Help identify this algae?
Printed From: Utah Reefs
Category: Help
Forum Name: General Help
Forum Description: The place to ask about pest, problems, hitchhikers, etc.
URL: http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=55780
Printed Date: April 28 2024 at 10:49am
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 12.03 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Help identify this algae?
Posted By: Akira
Subject: Help identify this algae?
Date Posted: April 15 2012 at 5:54pm
So I have a red hair algae that grows fast but doesnt seem to bother my display in the least . Any idea what it is and is it good or bad ?
|
Replies:
Posted By: Akira
Date Posted: April 15 2012 at 6:08pm
Few more pics...
|
Posted By: Dionysus
Date Posted: April 15 2012 at 6:16pm
| Hard to see in the car, but the top looks like cotton ball. Which loves phosphate. Could be wrong, but what are your parameters? |
Posted By: BillyC
Date Posted: April 15 2012 at 6:29pm
| Can't remember the name but if it's what I'm thinking of it's very very invasive and hard to get rid of |
Posted By: Akira
Date Posted: April 15 2012 at 6:34pm
| Mag 1260 -1340 Ca 440-480 Dkh 9.6 PH 8.4 Sa 1.023 temp 78-79 |
Posted By: Akira
Date Posted: April 15 2012 at 6:37pm
|
I run carbon 2 weeks a month and phos guard the same . last check phos was 0 that was a few weeks ago... |
Posted By: SkylerS
Date Posted: April 15 2012 at 6:41pm
|
"Cotton Candy Algae. Closer examination will show it is made up of many
branches with even more branchlets. The plants are very small, lose
form out of the water and sway in the current. Each plant forms from a
single holdfast. Callithamnion species and the sporophyte stage of Asparagopsis taxiformis
are usual suspects. The pictured specimen is quite good looking, they
usually dont have such an aesthetic appeal, and are a dull red or
reddish brown. Manual Removal is easy if it hasn't taken hold in
places your fingers won't fit. Scrape your thumb on the surface it is
attached too while holding the algae like a pencil as you remove it.
This helps you get the small holdfast. Clean Up Crew members include urchins, sea hares, large turbos, emerald crabs and most hermit crabs. This algae isn't particularly common, but has the ability to grow rapidly from fragments. " Taken from reefcleaners.org
|
Posted By: SkylerS
Date Posted: April 15 2012 at 6:46pm
| On a side not there's no way you have 0 phosphate with that much of that algae growing as well as the cyano on your sand. It's likely that you are getting a false 0 reading because your problem algae problem is eating up all phosphate. Nitrate levels would be suspect. Decrease your feeding schedule, do a partial water change and manually remove as much as you can. Make sure your pumps and power heads are off when you remove it because it will spread quickly even from a single stray piece. I'm guessing that is in your sump? It may not be in your display yet, but it's only a matter of time. If it''s in the sump I disconnect it from the display, drain it, and clean that crap out. |
Posted By: Akira
Date Posted: April 15 2012 at 7:08pm
|
only place its red is where the algae is . Not sure I have a cyano outbreak yet ....Sure hope not !!!! Isolation is rather easy with my set up but wouldnt my uv kill most of it ? Also what would do well in my fuge as u are correct its the only place it is ? In my fuge I mean to add to eat what i cant remove manually ? I notice you dont have many posts but that doesnt mean you havent been doing this for a long time , Just covering my bases....:) Also there is a huge rock that has been in there for months and its clean if i lift it out of the water , still purple with coraline and looks healthy ...... |
Posted By: Mark Peterson
Date Posted: April 16 2012 at 9:45pm
|
I agree, definitely Cotton Candy Algae. The scientific name is Asperagopsis. It's not harmful and it's fairly easy to remove the major clumps, but very difficult to eradicate completely because of the tiny fragments that are created when harvesting. The best animals for eating it are the large Pacific Turbo Snails, but why not let it grow just like any other algae in the Refugium! Refugium algae is supposed to be growing fast enough that it needs to be harvested every few months. Harvest it often or more often than you would the Caulerpa. I can't see much if any Chaeto, maybe it's just not in the pics. If you need to move any LR out, it may look clean but it's probably got little sprouts of Asperagopsis growing on it. Move it to a bucket with all of the Turbos for a day to clean off all the Asperagopsis before moving it into a display. Personally, I believe there is more value in growing algae in the space of the Refugium than growing LR there. Algae is awesome. I let it fill more than 4/5ths of a Refugium then harvest/thin out almost half of it to let it grow fast again. Here is a friend's Refugium that was also on display next to the main tank. We want algae to grow in the Refugium eating nutrients so algae has a harder time growing in the display. Cyano was not a problem in the display tank.   ------------- Reefkeeping Tips, & quick, easy setup tricks: www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244 Pay it forward - become a paid WMAS member 
|
Posted By: Akira
Date Posted: April 16 2012 at 9:54pm
| OK so I was going to add a few mexicans turbos to help with it , guess wont bother . as it is not really the best to get should I just throw away what i harvest? I also have mexican feather , grape, etc and chateo growth has slowed since I noticed this cotton .Any harm in just harvesting and letting it go wild? I only have about 10lbs of rock in a 5 g refugium . |
Posted By: SkylerS
Date Posted: April 17 2012 at 12:11am
| I wouldn't leave it, and depending on the UV sterilizer and flow through it, it could still get through. My favorite macro algae for nutrient export is Caulerpa Prolifera. I've had nothing but good experiences with it. It's fast growing and easy to remove as the runner is large and strong. It's ultimately up to you, but the fact that it spreads so quickly and easy from a single fragged piece would make me want to tear the sump down and get rid of it all. |
Posted By: Akira
Date Posted: April 17 2012 at 12:14am
|
Skyler i have to give a big hands down to you for your insight and sorry if my previous post was offensive in any way ... |
Posted By: Akira
Date Posted: April 17 2012 at 12:18am
| My course of action is going to remove what i can and let the snails etc keep it in check from here on out . Hope that resolves it before i see it in my display , if that happens I will add more eaters :) As I suspected most weird growth is good so why kill it unless it becomes a prob but I also know to head a potentially bad thing off before its out of control ...., |
Posted By: Akira
Date Posted: April 17 2012 at 12:22am
|
as a side note i fed my tangs some grape with a bit of the cotton on it and they loved it !!!!!! guess they love cotton candy too , besides already in my system not like i can make it worse .... |
Posted By: McClure
Date Posted: April 17 2012 at 12:38am
Yay!! I think it looks pretty neat, I know NOTHING about algae except what I learn from you guys, but I would probably just keep it  |
Akira wrote:Posted By: Akira
Date Posted: April 17 2012 at 12:46am
| Mc its the red im worried about it can out grow the 3 others i want for bio diversity. So the red that is invasive that bothers me . Want a clump lol!!!!! Think of it like a tang vs a aptasia what would you rather have ? Both have their place but have side effects ....... |
Posted By: McClure
Date Posted: April 17 2012 at 1:04am
Only kind of related: There is a business in our neighborhood that I frequent.... They have Aptasia in their tank. The lady there said they have a maintenance company that comes in once a week to take care of the tank. She also said the man who was there the week prior to our conversation told her that they pride themselves on keeping out "pests". 
|
Posted By: Akira
Date Posted: April 17 2012 at 1:09am
| well i consider my kids friends who want to touch all my coral pests........I let em do it 1 time and now they want to al the time , so within reason my tank is a learning life type of thing. :) |
Posted By: Mark Peterson
Date Posted: April 17 2012 at 12:09pm
|
The fact that the Tangs ate it means you may never see it in the main display. That does not mean it's not there, just that you may never see it growing because the Tangs eat it as they pick on all algae on all the LR. It can be a nuisance but I disagree about tearing down the refugium. Even if you started over with everything new in the Refugium, it could return one day from a tiny frag that wasn't completely eaten by the Tangs in the Display where it is undoubtedly already growing. It's also something that can easily and unknowingly come in on LR or coral frags. You are right, the Mexican Turbo or Margarita Snail as I like to call it, will not eat Asperagopsis. The large Pacific Turbo is the snail I have used in a similar situation. They eat it up like, well, cotton candy. The key with pests of any kind is to take reasonable actions to avoid them, but to realize that we do know how to control them if and when they are accidentally introduced. ------------- Reefkeeping Tips, & quick, easy setup tricks: www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244 Pay it forward - become a paid WMAS member
|
Posted By: Laird
Date Posted: April 17 2012 at 12:14pm
|
It grows in my fuge, and has for a long long time. I've never once seen it in my main tank tho. ------------- Indefinite hiatus from sw aquariums. Once I have my glorious return I'll set back up the following. 50 Gallon rimless cube. 180 Gallons mixed reef paradise |
Posted By: SkylerS
Date Posted: April 17 2012 at 1:59pm
| No offense taken. No worries. I have only been keeping salt and coral for 2 years and there are far more knowledgeable people than I. But any of us can likely claim to know a lot about something and little about others. I learned a lot about invasive macro alga and their eradication while dealing with a bryopsis outbreak of my own. I developed a somewhat personal relationship with John Maloney at reefcleaners.org and he helped develop my knowledge. He's a great resource and his prices on snails and clean up crews cannot be beat. He is a good knowledge base and always willing to help. I recognized your algae from my research and offered my assistance. I think your course of action is right on track, and I bow to mark's knowledge. He's a smart guy! Get a bunch of those BIG turbos and they should munch it down well. Maybe throw one of your tangs in the sump for a little while? LOL good luck! |
Posted By: Kevin
Date Posted: April 17 2012 at 5:13pm
|
I have dealt with a algae similar to this in the past. Grew like crazy in the main tank but not in the refugiums. Mexican turbos finally took care of it, but unfortunately bubble algae ended up taking its place. I So removal is definitely only part of the problem. Keeping something else from taking its place (by growing more desirable algae) would be a good idea. |