Help identifying this. Algae? Pest?

[Dine]

Can someone help me identify this? It’s over the entire rock in between the zoas. It’s red in color and has blue/white tips. It seems capture food in the water column. I’m not sure if it’s by chance but it does it so
Well it made me think maybe not an algae. The zoas seem to be vanishing as it grows in size.

I zoomed in as best i could with my macro lens but you will prob need to zoom in a little more. I didn’t want to distort the picture anymore than I had to

 

[Mary Carmen]

Looks like hair algae! I hope someone else has a better id!!! It qlso looks like you have an aiptisia head in the middle of the zoa plug. Maybe is just the angle…
Good luck

 

[LiLinka]

It looks like hair algea but it’s hard to tell with the picture. Could also be bryopsis but again hard to tell. If it’s hair throw some emerald crabs in there and it should take care of the issue. I never recommend hydrogen peroxide dipping but, I have dipped zoa colonies in the peroxide to kill algea. I would only try that as a last resort otherwise I’m not Much help here without a clearer image.

 

[Dine]

Looks like hair algae! I hope someone else has a better id!!! It qlso looks like you have an aiptisia head in the middle of the zoa plug. Maybe is just the angle…
Good luck

Yes it does look Ike aptasia in the photo but it’s not. It’s more of the same

 

[Dine]

It looks like hair algea but it’s hard to tell with the picture. Could also be bryopsis but again hard to tell. If it’s hair throw some emerald crabs in there and it should take care of the issue. I never recommend hydrogen peroxide dipping but, I have dipped zoa colonies in the peroxide to kill algea. I would only try that as a last resort otherwise I’m not Much help here without a clearer image.

So i look at hair algae pics and I look at bryopsis and it doesn’t look like that to me. This frag was hydrogen peroxide dipped 6 weeks ago before it was added. I hydro dip my zoas.

the closest thing I saw was gelidum. Which I do think I have a tiny patch of. This is similar in color but fans out at the tips almost like a filter feeder but i never see it retract which makes me think algae. It’s red in color.

 

[LiLinka]

I would try another peroxide dip. I have heard of red bryopsis.

 

[MischiefReef]

+1 for hair algae, from what I can see from these pics.

From personal experience hair algae hosts amphipods which then ticks off the zoas causing them to close, thus leaving more gaps for hair algae to fill in. It’s a cycle best controlled with manual removal and getting nutrients in check. The good news is zoas tend to form a layer of skin that slimes up and the algae is usually pretty easily picked away with fingers or tweezers.