GHA or Bryopsis?

[Edwardfish]

Here are some pic of some hair looking algae growing on my tanks glass it seemed at first like hair algae but the closer I look it seems more like Bryopsis with the fern like ends any help would be appreciated thanks!

[seabass]

At first glance, it looks like it could be a species of bryopsis. 

[Edwardfish]

7 hours ago, seabass said:

At first glance, it looks like it could be a species of bryopsis. 

That’s what I was fearing probably should treat with fluconazole before it gets out of hand. 
 

does anyone know how to treat Bryopsis 😕 or any help.

[seabass]

It's been awhile since I've gone down that rabbit hole.  However, there have been a few successful treatments of bryopsis including: Kent Tech M Magnesium, hydrogen peroxide, and Fluconazole.  Out of these, I believe that Fluconazole may have the best repeatable results.

 

There are numerous articles and threads on the subject which can be found with a search.  I took the following from these two:
https://tlreefs.com/products/fluconazole-bryopsis-treatment

https://reefhacks.com/bryopsis-fluconazole-dosage/

• Always perform a water change before starting treatment as a symptom of the medicine is increased NO3.
• During treatment, it is important to not run any media or filtration equipment that may remove the medication from the water.  Carbon may be used after three days.  GFO may be used throughout the treatment, and will aid in removal of phosphate buildup due to die-off of the algae.
• Remove the skimmer cup for the duration of treatment or at least for 3 first days of the treatment, then adjust your skimmer for dry skimming only.
• Dose your tank with 20mg of Fluconazole per gallon of water for 14 days.
• Increase lighting in your tank. Reports suggest the amount of light shining into your tank during treatment boosts its success. But go slow with light intensity adjustments. 
• Monitor aquarium parameters to ensure water quality remains within specifications.
• Perform a 30% water change after the treatment.
• Remove your carbon media from the tank and either install new media after treatment or thoroughly sterilize your existing media to prevent reintroducing algae.

 

I usually prefer more natural remedies to problems.  However, pests like bryopsis often require more extreme measures.  Years ago, I used the magnesium treatment, which seemed to help; but it did return.  I ended up fragging off healthy, unaffected corals and anemones and putting them in a clean tank.  This was prior to the discovery that Fluconazole could be used.

 

Good luck.

[mcarroll]

On 7/4/2020 at 4:33 AM, Edwardfish said:

does anyone know how to treat Bryopsis 😕 or any help.

I don't think it's Bryopsis.  

Check out this Bryopsis page:

http://cfb.unh.edu/phycokey/Choices/Chlorophyceae/siphonous_greens/Bryopsidales/BRYOPSIS/Bryopsis_key.htm

(click on the pics)

 

Most green algae are "hair algae", and they all have a similar structure...the size of their thallus ("leaves"?) is mostly what varies.  Bryopsis have really heavy thallus.  (Thalli?). Yours looks very "thread like" and that's NOT typical of Bryposis.

Here is branching filamentous green algae, which I suspect is what you have in your photos:

http://cfb.unh.edu/phycokey/Choices/Chlorophyceae/filaments/branched/chloro_fil_branched_key.html

(lots of pics!!)

 

I would certainly not do anything CRAZY like dose your tank with chemicals until you've looked at the basics and determined that it's ABSOLUTELY necessary.  (For what it's worth, I've never seen a case where it was definitively necessary and I've spent a fair amount of effort looking.)

 

BASICS

• How old is your tank and what size/dimensions?
• Was it started with live rock or dead rock?
• How are you filtering and cleaning the tank?
• What is your livestock and how long has everything been in the tank?
• What is your cleanup crew currently?  (Details, please.)
• Can you post a pic of the tank in daylight so we can see the algae (and everything else too)?
• What are your most recent test results for everything? (ca, mg, alk, no3, po4)

(Is this the tank?  20 long stocking)

 

After you answer those questions, here is an essential method for algae removal in general....don't do anything until you've done this:  👍

 

 

[seabass]

Matt is right to point out that it hasn't been positively identified.  Plus, the pics are of the algae in shallow dishes, which could distort how it might normally look like.

 

That was one of the reasons I chose Yuliya's article to link.  In it, she describes how to identify bryopsis (and points out that hair algae is often misidentified as bryopsis):

Quote

The Strands of Illusion - How To Identify Bryopsis.

Unless you’ve studied marine life, identifying Bryopsis algae isn’t as easy as you may think. Sure, noticing an algae bloom is easy. Simply look for growing patches of what appears to be grass. However, just because it looks like Bryopsis, doesn’t mean it is.

More times than not, Bryopsis is mistaken for GHA, or green hair algae. While initially similar, there’s several distinct differences between Bryopsis and hair algae. The most noticeable difference is its size. Bryopsis algae tends to be larger, both horizontally and vertically, than GHA, which often features shorter reach.

Next, look at the algae root structure.

Bryopsis algae roots itself deep into the surface of rocks or coral and forms a complex covering, which looks like a dense welcome mat. This provides Bryopsis with a sturdy grip to whatever surface it attaches to.

GHA, on the other hand, generally doesn’t have an easily identified root structure. It’s easily moved off rocks and can also grow in aquarium sand.

The branches of Bryopsis are distinct in comparison to any other green hair algae species. Essentially, the tiny hair-like strands resemble common variety ferns and feature dense trunks. GHA strands are smoother and have less-distinct physical characteristics.

Lastly, if you’re still unsure of algae type, turn to your tank inhabitants. The majority of creatures that enjoy an algae meal shy away from consuming Bryopsis. However, most members of your aquarium cleanup crew eat GHA without hesitation.

 

And while Fluconazole has also been used (in extended treatments) to get rid of hair algae, that is an extreme way to get rid of something that's controllable using other methods (as Matt correctly points out).

 

Unlike Matt, I've battled, and lost, the fight against bryopsis trying natural methods (and I've dealt with dozens of different algae species over the years).  Bryopsis a formidable opponent that I wouldn't recommend messing around with for too long.

 

That said, there are also different species of bryopsis, making identification harder.  Also treatment success could potentially vary depending on the variety.  Luckily, Fluconazole exists as a fallback; and you won't likely have to resort to a complete reboot, like I had to.

[mcarroll]

15 hours ago, seabass said:

Unlike Matt, I've battled, and lost, the fight against bryopsis trying natural methods (and I've dealt with dozens of different species of hair algae over the years).  Bryopsis a formidable opponent that I wouldn't recommend messing around with for too long.

Just for clarity, I haven't had Bryopsis....I've been "hunting" for a tank with Bryopsis to troubleshoot on in hopes of starting a thread on Bryopsis like the one I have for Dino's.

 

Very few cases of actual Bryopsis among all the claims I tried to dig into...the vast most were hair algae....can't remember any that were clearly Bryopsis.  Worse, almost every one of those tanks I inquired about had already been treated (or even re-treated multiple times in several cases) with Fluconazole.

 

Learned some cool stuff about Bryopsis and green algae generally in the process...saved a few of the articles I read in the Bryopsis section on my blog, along with some thoughts. 

[Edwardfish]

20 hours ago, mcarroll said:

I don't think it's Bryopsis.  

Check out this Bryopsis page:

http://cfb.unh.edu/phycokey/Choices/Chlorophyceae/siphonous_greens/ Bryopsidales/BRYOPSIS/Bryopsis_key.htm

(click on the pics)

 

Most green algae are "hair algae", and they all have a similar structure...the size of their thallus ("leaves"?) is mostly what varies.  Bryopsis have really heavy thallus.  (Thalli?). Yours looks very "thread like" and that's NOT typical of Bryposis.

Here is branching filamentous green algae, which I suspect is what you have in your photos:

http://cfb.unh.edu/phycokey/Choices/Chlorophyceae/filaments/branched/chloro_fil_branched_key.html

(lots of pics!!)

 

I would certainly not do anything CRAZY like dose your tank with chemicals until you've looked at the basics and determined that it's ABSOLUTELY necessary.  (For what it's worth, I've never seen a case where it was definitively necessary and I've spent a fair amount of effort looking.)

 

BASICS

• How old is your tank and what size/dimensions?
• Was it started with live rock or dead rock?
• How are you filtering and cleaning the tank?
• What is your livestock and how long has everything been in the tank?
• What is your cleanup crew currently?  (Details, please.)
• Can you post a pic of the tank in daylight so we can see the algae (and everything else too)?
• What are your most recent test results for everything? (ca, mg, alk, no3, po4)

(Is this the tank?  20 long stocking)

 

After you answer those questions, here is an essential method for algae removal in general....don't do anything until you've done this:  👍

 

 

Agreed this is not Bryopsis I got my nano skimmer the other day which really helped on reducing organics and reduced the feeding period, increased blues and harvested some cheato. The hair algae has slowed now I think I just had a few big strands that nothing would eat. Also the addition of a bicolor blenny picking at the glass and rocks has helped. Thank you all for the help.

Yes the tank is the 20g long started with 20lbs dead rock and live sand added ammonia and bottled bacteria as well as 2lbs live rock.

 

filtration is a 10g diy sump with a bio skim innovative marine skimmer(helping a lot) and about 3 gallon section with cheato and more rock.

 

livestock is one fire fish has been in the tank for 4 weeks and a bicolor that has been in for a week now. Future plans is to add a pink streaked wrasse and the most likely final addition unless the bio load seems capable of another nano fish but most likely not. 2 zoa frags and one large colony of sunny d Palys, a medium sized Duncan with 7ish heads, and two freebies of a good sized purple Stylo and tiny green birds nest. All corals dipped.

 

clean up crew is small, 3 Ceriths, 2 astrea, two dwarf hermits. Plan to get more astrea, Ceriths, and some nassarius. But any good suggestions would help. Also forgot the bristle worm or two with a lot of the smaller copepods.

 

I can test ca, alk, phosphates and nitrates (poor planning and I bought the api kit) ca is about 450 alk is 9.5ish, phosphates barely detectable but I wish it was lower, 0 nitrate. Alk and ca are about 5 day old tests tho.

 

can post a pic soon, lights are off for a little while.

 

again thank you everyone for the great replies saved me a lot of worries.

[Edwardfish]

Also here is the photo that got me worried