Macro ID - Udotea?

[noodle]

Have this macro growing for a while and it is getting to the point of annoyance. Please help me identify it so I can figure out how to get rid of it.

It is green and is thin and fragile. Grows pretty close together in tufts. It is the shape of a fan. It looks like a udotea algae from the forum links but it doesn't look calcium based to me....?

Only grows where it gets light. Every couple months the top edges turn yellow and it appears to go sexual and much of it will die off. My skimmer goes crazy and will overflow the bucket if I'm not around when it happens.

Any eradication ideas would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Mike

 

[sbcaes]

id BUY some of it. if you can chip it off with fragments of the rock its growing from.

 

[Amphiprion]

Definitely looks like Udotea. I had a bit of it grow in my old system, along with Acetabularia that I got from some Florida Keys cultured sand.

 

[noodle]

Also, just to note. My tangs will not even look at it and hermits/snails haven't touched it either. Would like to find some ideas on how to get rid of it.

Thanks,
Mike

 

[piercho]

Rhipidosiphon: forms small fan-shaped blades borne on a tubular stipe. A tubular stipe is not a characteristic of Udotea or Avrainvillea, but Rhipidosiphon is in the same grouping (Udoteaceae) and shares the same fan-shaped body.

Both long-spined and rock-boring urchins ate Udotea in my tank, maybe they'd take this one on.

 

[SushiGirl]

Is this the same thing? Just got this frag yesterday & I've never seen this type of algae before.

 

[Amphiprion]

Wow, tiny. It is Udotea or similar. I've seen some about as small on several occasions.

 

[SushiGirl]

Yeah, it's very tiny LOL. Realized what it was when I was examining the frag with the magnifying glass. I love taking pics of stuff to examine them for things, it's easier than trying to see in person. Looking at some other pics, I also noticed a tiny bubble algae in there that I can't see with my eyes. Thanks for the ID!

 

[Amphiprion]

Rhipidosiphon: forms small fan-shaped blades borne on a tubular stipe. A tubular stipe is not a characteristic of Udotea or Avrainvillea, but Rhipidosiphon is in the same grouping (Udoteaceae) and shares the same fan-shaped body.

Both long-spined and rock-boring urchins ate Udotea in my tank, maybe they'd take this one on.

Wow, how could you tell that? I've got a 55" monitor and couldn't even differentiate that much.

 

[piercho]

The stipe is that skinny stalk, which I never saw on Udotea in my tank and is not described for Udotea or Avrainvillea in either of the two algae keys I have. That, and the picture was a dead ringer for Rhipidosiphon in a Hawaiian algae key I have, so I went ahead and took the leap.

At any rate I think you can group this one into Udoteaceae, with Rhipidosiphon being the best genus match I could find.

 

[Amphiprion]

The stipe is that skinny stalk, which I never saw on Udotea in my tank and is not described for Udotea or Avrainvillea in either of the two algae keys I have. That, and the picture was a dead ringer for Rhipidosiphon in a Hawaiian algae key I have, so I went ahead and took the leap.

At any rate I think you can group this one into Udoteaceae, with Rhipidosiphon being the best genus match I could find.

So, does Udotea essentially have a thicker stipe?

 

[piercho]

A stalk (stipe) between the holdfast and the blade appears to be a common characteristic of most of the Udoteaceae. For those Udotea described in Marine Plants of the Caribbean, the stalk thickness varies but is thicker than Rhipidosiphon.

The description of Rhipidosiphon from Hawaiian Reef Plants, 2007: "Plants of the genus Rhipidosiphon form small fan-shaped blades borne on a tubular stipe. The blade is one cell thick, composed of dichotomously branched filaments that have calcified sheaths fusing them together laterally. In contrast, the stipe is a solitary filament and is mostly uncalcified. Only one specie, R. javensis, is present in the Hawaiian islands."

Another cue is that species of Udotea or Avrainvillea that I've seen described are usually on sand or substrate other than rock. R. javensis grows on rock.
http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/reefalgae/powerpoint/SIP-RJAV/sld001.htm

 

[noodle]

Thanks for the input Piercho! I will research the Rhipidosiphon algae and also look into an urchin.

Mike

 

[noodle]

Ok, got a sea hare the other day and he is a udota or rhipidosiphon eating machine....yeah!

Did a couple hours of manual removal and now he is attacking it....looking so much better.

Thanks for the help.

Mike

 

[Ralph ATL]

tagging along. I've been trying to get rid of this crap forever!


After it almost crashed my tank twice from spores, I decided to change out all my rock, a few pieces a month.

I have completed this mission, and I have noticed a few places where there are a few managagle patches that I need to zap with glue, I guess.

I'm, using Seachem Reef, btw.

before and after pics:

 

[scuba guy ron]

yep, this stuff is a nightmare.

I've been battling it for almost a year now. I picked up a sea hare, he didnt touch it then went into the rocks never to be seen again, got a lettuce nudi, he only trimmed it back and I havent seen him in a couple of months. 2 weeks ago it went sexual. when it does, it looks like all the green dies off leaving white fingers behind that eventually start to dissolv and the spot it was on looks like it never was there. My skimmer too went crazy for a week. then I'll see it pop up somewhere else in the tank. boy is it unsightly. It doesnt seem to be nitrate or phosphate driven at all since I've got them both undetectable and havent seen any macro other then this for over 3 yrs. Does anyone know what drives this macro? It only grows where there is light.

heres a pic of an infested rock.

 

[dew9000]

I have the same exact stuff as the quy above, appears to be Rhipidosiphon javensis. Anyone else find a way to get rid of this? Anything that eats this? I have this all over my tank and cant seem pull it fast enough.

 

[Ralph ATL]

nope....

 

[scuba guy ron]

nope....

nope.... thats it. can someone add anything constructive here other then nope?

 

[Plantbrain]

The stipe is that skinny stalk, which I never saw on Udotea in my tank and is not described for Udotea or Avrainvillea in either of the two algae keys I have.
At any rate I think you can group this one into Udoteaceae, with Rhipidosiphon being the best genus match I could find.

Yep, this is a dead ringer it's neither of the two genera. I'm inclined to agree. Getting rid of it? Going to be tough. Perhaps small black thick rubber mats over the problem areas for a little while. Basically blocks the light, spores might recruit on the mats though. Not sure many things will eat it either.
Not too tasty and the things that might will/do chomp coral.

Another idea is to do a good sized water change, enough to exposure the spots, then peroxide the spots and be careful not to get it anywhere else, then refill the tank. There's a dozen or so house hold items that will work, vinegar etc, if you keep up on it AGGRESSIVELY, and do not miss any juvy algae....you should be able to beat it back, but all it takes in one juvy that makes it ti adulthood and the spores are all over once again.

If you bob between little to no N and P, then this often sends macros into sexual stages, same with Cauplerpales and perhaps a few others. I think this one is going to be tough to eradicate.

Temp changes might help, light duration etc also might induce a change.
If the other livestock can handle it, it does not cost you much.