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View Full Version : Algae ID please

Bartman
03-01-2007, 01:38 AM
I've been looking all over for an ID on this stuff but I can't find a reference. It looks like pink cotton candy. I can suck it out at water changes but it grows back pretty fast. Any idea what it is?
Tangman
03-01-2007, 03:14 AM
Common name Red Hair algae
scientific name Asparagopsis (sporophyte stage)
to control it: strong biological filtration (nitrite)& hand removal
Herbivores: long spine urchins, seaslugs
BCOrchidGuy
03-01-2007, 04:00 AM
Except for the part where you can suck it out I'd say it looks conspicuously close to an Erythropodium sp. but I can't find anything about them being red/pink, only blues and greenish brown. Nasty coral it seems. Let's hope it's the Asparagopsis.

Doug
Bartman
03-01-2007, 04:54 AM
Common name Red Hair algae
scientific name Asparagopsis (sporophyte stage)
to control it: strong biological filtration (nitrite)& hand removal
Herbivores: long spine urchins, seaslugs

Thanks for the info. Using the scientific name above I looked for pictures and what I have appears to be Falkenbergia Rufolanosa, which is a form of Asparagopsis. Where did you find the info above?
Tangman
03-01-2007, 01:41 PM
This bookhttp://www.jlaquatics.com/phpstore/store_pages/details/books.php?product_ID=lit-apsg
BCOrchidGuy
03-01-2007, 02:05 PM
I've been meaning to buy that book for a few years now.

Doug
Tangman
03-01-2007, 02:25 PM
I've been meaning to buy that book for a few years now.

Doug
Well it's time to get it ,BCOrchidGuy !
Bartman
03-02-2007, 06:32 AM
After some hunting around I found this post on RC:

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=745530&perpage=25&highlight=red%20cotton%20algae&pagenumber=1
muck
03-02-2007, 02:58 PM
Mexican Turbo Snails will make short work of that stuff.. (just make sure they are the Mexican variety as the others most likely wont touch it)
justinl
03-02-2007, 03:59 PM
what about a foxface? In the RC thread some dude said he had a foxface that munched any kind of algae to no end. I plan to get a foxface anyways so that's why i ask.
Bartman
03-03-2007, 02:31 AM
I have a Foxface in the tank now and he does not touch the stuff. He eats lots of other algaes but not the red cotton.
Bartman
03-08-2007, 06:25 PM
Mexican Turbo Snails will make short work of that stuff.. (just make sure they are the Mexican variety as the others most likely wont touch it)

I have called J&L, OA and other LFS here and they all say the Turbo Snails they carry are not the variety that will eat this stuff. Does anybody know where I can get them here? Failing that, where else could I get them?

Thanks,
Scott.
Der_Iron_Chef
03-08-2007, 06:52 PM
what about a foxface? In the RC thread some dude said he had a foxface that munched any kind of algae to no end. I plan to get a foxface anyways so that's why i ask.

Unfortunately, they'll also sometimes eat your corals!
Salinity Now
03-09-2007, 04:01 AM
Scott, I too had the unpleasant duty of riding my tank of this ugly pestilence. Check your ph! I am willing to bet a boston cream donut and a XL double-double that it is lower than 8.2. I noticed that once my ph started to rise, (due to dosing Kalkwasser) this vile junk remarkably dissapeared.

Terry
Bartman
03-10-2007, 10:19 AM
Well, my handheld pH meter shows 8.1, so.... I'll give it a try.

Thanks,
Scott.