Red Coralline algae or something else?

[DAvis]

Hi Folks,

This is a piece of rock in the bottom of my tank. Way back when the tank was started, one of the first things I saw growing was a little velvety red fleck. Now, five months later, it's about the same size of the 3 small Zoa polyps pictured with it. My question, is this type of coralline algae or possibly a type of sponge? There is more or this in the tank, but is far more slow growing than purple coralline.

Thanks as always!
David

 

[daugherty]

i have had that also and i was thinking it was some kind of sponge it all went away after a while in my tank

 

[DAvis]

i have had that also and i was thinking it was some kind of sponge it all went away after a while in my tank

Thanks James. Perhaps I should have also mentioned, my live rock is aquacultured Florida LR. I had noticed a lot of brown, orange and black sponges initially on the rock. This red grew from a little pinpoint.

 

[dcantucson]

I have some of that stuff too. Red and also black. It's hard and slippery feeling to the touch.

 

[daugherty]

i have some that looks like mold

 

[Chris_150G]

Isn't that Cyano??? It's soft and scrubs off pretty easy, may have some air bubbles coming off it as it gets bigger. I have been fighting it for about two months. Some of it grew up to my Xenia and the polyp it touched died which is when I realized its serious. I get small little patches like that and they spread pretty slow. I have been pulling rocks and scrubbing them with a tooth brush which is getting old and really pissing off my coral. Some of it doesn't scrub off because its within a nook or cranny that can't be reached. It is coming at a time where my water is finally perfect too.

 

[VAreef]

I've got some of that stuff on the LR I got from an aquarium being taken down. It's not like cyno that I know of. Cyno is usually more hairy kinda and flows in the tank. This does appear to be a type of algae. Definatly not coraline. As I have slowly been dropping nitrates it seems to be peeling off the rock a bit like it's dieing. The tank I got everything from was not the best kept tank in the world. I think regular cleaning and water chemisty control should stop that from spreading to much

 

[mng777777]

Nope it's not Cyano. I had the same stuff described in my tank and as others mentioned, it disappeared after a while.

 

[DAvis]

sn't that Cyano???

No Chris, it's absolutely not cyano! i have that elsewhere in the tank, but this has been growing slowly for the last 5 months. It is a really deep red color, and a very fine smooth mat. Much different than the red algae everywhere else in my tank! :) Thanks Chris

 

[DAvis]

I think regular cleaning and water chemisty control should stop that from spreading to much

Hey VAReef, I'm not worried about it, it's quite attractive actually. Water chemistry has been good and stable (0 nitrates)I think it's a type of sponge, but I haven't really searched the web too much. Thanks for the note,

David

 

[andysgirl8800]

If you look closely at it, what kind of texture does it have?

 

[andysgirl8800]

Coralline can grow out into sheets or plates from the rocks. Here is another photo of "mats" of red coralline. Does yours look like this?

 

[VAreef]

We may all be talking about 3 differant red stuff things in our tanks. I tried getting a pic of mine but as you can see the camera isn't so great

 

[DAvis]

Coralline can grow out into sheets or plates from the rocks. Here is another photo of "mats" of red coralline. Does yours look like this?

Hey Andysgirl! No, my pic doesn't look like that. That's not coralline algae you're showing, that's the bad algae (the stuff to the right). The left side might be coralline, hard to see. Here's some coralline in my red shrooms

We may all be talking about 3 differant red stuff things in our tanks. I tried getting a pic of mine but as you can see the camera isn't so great

I think so VAreef! lol

I'll try to get a better pic of my red 'sponge/algae/?'

 

[VAreef]

yep thats classic coralline in those shrooms

 

[Bifferwine]

Is it velvety? I call that red velvet algae :) I have a lot of it in my tank too, but I'm not quite sure exactly what it is. It's not cyano, and it's not coralline. That's for sure.

 

[VAreef]

Is it velvety? I call that red velvet algae :) I have a lot of it in my tank too, but I'm not quite sure exactly what it is. It's not cyano, and it's not coralline. That's for sure.

Yep thats what I got. It's velvety and kinda slick. Sticks tight to the rocks. I've got a few small pieces peeling off like they are getting ready to die?

 

[Bifferwine]

I can peel mine off in chunks where it's really thick. I do that from time to time. But in some areas, it's too thin for me to grab.

 

[DAvis]

Is it velvety? I call that red velvet algae

Yes Sarah, that's how I would describe it! It's very slow growing, even compared to coralline algae. You don't think it's a type of coralline? I have a beautiful pale green as well. Looks like a lichen!
David

 

[dcantucson]

I did some research today and I found several articles that lead me to believe that it is a type of encrusting sponge. So unless someone tells me different that's what I'm going with.