What is this thing in my tank?

[OscarW]

Hi, new to reefing and to this forum. My Fusion14 nano tank is 3 months old and doing very well. have some soft corals and 2 clown fish, also some cleanup crew. I also have a growing, very hard marble sized red thing next to a mushroom that I can't identify. It has grown up on the frag plug from under the mushroom. I have a picture but not sure how to post it here.

[seabass]

Welcome to Nano-Reef.com.

 

Not sure about your growing red marble.

 

1 hour ago, OscarW said:

I have a picture but not sure how to post it here.

When you are creating or editing a post, there is a place on the bottom of the window where you can drag files to, or select files (pictures) to attach into your post.  Then just click the plus symbol to add it into your post.

 

If the pic is online, you can simply paste the picture's URL into the post, which will embed the photo.

[mcarroll]

2 hours ago, OscarW said:

Hi, new to reefing and to this forum. My Fusion14 nano tank is 3 months old and doing very well. have some soft corals and 2 clown fish, also some cleanup crew. I also have a growing, very hard marble sized red thing next to a mushroom that I can't identify. It has grown up on the frag plug from under the mushroom. I have a picture but not sure how to post it here.

There is such a thing as red bubble algae (google it), but I've never seen it in person – I'm pretty sure it's rare.

 

Pretty sure the care requirements are the same as for green bubble algae.

 

In many tanks it's not a problem...but if it seems to be spreading noticeably you should probably remove as much as you can find.  Try to do it without popping the bubbles as much as possible, but don't worry too much.

 

 

[OscarW]

Hello again,

This is a hard solid mass that is growing. I'll attach the photo here. Thanks for any help

[seabass]

I can't really say what it is.  I'd be interested to see a pic of it a month ago to see how it's growing.

 

Initially it looks a little like cyano.  While cyano isn't hard, it could be covering something that is hard, and giving it a reddish color.

 

Long story short, I don't know.

[OscarW]

You're right. This something red covering something hard. I don't have any earlier pictures but the hard part is growing and forcing the mushroom to be sideways instead of flat. The frag plug is roughly parallel to the bottom. I think I should just remove it. Hopefully I can save the mushroom.

[DevilDuck]

You should be able to blow off cyano with a turkey baster. I wonder if it's some another type of encrusting coral? Maybe you got a freebie with your mushroom. I'd leave it and see what it turns out to be. If the mushroom doesn't like it, or it's new location it will move.

[OscarW]

I tried blowing it off and only got some very small pieces. The photo was taken after that.

[mcarroll]

13 hours ago, OscarW said:

Hopefully I can save the mushroom.

Nothing can hurt mushrooms – nothing.  So IMO be patient.  🙂
 

If you try to scratch it with a fingernail, is it soft or hard and crusty?  What is the consistency?  What happens if you use a soft-bristled toothbrush on it?

 

Sometimes cyano can be very leathery.  Sometimes it can be thick and spongy.