halimeda plant (money plant)

[uglyamericanV1]

i have a halimeda plant in my 30 gal saltwater tank....
nitrates 5
nitrites 0
ammonia 0
150 watts (130 for pcs / 20 from t5)
also i am using activated carbon

it came in green.....placed in tank...doing fine
the next week it has become white....but is covered with bright green fuzz that is actually dense (from 10 feet you would be hard pressed to tell that it has turned white, the green is that dense).
it is not hair algae, it isnt any other algae that i have seen in my tank...
it actually is the same color that the halimeda used to be.....

i was wondering, does any one have any experience with this? or any information i could get in form of links......

not much info i can find about salt water plants....

thanks
!

 

[MMM33732]

Any pictures?

 

[uglyamericanV1]

i dont know how to upload pictures.........

i was just hoping someone had experience with these plants....

instead of being smooth green coin shapped leaves
it now is smooth white coin shapped leaves with green tiny and multiple furry spots all over it.....

any resourses to check?

 

[mano]

It's going sexual it sounds like. See this thread of mine
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1017542

 

[uglyamericanV1]

if its going sexual, im happy

 

[KWRealtor]

Caulerpa fanciers are usually familiar with those algae's method of sexual reproduction. A colony will expel its gametes along with all of its cytoplasm, leaving a snow white or transparent (and very dead) clump of algae and a pea soup green aquarium in its wake. Halimeda's sexual reproduction is similar, but with the added benefit of a known warning indicator. Hours before releasing gametes, the algae will turn pale white with dots of very dark green or almost black along the edges of the thalli. The dots are called gametangia and contain all of the contents of the living plant, concentrated in tiny capsules. This creation of the gametangia is called sporulation. Shortly thereafter, the gametes are released in a fashion similar to Caulerpa's. Plants that reproduce in this fashion, with the entire plant becoming reproductive, are said to be holocarpic.

Found this info on this site: http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-04/nftt/index.php

Very interesting.

Good Luck,
Sam