AttackDonut
New member
From reading here (thanks guys) and doing other research, I believe I have Acanthophora spicifera, the red kind.
A very tiny amount showed up 1 year ago on a live rock I bought. Transparent red, about Chinese noodle in diameter, stiff in and out of the water, with small bristles growing all the way around it.
Initially I was pleased, macro algae and all that. But it's starting to be a pain. Tank is very small (5 gallon nano) and nothing touches the stuff. I pull it out by the handfull.
Question: Aside from the fact it grows like mad, is it doing any harm? In other words, is it in *direct* competition with my soft corals for nutrients (aside from light) or is it taking up things like Nitrates and what not?
I've been pulling it out and putting in the sump fo the skimmer to grow (and hopefully taking out Nitrates and whatnot) but if this is a dumb thing, let me know.
A very tiny amount showed up 1 year ago on a live rock I bought. Transparent red, about Chinese noodle in diameter, stiff in and out of the water, with small bristles growing all the way around it.
Initially I was pleased, macro algae and all that. But it's starting to be a pain. Tank is very small (5 gallon nano) and nothing touches the stuff. I pull it out by the handfull.
Question: Aside from the fact it grows like mad, is it doing any harm? In other words, is it in *direct* competition with my soft corals for nutrients (aside from light) or is it taking up things like Nitrates and what not?
I've been pulling it out and putting in the sump fo the skimmer to grow (and hopefully taking out Nitrates and whatnot) but if this is a dumb thing, let me know.
I haven't found to hurt anything, but yes when it grows, it grows like gangbusters 
