ID: Red cyano bacteria or anemone mucus?

[rogeragrimes]

I've had a CurlyQ anemone (in the aiptasia family but relatively harmless) in my tank since the beginning of it (little over a year). He and the tank are doing good, although I am still fighting the last remnants of a GHA explosion from a big light upgrade two months ago. About the same time as the new lights, red, algae-looking stuff started appearing under and directly around the CurlyQ anemone (see attached picture). I originally thought it was red cyano bacteria and I sucked it out. It stays together and removes like red cyano bacteria. It came back by the next day just as strong. I sucked it out again, and again, and each time by the next day it was like I never touched it. I even noticed some of this material, thicker and darker, near the center of the anemone once like it had floated there or he was eating or producing it.

Any ideas?

 

[worm5406]

How is flow around it? Can you redirect or move some rock to increase the flow in that area?

Red Slime Algae? That is what it sounds like. There are quite a few youtube videos and threads on removing it here on RC.

 

[rogeragrimes]

How is flow around it? Can you redirect or move some rock to increase the flow in that area?

Red Slime Algae? That is what it sounds like. There are quite a few youtube videos and threads on removing it here on RC.

It's already getting decent flow and the growth doesn't appear to spread beyond the anemone area, so I'm not even sure I need to remove it. I'm now thinking that this is something the anemone is placing and when I remove it, it's potentially harming the anemone.

I can't imagine that algae would completely grow back, every time, in 4-8 hours after I remove it. Nothing I've seen before grows that fast. And it doesn't grow past the area where the anemone lives.

But if there is no such thing as anemone doing what I'm seeing, I'll guess I'll have to admit it's algae or bacteria and start down that line of removal.

 

[D-Nak]

It definitely looks and sounds like cyano. Just get some Chemiclean -- I've used in a few times on my gigantea tank and it works great. It makes your skimmer foam for a few days, but after a couple of water changes the tank goes back to normal and the cyano will be gone.

 

[rogeragrimes]

It definitely looks and sounds like cyano. Just get some Chemiclean -- I've used in a few times on my gigantea tank and it works great. It makes your skimmer foam for a few days, but after a couple of water changes the tank goes back to normal and the cyano will be gone.

Thanks for the suggestion.

You've heard of it growing that fast in the same spot over and over?

 

[worm5406]

Builds from the nitrogen bubbles in the sand.

 

[rogeragrimes]

Does Chemiclean hide or actually get rid of cyano?