Is this a bad type of algae?

[Sahin]

OK, this stuff is primarily on one rock, but the stuff is growing slowly and there are a few strands in other rocks.

 

Is this a bad/nuisance type algae?

 

I havent come across this on the forums, so any help appreciated.

 

How should I get rid of it? Any good ideas?

 

Any ideas as to what type it is?

Thanks.

Heres a pic.

[Paul G]

Hi sahin,

 

I believe that it may be a type of Bryopsis, I had similar in my last set up & it was quite hard to pull off the rocks & can get a bit rampant.

 

If it is Bryopsis I think there are critters people use to get rid of it - Nudibranchs, crabs maybe, anyway most posts I have seen are when people are trying to get rid of it.

 

HTH

[Sahin]

See I thought bryopsis was feathery?

This stuff grows in single strands and then branches off in one direction etc, its not feathery but smooth.

 

Anyone can verify?

 

Thanks.

[jjharrisx4]

I'm pretty sure that bryopsis is kinda brushy at the tips, not smooth like yours. Personally I would just keep an eye on it and pluck it later if it gets out of control. After all, even caulerpa...the most sought after macroalgae...can be a niusance if it gets out of control.

 

Personally I've seen algae like this in my own reef. I left it alone and it dissappeared...probably a victim of a hermit or my yellow tang.

[shiverband]

as long as its safe i would leave it alone.

chuck

[Paul G]

I thought maybe there were smooth types - I guess not:blush:

 

Have you tried this site ?Seaweed

[printerdown01]

I think it looks cool... If it is near something that it can do damage too, I say pull it -better safe that sorry... But if it seems to be isolated, let it grow! I don't think you will have a major outbreak of the stuff... but I could be wrong...???

[Sahin]

I decided to pull 70% of these out today. Now upon trying the remove the strands, I noticed they are very tough like seaweed and have a root structure.

 

Some strands were so strong that when I pulled at it, the rock almost moved! Others when pull off, came out with bits of rock/coralline algae! So definately this is some type of seaweed.

 

I couldnt imagine nuisance algae types to be this strong. The strands are also almost solid and dont wave about in the current.

 

So, to be safe, I pulled out most of it from the rock, and left some just in case its not anything bad. I'll keep a close check on its growth to establish whether its a pest in my tank or not.

 

Thanks for all the help.

[Grif]

I'm not sure what it's called, but I can confirm that an Emerald Crab will eat it. And quickly. I had some in my tank, and my Emerald wiped it out in 2 days, and has prevented it from coming back.

[Pikelet]

I have a tiny patch in my 29g tank. Pulling with tweezers at the base is required every so often to keep it under control. It requires a strong anchor to grow so it tends to stay in localized patches. I don't believe that much eats it.