tell me what this stuff is!!

A

awilds

New member
Hello all,
I have been battling this green nuisance for awhile now and I am really not sure what it is that I'm battling. I don't believe this is hair algae as it does not exhibit the feather like appearance of hair algae and this stuff is a course as steel wool! Very hard to pull out of rocks. Lawnmower blenny's won't touch the stuff and niether will the hermits. Not convinced it's bryopsis either but I suppose it could be.

This photos isn't the best quality so I may try to take some better ones. Anyway, any help is appreciated!

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/36380IMG00004.jpg

Al
36380IMG00004.jpg
 
just measured Ca. last night at 430 ppm. phos and nitrate are both undetectable. i also ran a little test on this stuff by putting some (that was growing out of a small rock) in a bucket of fresh saltwater. every 3 days or so, i would change 50% of the water and it kept growing just fine so it appears to not be related to nutrient content at all...or at least as closely related to it as hair algae is.
 
Is it kind of 'grassy' for the lack of a better word? I had something that looked very similar in my tank and my purple tang mowed it down within a week after introduction.
 
If I'm not mistaken, it's pretty stiff in texture. Nothing like the slimy or stringy nuisance algaes you usually see. If it's the same stuff I had, it's a real PITA. It's only redeeming feature was that it grew very slowly. In my experience it was near impossible to pluck off the rock manually. It was VERY tough stuff, and my purple tang wouldn't touch the stuff. I eventually resorted to removing the rock and breaking off the point of attachment.

It basically grew into a big enough tufted ball that I could grasp, and yank the majority, but just couldn't get rid of completely.
 
coralnut, it sounds like you had the same stuff. yes, it is very tough, stiff and not grasslike at all. it almost has the consistency of plastic (those fake grasses and indoor/outdoor turf stuff). I have found no fish or clean up critter that will touch it.

the best way i have found, to date, to combat it if your tank becomes overrun is to simply develop a regimine where you remove certain rocks, sun bleach them for a couple of days and then put them back in. of course, when corals are attached to said rocks - that is not a possibility.

anyway, if anyone has found a better method to get rid of this stuff, I would appreciate it. I'd almost rather have hair algae! :)
 
I came close to the yank and bleach method. I ended up removing the rock and chiseled off the point of attachment.

Thankfully it was a slow grower and never reached plague proportion. It was really impossible to remove it manually. At one point, I resorted to grabbing it with pliers to twist it off the rock. It was much easier to get stuff like caulerpa off rocks than this stuff, and as noted nothing would touch it. If it sprouts on a rock down low in your aquascaping, you're looking at a major effort to get rid of it.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13771477#post13771477 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by awilds
coralnut, it sounds like you had the same stuff. yes, it is very tough, stiff and not grasslike at all. it almost has the consistency of plastic (those fake grasses and indoor/outdoor turf stuff).
Click to expand...

Plastic-like to the touch, grass-like by the look...almost like a really thin bladed grass. Yes, that's what I *had*. Maybe I got lucky?
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13779046#post13779046 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by miwoodar
Plastic-like to the touch, grass-like by the look...almost like a really thin bladed grass. Yes, that's what I *had*. Maybe I got lucky?
Click to expand...

If it's in fact the same stuff you either got lucky, or my purple tang is like my dog, useless.
 
You can try various grazers until something eats it. Generalists with tough palates like many urchins would be a good bet. They may end up eating lot of the coralline algae as well though (may or may not be an issue for you).

If it were me, I would grab a tooth brush and razor blade and practice a little 'grazing' yourself ;)
 
I had them in abundance in my previous system.
Pliers are the tools for the job. If you get a firm grip, you will remove the growth along with a piece of your rock at the base. But most of the time, it just breaks at the base. I've also used shears to cut them to stubbles.
Once the algae has been reduced to stubbles, any new growth will be thin and tender. That's when the tangs graze on it. Only constant grazing will keep it from growing up. IME the Zebrasoma species all eat them.
They also can grow in an ULN environment, albeit very slowly.
 
cutting to stubs - not a bad idea if it does indeed grow back soft enough that the tangs, and maybe some other critters, will graze on it. i have a coral beauty angel and nips at other algae on the rocks quite a bit so maybe he will eat this stuff it i try that.

looks like the best way to control it is just develop a maint plan and stick to it. caution to all though - DO NOT let this stuff get loose in your tank. It may not grow as fast as HA, but it will overrun everything. I found this out the hard way in my old 55 gallon!
 
i had some in my tank for a while, and if i look closely i can still find some here or there. Mine is not that vibrant green but still fits every other description. Almost plastic like, and so tough that when i grab it with my forceps i can hear it poping off the rock.

I have not found it doing anything bad, and it grows very slowly.
 
cladophoropsis - i think it is spelled. it can not be killed - it even grew back after i cooked the rocks for months no lights or heat in the bucket

i have been looking for a solution for years
 
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