id, red fuzzy algae??

E

erockjg

New member
i have this red fuzzy moss like algae on some rock that a friend gave me. Its soft and fuzzy its not long but over all the rock. I have not added it the my main tank so i put it in a extra tank untill i know what it is. Thanks in advance for the help i will try to add pic if needed
 
Hard to tell without a pic. Even harder with just a description. But since you have a main tank and are asking I would just avoid adding it to the display.

Free rock a friend gave me, good intentions aside, is not worth the possible meltdown.
 
erockjg said:
zakk... It does look like that pic in the link fml.. Just read over it thanks. Looks like its useless.
Click to expand...

I've got some too. Mine came in as the result of my own neglect unfortunately. Kind of like a velvet carpet in patches here and there. It was a good thread, and yeah, the stuff is completely useless. :)
 
their are some mushrooms on some of the rock also some type of zoo's, think i could get them off with out hurting them. If i put the rock in a bucket with no water and let it dry out for a week or so would it grow back when i put in in a tank.
 
erockjg said:
their are some mushrooms on some of the rock also some type of zoo's, think i could get them off with out hurting them. If i put the rock in a bucket with no water and let it dry out for a week or so would it grow back when i put in in a tank.
Click to expand...

If you dry it out all you will get is a really smelly, dead rock that will grow a ton of bad algae when you put it back. You can boil it out, should kill everything, or today I went and located a couple of big mexican turbos, and they hopefully will just keep it in check naturally.
 
I will say that absolutely, 100% mexican turbos will eat that stuff, I put them in today and they are already clearing little patches of it. I don't know how good they are at finding it themselves, but evidently if you place them on it, they will chow down.
 
Sounds like cyanobacteria. And if it is then there's nothing that will eat it. Its a bacteria that competes for the excessive nutrients in the water column. There are a few things you can do to get rid of them. 1 more light in the tank 2 more water flow and the last resort would be using an antibiotic like red slime remover (which is reef safe)

It pops up in my tank from time to time and what I do is try to keep it suspended in the water columnwith a turkey baster and allow a mechanical filter (in my case a filter sock) to trap it and then change out the filter socks every couple days.
 
Sisterlimonpot said:
Sounds like cyanobacteria. And if it is then there's nothing that will eat it. Its a bacteria that competes for the excessive nutrients in the water column. There are a few things you can do to get rid of them. 1 more light in the tank 2 more water flow and the last resort would be using an antibiotic like red slime remover (which is reef safe)

It pops up in my tank from time to time and what I do is try to keep it suspended in the water columnwith a turkey baster and allow a mechanical filter (in my case a filter sock) to trap it and then change out the filter socks every couple days.
Click to expand...

I am currently battling cyano, getting my parameters back in check, and this stuff is different. Cyano can be blasted off rocks, this stuff is tough and fuzzy, you would need a scraper to get it off. The turbos are eating it as I type this, I may post a pic tomorrow to show the nice fresh bald spots :)
 
Sisterlimonpot said:
Oh. Is it like turf algae but red?
Click to expand...

The turf algae I have seen looks like, well, turf, this stuff look and feels like velvet. I might go up and snap a pic of the big patch I have of it. I have no doubt it's a result of poor water conditions, as I never had it when I was being a good reefkeeper.
 
velvet is the best way to discribe it. i wont scrub off easy either. I would load a pic of it but not sure if i can from my phone. Thinking of bleaching it or maybe soaking it in fresh water for a week. I know it will kill everything witch is fine cuz it was free. I can seed it with rock from the main tank. I couldn't find any mexican turbo at my lfs. They said it would be a week or so befor they would have some. if they are truely mex turbo
 
Here's a pic of the big mess I have currently. If you look close, you can see the spot they are clearing, they've only been in there since about 5 this afternoon, but they take the velvet and leave the coralline.
 

Attachments

  • 9.jpg
    9.jpg
    65.3 KB · Views: 14
thats what i have ill will look at a few other lfs around me now many for a 20 gal tank their is 30 # of rock that needs cleared
 
for a 20 gallon? I dunno, I could see one of these cleaning that up in an afternoon and then starving to death, maybe one tiny one...

Mine was likely caused by my recent high phosphates and nitrates. It's even holding on as the phosphate and nitrate drops off. Tough stuff.
 
I think that if someone was looking for proof that mexican turbos absolutely DO eat red velvet algae, and are harmless to coralline? Here is a picture about 24 hours after the previous one...
 

Attachments

  • 10.jpg
    10.jpg
    75.4 KB · Views: 13
Nuisance Algae.

I've only ever seen it referred to as red velvet algae, not sure of the official name.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Q
Which mini snail for artemia tank?
Replies
2
Views
82
griss
griss
R
Getting back into the hobby.
Replies
3
Views
3K
Cjs305510
C
J
Algae
2
Replies
23
Views
4K
griss
griss
D
New- skimmer question
Replies
3
Views
1K
Guygettnby
Guygettnby
G
Can someone help me identify these red spots in my tank? Are they algae? If so, how can I get rid of them?
Replies
11
Views
1K
DjPhato
DjPhato
Back
Top