Nobody has a taste for this?
- Thread starter strike2867
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strike2867
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I have so far tried Turbo, Astrea and Cerith snails. Hermit Crabs and Emerald Crabs. Sea Hare. Nobody is touching it. The tank is an open top 54 gallon, so I don't want to put a Tang/Foxface in it unless I absolutely have to. Any other ideas on what it is and what eats it?
strike2867
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HELP BUMP
Biokabe
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Have you tried ripping it down? Most CUC won't attack algae that is too 'tall'.
Having said that, it looks like bryopsis to me. Which... you're actually not far off. Very few animals have a taste for bryopsis. Some emerald crabs will touch it, but most won't; I've had at least a half dozen of them over the years, and only one of them has ever eaten it. Most fish aren't interested in it either. In fact I've never heard of a fish that will eat bryopsis.
About the only reliable treatment for it is fluconazole, which is sold under the name Reef Flux. It's usually highly effective within 10-14 days. There are a few other things you can try as well - manual removal coupled with nutrient control is the next most effective, and some people have had success with raising magnesium to 1500+.
Having said that, it looks like bryopsis to me. Which... you're actually not far off. Very few animals have a taste for bryopsis. Some emerald crabs will touch it, but most won't; I've had at least a half dozen of them over the years, and only one of them has ever eaten it. Most fish aren't interested in it either. In fact I've never heard of a fish that will eat bryopsis.
About the only reliable treatment for it is fluconazole, which is sold under the name Reef Flux. It's usually highly effective within 10-14 days. There are a few other things you can try as well - manual removal coupled with nutrient control is the next most effective, and some people have had success with raising magnesium to 1500+.
sagee
Active Member
I agree on things not eating tall algae, with that being said I think it looks more like green hair algae from that video could be wrong I recommend you Googleing the two and make the distinction, as the 2 have different methods of eradication. But id remove what you can by hand and hit it with a tooth brush after and see if your cuc will keep up with it, urchins are great at eating most algae hope this helps.
strike2867
Active Member
I've had Bryopsis before, and this would have to be a different species of it. It's soft, large pieces of it are even pulled off just by the water change hose. MG ready to go in case it is Bryopsis. I have tried mowing it, but none of the clean up crew are even touching the short pieces. I'm going to try and take some more pictures. I do have an Urchin, he eats the coraline algae and ignores whatever this is.
strike2867
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strike2867
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HELP BUMP
strike2867
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I've been doing manual removal. But it's just too much with too many corals in the way. Several of which are getting killed by the Algae. I use to have a 210 with several tangs, never had to deal with Algae. I'm thinking of putting a small tang or foxface in the 54, because I'm just out of ideas.
Darren in Tacoma
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I used to have some algae that looked like that when my nitrates were in the 20s. I started dosing vinegar and it slowly disappeared as my nitrates dropped to around 5.
Sharkbait19
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GHA is removed best through manual removal IME. When my tank had an outbreak, I picked each piece off, then let my CUC handle the rest. No critter will eliminate algae that large, but with some assistance, they can. Remember to siphon out all the free-floating algae after you pry it off the rock, or else it will come right back.
BostonReefer300
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I can’t get the video to work on my phone, but by the pics this doesn’t look like bryopsis to me. More like GHA, although are those lots of air bubbles trapped inside? What are your nitrate and phosphate levels?
strike2867
Active Member
I just checked my levels and surprisingly the nitrates are at 10. Screwed up the phosphate test, will run again later. Going to try and siphon out my fuge and clean up the chaeto, which looks like it melted. I can also turn up the lights on the fuge. Although 10 doesn't seem that bad. I understand it's higher and the algae is just siphoning it.
