Plant I.D. Please

[hope2havareef]

I have this very small plant growing in different places on my rock. The tank was just set up 6 days ago. It is approx. Ã"šÃ‚¼" tall, and the tips are sort of bubbly.

 

[Mariner]

It's bubble algae (valonia). Considered by most to be a nuisance algae -- it sometimes proliferates to plague proportions, but sometimes not. A lot will depend on what other algaes, etc. develop in your tank and compete with it for nutrients. Mithrax crabs eat it.
HTH,
Mariner

 

[hope2havareef]

Thanks Mariner

I thought you are a good news messenger?

That's what I was afriad of. The photo's of it I had seen before looked a little different but were pobably more mature.

 

[Mariner]

LOL. Well, as a friend of mine used to say, "Before you get the good news, you've usually got to hear the bad news."

FYI, there are several species in the valonia genus. Some have bigger bubbles, some smaller, some seem more colonial, some more solitary, etc. I have a couple species in my tank, but they haven't grown fast or spread much. If you want to clean some of it off manually, make sure to take the piece of LR they are on out of your tank. Popping valonia bubbles in your tank water will just spread their spores.
HTH,
Mariner