Marco algae? Or maybe red bubble algae?

tinyreefer · Dec 16, 2023

I've let it grow so far because it grows pretty slow and hasn't spread at all. It is growing on a pump I am replacing today and if it isn't going to cause problems down the road I will try to move it to a rock. So does anyone know what this is? It looks more like leaves or branches than bubbles to me but I haven't seen red bubble algae in person before.

Harpo · Dec 16, 2023

Looks like a blast merletti

ISpeakForTheSeas · Dec 17, 2023

It does look like some kind of macroalgae (though I don't know what kind - maybe @WheatToast would have an idea there), but I can tell you it's not red bubble algae.

EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal · Dec 18, 2023

ISpeakForTheSeas said:
It does look like some kind of macroalgae (though I don't know what kind - maybe @WheatToast would have an idea there), but I can tell you it's not red bubble algae.

Could they be foraminiferans?

ISpeakForTheSeas · Dec 18, 2023

EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal said:
Could they be foraminiferans?

Possibly - if they feel hard, then they might be. I'm not familiar with any that would look like this, but I haven't looked into forams too deeply at this point.

tinyreefer · Dec 18, 2023

Thanks for the help so far everyone!

I did keep them, I have the large one in my main tank and the smaller in a frag tank.

foraminiferan is an interesting suggestion and it's possible. They weren't hard like they had a shell but they were much more solid than I was expecting. They felt kind of like chicken gristle if that makes sense. Also I don't see any hairs coming out of them that are described in other foraminiferan forums. The color matches though as they are more of a deep red than the orange in my pictures. I should have grabbed a new picture but the underside had a branching stem connecting the leaves, and the entire thing was growing so tightly together it felt solid.

ISpeakForTheSeas · Dec 18, 2023

tinyreefer said:
foraminiferan is an interesting suggestion and it's possible. They weren't hard like they had a shell but they were much more solid than I was expecting. They felt kind of like chicken gristle if that makes sense. Also I don't see any hairs coming out of them that are described in other foraminiferan forums. The color matches though as they are more of a deep red than the orange in my pictures. I should have grabbed a new picture but the underside had a branching stem connecting the leaves, and the entire thing was growing so tightly together it felt solid.

Ah, yeah a foraminiferan (forams come in a wide range of shapes, sizes, and colors) would feel like it has a shell underneath (it has a shell called a test like the shells of sea urchins), and the branching stem would indicate a macroalgae there.

tinyreefer · Dec 18, 2023

Thanks for the help, I'll post some pictures again when it grows bigger and maybe get an ID, and I'll post if it ever starts spreading uncontrollably so others know to watch out for it