Have you ever seen these? I bet not. ID Please

[daytonareefing]

I never seen these before and I have been in the hobby a long time. I don't think they will hurt anything but I can't find them in any books to find out. I would like everyone's input. They are 2 to 3 inches tall the discs are the size of quarter and they have a little fuzz on top of the disc. They are all white. I'm trying to explain them to you some because the picture is not real clear. For some reason when I take pictures with my phone this website says error to most of them in this case one out of the four I took. Thank you

Sorry the picture is on its side.

 

[Patwa]

acetabularia sp. imo

gorgeous macro algae...very fragile...good luck with it.

length of time in the hobby doesn't mean anything....there's a million and one things in the ocean you have never seen...this is just one of them.

 

[150Ron]

+1 to acetabularia

 

[rgulrich]

Acetabularia - calyculus (if discs are up to 7mm in diameter) or - crenulata (if disc is 12-20mm in diameter). As others have said, beautiful plant.
Featured on the cover of my '89 copy (thanks dad!) of: Marine Plants of the Caribbean - A Field Guide from Florida to Brazil. D. Littler, M. Littler, K. Bucher,and J. Norris. Smithsonian Institution Press. A great guide for plant identification, even for plants not from the stated region.
The reference states they are commonly found in shallow protected areas such as mangrove swamps and attached to a hard substrate, so they probably wouldn't appreciate a lot of current.

Hope this helps.
cheers,
Ray

 

[daytonareefing]

From the pictures on the google thats what I have. They must be pretty rare I can't find much on them. Thank you everyone.

 

[dbl]

If it's possible for an algae to be gorgeous , you have certainly found one! Without any research or knowledge, hopefully they are safe and you can keep them and they prosper.

 

[organism]

Reefcleaners used to sell them, not sure if they still do but they're a cool looking macro. I have some in my tank that's pretty sporadic with where it appears and how long it lasts there.

 

[ShesEasy]

I have one growing.on my astrea snail

 

[Gagonzalez]

I have them in Plague proportions. Can't get rid of them and hate them!

 

[daytonareefing]

Plague

Plague

I have them in Plague proportions. Can't get rid of them and hate them!

That's something I was afraid of, so you think I should get rid of them now before I have a plague? Thank you

 

[Gagonzalez]

I would. But then again, others have said they can't get them to grow so..................***!

Wish I knew what was different in my tank that makes them grow like weeds. No other algae grows except them. I have some SPS, mostly LPS, zoa's and a Clam. Fish wise I only have 2. A Longnose Hawkfish and a Royal Gramma.

This is what I've tried to get rid of them:
- 10g water changes 2x weekly for 1 month
- Added 18 Red Hermits
- Upped my HC GFO to 1cup every week for the last 2 weeks.

Next to try:
- Up Mag level to 1600+
- Tuxedo Urchin
- Give Up

 

[daytonareefing]

Yea its funny my liverock has been in the tank 6 or 7 years and now since I started using zeovit all kinds of new stuff started growing even new corals I never bought just started to popup and grow its been so cool. Are you using any zeovit products Gagonzalez?

 

[Gagonzalez]

No, but similar. I did try using biopellets for the last 6 months or so. Stopped because I saw no difference except for more Acetabularia Algae and a ton of brown muck all over the place. Now that I have stopped, everything seems to be doing better and with the additions above, have slowly been eating away at the algae.

Good Luck!