$20 to whoever correctly ID's this...Last Try

[Johnson556]

Currently in contact with Northeastern University's Marine Biology Lab, we have gone full psycho on this. Need to figure out what it is.

So far they believe it is some form of "crustose" algae but it is going through the department to finalize the answer. May have to send in a sample in as well.

 

[Scrubber_steve]

Maybe a sort of lichens...

I thought of that myself but couldn't find any marine species.
It really looks typical of various intertidal algaes that grow on rocks

 

[Johnson556]

I thought of that myself but couldn't find any marine species.
It really looks typical of various intertidal algaes that grow on rocks

I scanned through 2,100+ imagines on that Calphoto.Berkely link you provided. Could not find a single match, this is insanity. It has to be calcium based as it is "crusty" and has no fleshy properties to it.

 

[Scrubber_steve]

I scanned through 2,100+ imagines on that Calphoto.Berkely link you provided. Could not find a single match, this is insanity. It has to be calcium based as it is "crusty" and has no fleshy properties to it.

Its appearance in your system will likely be different to how it looks in nature, even to how it looks in someone else's system, because of variance in light spectrum water chemistry etc. They morph. It's the same with coral.

 

[jack_aubry]

Definitely a species of green turf algae. There are no photosynthetic fungus besides lichen and there are no marine lichens.

 

[Scrubber_steve]

What is ‘Turf Algae?

Turf algae are multispecies assemblages of diminutive, mostly filamentous algae that attain a vertical height of only 1 mm to 2 cm (Figure 1). Turf algae often exist as assemblages (algal turfs), are ubiquitous in reef systems and are composed of the small, juvenile stages of macroalgae (e.g., Gelidium spp., Gelidiella spp., Digenia simplex) along with faster-growing filamentous species (usually red algae such as Polysiphonia spp., Herposiphonia spp., and Ceramium spp.; blue-green algae (cyanobacteria); diatoms; brown algae; green algae; and coralline algae) and detritus and sediments.

https://repository.si.edu/bitstream/handle/10088/21635/SCMS39_Lang_17.pdf

 

[pelphrey]

That is for sure green star polyps! haha

Good luck finding out what it is!

 

[markalot]

Not even going to try My suggestion would be a Foxface, they eat everything and will probably munch on it. I don't get good coraline in my tank because it's quickly covered by some brown/green stuff that if left to grow kind of looks like that, but also not like that.

 

[Johnson556]

Not even going to try My suggestion would be a Foxface, they eat everything and will probably munch on it. I don't get good coraline in my tank because it's quickly covered by some brown/green stuff that if left to grow kind of looks like that, but also not like that.

I stopped cleaning the back glass in September and 80% of it is covered in coralline now, its actually annoying because of how often I have to clean my vortechs. Similar to you it does get covered in some growth but not like this. I'll look into a foxface, told myself no more yellow fish but oh well. I've noticed tangs do pick at it.

 

[markalot]

I stopped cleaning the back glass in September and 80% of it is covered in coralline now, its actually annoying because of how often I have to clean my vortechs. Similar to you it does get covered in some growth but not like this. I'll look into a foxface, told myself no more yellow fish but oh well. I've noticed tangs do pick at it.

The Foxface is fun, poisonous, and will want to eat out of your hand. I love mine to death, and it's just another yellow fish. He'll even stick the majority of his head out of the water to clean the return heads. Just a ton of personality.