Fibrous Algae ID

[Ryan115]

I've not come across this type of algae before. It is extremely stiff and fibrous (feels nearly like a softer Brillo pad).
I have seen some nassarius snails crawling across it, and it almost looks like they are floating in the water, as they are only making contact with the algae tips, which do not bend for their weight.

Any one know what this is?
I have been manually removing what I can. Bio-load is low (6 smaller fish in a 90g). Last test results were NO3 - 0ppm (API test, I know it's not worth much, but haven't gotten my new kit yet) and PO4 - 13ppb on Hanna ULR.

 

[Jose Mayo]

Cladophora herpestica

Regards

 

[Ryan115]

Cladophora herpestica

Rgards

Thanks.
The little bit of info I could find on it, shows slightly larger filaments with a more random growth pattern.
Here is a more "mature" picture of a clump of the algae. Not the hammer coral behind for scale of filament diameter.

 

[Jose Mayo]

The very conditions of light, circulation and nutrients, which are practically "individual" of each aquarium, may have an influence on the robustness of algae growth and appearance, so only observation "at a distance" (and sometimes just a photo) , may give rise to some hunch, but hardly a 100% correct identification.

A simple way to at least identify, even roughly, the Family to which they belong, would be the observation of filaments in a microscope; if the filaments are multinucleated, but without true cell divisions (cenocytic or "siphonous"), this algae will belong to the Bryopsidales (Bryopsis, Derbésia, etc.) family. If the filaments are multinucleated and have true cell divisions, as if the filament were a "cell train", the algae will belong to the Cladophorales family (Cladophora, Cladophoropsis, etc.).

The distinction makes sense because, in addition to cellular organization, the metabolism of these families is also different. Bryopsidales, for example, are quite sensitive to fluconazole, while Cladophorales are quite resistant.

Examples of the filament structure are as follows:

Bryopsidales (Derbesia):

Cladóforos (Cladophora)

 

[Ryan115]

The very conditions of light, circulation and nutrients, which are practically "individual" of each aquarium, may have an influence on the robustness of algae growth and appearance, so only observation "at a distance" (and sometimes just a photo) , may give rise to some hunch, but hardly a 100% correct identification.

A simple way to at least identify, even roughly, the Family to which they belong, would be the observation of filaments in a microscope; if the filaments are multinucleated, but without true cell divisions (cenocytic or "siphonous"), this algae will belong to the Bryopsidales (Bryopsis, Derbésia, etc.) family. If the filaments are multinucleated and have true cell divisions, as if the filament were a "cell train", the algae will belong to the Cladophorales family (Cladophora, Cladophoropsis, etc.).

The distinction makes sense because, in addition to cellular organization, the metabolism of these families is also different. Bryopsidales, for example, are quite sensitive to fluconazole, while Cladophorales are quite resistant.

Examples of the filament structure are as follows:

Bryopsidales (Derbesia):

Cladóforos (Cladophora)

Great information, thank you.
I will get a sample and bring to work for further examination.