Help removing this coarse algae

[DarkXerox]

I've tried manual removal and it only seems to slow the problem. Here's a photo I took awhile back:

I have no clue what it is, except it's really tough and hard to pull out even with strong tweezers. Any herbivores capable of eating it (this is in my 29G so I can't keep a rabbitfish, etc.)?

 

[DarkXerox]

No one knows what it is?

 

[scubajsm]

It looks like a type of bryosis often sold as macroalgae, I have some in my tank and I'm just going to have to toss b/f it spreads. Luckily mine is on a small rock piece.

 

[michika]

I'm tagging along, as something similar has just started to attempt a hostile takeover of my 30g. I've looked on Algaebase.org (sp?) with no success yet. Mine develops in low flow areas, just on LR right now.

When you touch yours does it feel stiff and pokey, like say whiskers?

 

[moo0o]

i had that on a few of my rocks. the only way i could think of removing it was taking them out of my tank and keeping them out of light for a month......and even after a month some of it still lived

 

[graveyardworm]

I believe its a species of cheato, Chaetomorpha aerea
pic here at Saltcorner.com . If your tank is large enough I believe a herbivorous fish like rabbitfish would eat it. Possibly even a emerald crabs might pick at it.

 

[DarkXerox]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10248290#post10248290 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by michika
I'm tagging along, as something similar has just started to attempt a hostile takeover of my 30g. I've looked on Algaebase.org (sp?) with no success yet. Mine develops in low flow areas, just on LR right now.

When you touch yours does it feel stiff and pokey, like say whiskers?

Yeah it is pretty stiff and super hard to pull off.

I can try to get some better macro shots but I ripped a lot of it out recently...but it only did a dent.

I agree that a rabbit might eat it, but I've only got a 29G here and it is pretty heavily stocked--even if I kept a rabbit temporarily then moved it to my 90G.

I'm going to try a tuxedo urchin this week if the LFS has one. If that doesn't work, I'll borrow a sea hare.

 

[DarkXerox]

Well I was looking around and found this:

http://saltcorner.com/sections/guest/algaepage/Green/turfalgae/Cladophoropsis1.htm

Looks like it may be Cladophoropsis sp. and apparently according to that site, tuxedos do eat it. That photo is really fuzzy though...and I could'nt find anything similar doing a google image search.

I did however find out what the red algae I was asking about months ago was. Turns out that stuff was Gelidium latifolium--I need to find a predator now.

 

[tj2004]

Emerald crabs will eat it. I have some in my tank and whenever it starts getting kinda long they start mowing it down. It doesn't spread or grow too fast but I have definately see my emerald crab eating it.

 

[DarkXerox]

Yeah I'm just so wary of mithrax crabs and any crab in general (besides acropora commensals) since they tend to be so opportunistic and I have a lot of nice frags that wouldn't survive a munching.

 

[DarkXerox]

Update: I got a blue striped tuxedo urchin today and I finished acclimating it. I put it on top of a stubborn patch of the algae and we'll see what it can do. It seems to be munching on the red turf algae (gelidum?) at least....but my montiporas are able to sting/kill that stuff.

 

[DarkXerox]

Well after two days, it has been munching on the rock that I put it on and it completely wiped out the Gelidum (red turf algae) and did eat about half of the green algae (it had trouble with the bits stuck in the crevaces). Well I'm happy, $15 is the kind of solution/control that I was looking for.

 

[DarkXerox]

Another update:

The Urchin mowed down an area that was covered with the coarse green algae too. Looks like this is the solution (I just had to make sure all my frags were glued down)!

 

[moo0o]

whered you get that urchin! no pet store around me has them =(