Tough Red Bristle Alge

[Mhart032]

Really no invert will deal with this. I have had to pull mine little by little by hand. This stuff is like a brillo pad.
Fluxonasal and peroxide should help loosen as it is a form of red hair algae

Same, i had this in my 90Gal manual removal, i took the rock out that was effected and scrubbed with a wire brush, dipped into fresh water and back into the tank. It took weeks to rid the tank of it, be mindful it will spread like GHA in the system if pieces are left lose in the tank, so best to be done outside of the tank.

 

[Naso180]

@Naso180 Hey bud, I bought a bunch of Astraea Turbo Snail from Liveaquaria, I think they are the ones attacking these tough algae. Do you have Astraea snail in your tank?

Thanks for the suggestion. I tried Astrea and large Mexican Turbo Snails. They ate every other algae except this one.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Im battling this once again. I im treating it like Dino and its slowly going away but very stubborn. I cant pull rock as its a drop off tank.

 

[zzl630]

Do you guys have other algae besides this one? I pretty much have this one left and snails are hungry

 

[Naso180]

Do you guys have other algae besides this one? I pretty much have this one left and snails are hungry

I really don't have much other algae. I think that's really the issue. I have been planting hair algae from my sump in there hoping it will take off and out compete this stuff or cover it so it can't get going. Then my tangs will eat the hair algae. That's whats happening in my display where it will not grow. I too am boosting nutrient levels hoping that helps. I'm also thinking about temporarliy adding a fuge light to add some red spectrum thinking this will help the green algae more than this red stuff. Just curious zz, did you use Vibrant in the tank your fighting this stuff in? I used Vibrant in mine and I think it killed off all of the other algae and left this unchecked. It's a bacterial solution so the bacteria that killed off all of the green algae might still be in there. Just a thought, but this stuff is more like coraline algae than a green algae.

 

[zzl630]

I tried small dose of Vibrant before but two SPS frags RTNed so I am afraid to try more. I do dose Dr. Tim from time to time though.
I added quite a bit CUC packs from liveaquaria + 8 tuxedo urchins. These tough algae are 80% gone.

 

[Naso180]

I tried small dose of Vibrant before but two SPS frags RTNed so I am afraid to try more. I do dose Dr. Tim from time to time though.
I added quite a bit CUC packs from liveaquaria + 8 tuxedo urchins. These tough algae are 80% gone.

I've tried all of those except the Scarlet Reef Hermits and the Lettuce Sea Slug. My Blue Leg hermits don't touch it. Have you observed any of the above eating or tearing it up?

 

[zzl630]

Pincushion Urchin they are like lawnmower, eat everything in its path
ORA captive bred tuxedo urchins, they are about 3/4", cover places pincushion won't reach
Astraea snail, I didn't see they eating cause they only active during light off time. But some rock braches cleaned second day it stayed
Emerald crab, I saw they tearing it up and eating.

I don't think other CUC are working. Maybe Mexican turbo snail.

Tuxedo urchins I bought from LFS won't touch this thing. Not sure because where they come from or not hungry enough.

 

[NJ Reefer]

@Naso180 How are you making out with this algae? I have the same thing taking over most of my rock-work. Competing with my corals and winning. I also used Vibrant for 11 weeks which eliminated several other algaes, but this should up as well as some GHA toward the end of the regiment. Coincidence probably...but who knows. Nothing is working so far, except for a few spots that I tested some kalkwasser paste. But that is slow and tedious as I don’t want to increase the PH to much.

 

[robbyg]

I can't help you guys but I have seen that same kind of Algae on patches of coral when I go diving and have put tiny bits in my tank but they never survive long. I never knew it could grow that aggressively because it always seems to be on found in patches near healthy sections of reef riding along with calurpra or other plants. Since it does not spread all that much in the wild I know something must be eating it. I suspect that it is Parrot fish. Anybody drop it in some Alk type solution to see if it fizzles up? That would give some insight into if it is calcium based.

 

[Naso180]

@Naso180 How are you making out with this algae? I have the same thing taking over most of my rock-work. Competing with my corals and winning. I also used Vibrant for 11 weeks which eliminated several other algaes, but this should up as well as some GHA toward the end of the regiment. Coincidence probably...but who knows. Nothing is working so far, except for a few spots that I tested some kalkwasser paste. But that is slow and tedious as I don’t want to increase the PH to much.

I still have it, but it's more limited. It only seems to be in a certain zone where it doesn't get too much or too little light. I had a dyno outbreak that sucked, but it actually smothered this stuff and it died back quite a bit. Now the dyno is gone, and it's only back in a few places. I have finally gotten some other algae back in there and that seems to help limit a bit too. IMO Vibrant set me up for all of this and the long road to recovery from it. changes in spectrum don't seem to matter at all to it.

The best solution I have found it hydrogen peroxide 3% like you can get at the grocery store. I have it in a coral flat where everything is on plugs and I can scrape the flat itself. The routine for eliminating it from a plug or tile is to remove as much as possible by scraping it off or using a soft toothbrush, then fill a small container about 1" deep with H2O2 and submerge the tile for about 30 seconds to a minute depending on what type of coral. Thinner skinned corals like Monte's and acro's can't tolerate as long, but goni's, favia and other LPS tolerate it better by secreting slime. It's pretty harsh so be careful! In my mind, it's more of a nuisance coral than an algae and the only animals that will eat it are probably not reef safe. I've tried every reef safe critter I can find and none of them damage it.

If it's on a rock or something you can't remove, try using a syringe like the ones included in testing kits with the sharp attachment. You can stick it into the base of it and then squirt some into it with your pumps off so it stays saturated for a bit. Like your Kalk solution, it's tedious, but it works if the stuff is thick enough. H2O2 breaks down very quickly and raises PH VERY slightly but of course it depends on the volume of water it's being added to so you can use a fairly large amount of it before you have to worry about it.

 

[NJ Reefer]

I still have it, but it's more limited. It only seems to be in a certain zone where it doesn't get too much or too little light. I had a dyno outbreak that sucked, but it actually smothered this stuff and it died back quite a bit. Now the dyno is gone, and it's only back in a few places. I have finally gotten some other algae back in there and that seems to help limit a bit too. IMO Vibrant set me up for all of this and the long road to recovery from it. changes in spectrum don't seem to matter at all to it.

The best solution I have found it hydrogen peroxide 3% like you can get at the grocery store. I have it in a coral flat where everything is on plugs and I can scrape the flat itself. The routine for eliminating it from a plug or tile is to remove as much as possible by scraping it off or using a soft toothbrush, then fill a small container about 1" deep with H2O2 and submerge the tile for about 30 seconds to a minute depending on what type of coral. Thinner skinned corals like Monte's and acro's can't tolerate as long, but goni's, favia and other LPS tolerate it better by secreting slime. It's pretty harsh so be careful! In my mind, it's more of a nuisance coral than an algae and the only animals that will eat it are probably not reef safe. I've tried every reef safe critter I can find and none of them damage it.

If it's on a rock or something you can't remove, try using a syringe like the ones included in testing kits with the sharp attachment. You can stick it into the base of it and then squirt some into it with your pumps off so it stays saturated for a bit. Like your Kalk solution, it's tedious, but it works if the stuff is thick enough. H2O2 breaks down very quickly and raises PH VERY slightly but of course it depends on the volume of water it's being added to so you can use a fairly large amount of it before you have to worry about it.

Thanks for the update and advice. Unlike yours, mine seems to be in the areas with the most light. While some corals look to be receding from the what I am labeling red bristle algae, some other corals are battling well against it, such as the green pocillipora which I also can't get rid off I would definitely attempt your approach with dipping the corals, however, it is really only on my live rock. I will continue the kalk paste for a while to see if I can't eradicate it over time. If not, I may try the H202 in the syringe method. Good luck with yours (I too believe Vibrant was the root of this nuisance).