water with a fish or as a special gift from a snail or hermit.

I call it ribbon algae. It starts out like a thin thread and as time progresses expands to a width of about .25 inches by as long as 5 inches. The blades of the algae are flat but eventually get a bit of a ruffled over time.

Here are some pics of the algae. It can be torn but not easily removed from the rock. It just grows back. Some of the blades even attach themselves to the substrate and also an adornment for this Trochus snail. It is a nice looking alga and would probably make a good scene in the right biotope.

My Chevron Tang and Lawn Mower Blenny will pick at the base when I break off the long threads. A small Pincushion Sea Urchin just added has not ventured into the grassy fields. I also added a handsome medium sized Sea Hare that seems to munch on it but since most of the algae is in a high flow area, he really doesn't get up there as much as I would like him to do. I am slowing down the Ecotechs a bit to encourage the Sea Hare to be a bit more adventuresome.

I added a small mesh sock of ROWAPHOS GFO to the system but my goal is to be GFO free in the long run when I bring on the 45 gallon refugia.

Any idea what sort of algae I have here?

 

[Michael Hoaster]

Reminds me of Ulva. I think there is a close relative that grows like that.

 

[lifeoffaith]

I was thinking Ulva too, but it is definitely not as wide as the Ulva I've seen.

 

[mandarin417]

It does have that Ulva look to it but definitely a different shape. It's an attractive plant. I hopefully can keep some of it alive but managed. This tank was also seeded with a splash of Galveston bay water and a bit of sand. Maybe that's where it came from originally.

 

[mandarin417]

It does have the feel of Ulva but definitely longer and thinner blades. It is a very nice looking algae so hopefully I can keep is growing under control though. I seeded the tank with Mr. Tims, a live rock from another reefers tank in the sump and even a splash of shoreline water and sand from Galveston Bay. Along with corals, fish , snails and crabs – there are lots of potential sources for this algae.

 

[touchingstoves]

I have that growing in my sump. I started with dry rock as well but never introduced anything that wasn't Captive Bred seahorses, well except for the snails (CUC) no corals, but Aquacultured macro algae. Only thing I can think of is

 

[mandarin417]

This algae was very aggressive growing to 8 or more inches long if I didn’t prune them off. Went to a local store whose owner is a marine biologist. Though I have a Chevron in the tank, he said bristle tooth tangs don’t like the softer algae like this since it gets stuck in their bristle mouth. He suggested a Naso or Fox Face. Since my tank is only 36x30x26 and the only Naso’s around town were already too big, I went for a smaller Fox Face. Not so thrilled about the toxic spines but he does like eating this algae.

I am inclined to agree that this is an Ulva. In parts of the tank where current is slower, the leaves widened up looking very much like traditional Ulva.

The algae has been declining very quickly with the addition of the Fox Face, a remarkable Sea Hare which I think is my most interesting creature ever in the tank although my mother in law calls it “Turd” and the 100ml bag of RowaPhos I dropped into my filter sock. At the current rate I will have to find Turd a new home and end up supplementing Fox Face with other vegetation.

This has been a real adventure with all the junk that grows in new tanks!

 

[FinzAquatics]

Enteromorpha Sp.

Similar to ulva but defined strands. Can potentially be invasive