Unable to Identify...

[McTeague]

I have been trying and googling and I cannot identify the stuff on my rock. It looks like dark red cellophane confetti. Any assistance in identifying would be appreciated... Below are the pics:

Also check out the hammer I got today for $35 what a deal!

 

[Espo92]

It looks like Red Slime Algae. If it is I would go to your LFS and get a powder for it because it will spread like a wild fire to the rest of the tank. Trust me it's a pain. I would try to get rid of it now, and also check all your levels because one of them might be off and could be the cause of it.

 

[McTeague]

Nah, it is flaky and confetti like. Not cyano. Its almost like a red dinofalgellate if there is such a thing...

 

[mudskipper1]

For me, I noticed it growing, increased flow in that area after I siphoned as much as I could out, gone in 2 days, not back in 3 months, IME it really does not like a lot of flow

 

[sanababit]

red macro algae, i have it in my fuge, it grows everywhere really fast, i have seen pieces in my main tank that get pump from fuge, but my tangs eat them as soon as they see them.

i would suggest a tang to eat it or other hervibore fish

sana

 

[McTeague]

I wish I could get a better picture of it, my camera sucks...

 

[sanababit]

does it look leafy and red???

 

[McTeague]

Hmmm, I googled "red macro algae" pics and it kinda looks like that except it does not have an organized structure. It does not form regular leaf patterns but instead looks like randomly cut semi translucent confetti glued to the rock. And it grows right over the bubble algae no problem. I would just manually remove it but the mushrooms are so close to it...

Edit: looking at more google pics and I think it is possible that it is red macro algae. Thanks! My tank is too small for a tang however. The gold stripe maroon I have now is pretty much the only fish I was planning on.

 

[sanababit]

i'ts that, i recognice it from photos, i just went to my sump to compare them and it looks just like it, tangs will eat it

 

[McTeague]

I wonder why it only grows on one rock...? Must be something about that rock...

 

[sanababit]

give it a little more time you will have it on glass, rock, snails, coral, etc, or just take the rock out and boil it to kill everything on it, clean it really goos and seed it again

sana

 

[McTeague]

Great news

Thanks for your help!

 

[McTeague]

Well, I took the rock out and scrubbed it under running tap water that was adjusted to be roughly the same temp as the tank water.

I used a tooth brush and was able to remove almost all of it. It is interesting that the small amount of algae that remained on the rock underwent a color change to orange, hopefully that means it was killed by the tap water. The mushrooms do not seem happy now but I think they will be fine.

My clown is super angry... He does not like me reaching into his tank...

 

[swsmr]

this is a red kelp, it's a fast growing macro algae, very beneficial for your tank but it should be kept in a refujium to control it's growth, it probably came on the life rock, you should never wash life rocks with fresh water, you killed all the good bacteria that been living on your rocks for months or years, and the algae will come back, you should remove it manually before it spreads and cover the whole tank or get a tang, tangs eat them

 

[McTeague]

Further research indicates it is either Nitophyllum punctatum or Gracilaria curtissae.

I doubt that rinsing the rock in some tap water instantly killed all the bacteria... However, if it did it the bacteria will re-populate from the other rocks.

My tank is too small for a tang and as I said one fish is all that I want in there and I already have a very nice gold stripe maroon.

Thanks for the help everyone, I will monitor the remaining algae closely. The hermit crabs seem to be eating the remaining algae that turned orange after being rinsed in tap water. My theory is that it is dead now and the scavengers will remove what remains. We shall see if I am correct.