What’s this red stuff??

[jjjones]

Anybody know what these red mushroom looking things are in my reef tank??? I can’t figure out what it is or if it’s harmful for my tank (but tbh it kinda looks cool)
Here’s some pics of it

 

[fishface NJ]

does it blow off? If yes then it's cyano

 

[jjjones]

does it blow off? If yes then it's cyano

It does not

 

[fishface NJ]

Looks like a young tank. Did you start with dry rock?

 

[jjjones]

If it helps any, some of the bigger ones do glow under blue light. They glow orange

 

[jjjones]

Looks like a young tank. Did you start with dry rock?

I did it’s been running about 6-8 months now

 

[Aqua Man]

Red bubble algae. Also see some red coralline, maybe.

 

[jjjones]

Red bubble algae. Also see some red coralline, maybe.

Yeah there’s definitely some coralline. But how would I get rid of the red bubble algae??

 

[Aqua Man]

Yeah there’s definitely some coralline. But how would I get rid of the red bubble algae??

Hermit crabs will sometimes eat it. If you have a large tank, there are some fish that may eat it. It’s a tough one to remove by hand, very slimy. Could try scraping the rock with a blade and put peroxide on it.

but tbh it kinda looks cool)

It is a nice red! If you like it, leave it!

 

[AydenLincoln]

Definitely cyanobacteria or other nuisance algae not coralline sadly. I say this because I had it too and coralline is a light purple/pink not typically red unless it is possibly a different type of coralline but unlikely because the rocks look new. How old is the tank?

 

[WheatToast]

Definitely cyanobacteria or other nuisance algae not coralline sadly. I say this because I had it too and coralline is a light purple/pink not typically red.

Some other benign encrusting algae (ex. Peyssonnelia and Hildenbrandia) are often misidentified as "red coralline" and may be what OP is seeing, though if the encrusting algae is easily scraped/rubbed off it is probably cyanobacteria.

Yeah there’s definitely some coralline. But how would I get rid of the red bubble algae??

Saltcorner says this algae has no known predators and recommends removing infected rocks from the water and wiping the algae away while ReefCleaners says Mithrax (ex. emerald) crabs and rabbitfish will eat it and recommends scraping the algae off rocks with the end of a baster and sucking the algae up.
Note: this algae is a species of/may represent several species of Botryocladia; species with branches are desirable and are popular in planted marine aquaria while species without branches are pests

 

[reefsaver]

Cyano with gas inside it, looked like a weird growth at first but then I figured it out hehe

 

[Dorsetsteve]

The red toadstool like growths are an algae, I cannot remember what. There are other algaes and bacterial growths there but it’s a young tank.
Can you include a larger, full tank like shot? Sounds to me what you need it time and life.

 

[jjjones]

Definitely cyanobacteria or other nuisance algae not coralline sadly. I say this because I had it too and coralline is a light purple/pink not typically red unless it is possibly a different type of coralline but unlikely because the rocks look new. How old is the tank?

The tank is about 6-8 months old and it was seeded with coralline algae when I started it

 

[jjjones]

The red toadstool like growths are an algae, I cannot remember what. There are other algaes and bacterial growths there but it’s a young tank.
Can you include a larger, full tank like shot? Sounds to me what you need it time and life.

Full tank shot. It’s a 5 gallon reef tank tho . I do have a shark egg and a yellow watchman goby in there. (The shark egg will be in there temporarily)

 

[Dorsetsteve]

Yup, that’s kinda what I expected. It’s not established. There’s no diversity of life there.

 

[jjjones]

Yup, that’s kinda what I expected. It’s not established. There’s no diversity of life there.

Even tho it has copepods and amphipods???

 

[Lavey29]

At 8 months those rocks should be all different shades of green, purple, etc...from slime algae, your tank is way to sterile and the red substance forming is different types of algae as described above.

 

[jjjones]

At 8 months those rocks should be all different shades of green, purple, etc...from slime algae, your tank is way to sterile and the red substance forming is different types of algae as described above.

I do try to clean the stuff up in there to keep it lookin nice… you can’t see it but I do have some hair algae on the glass and my power head. I also have some slime algae hidden in the rocks

 

[Dorsetsteve]

Even tho it has copepods and amphipods???

At per post 18, there should be a whole raft of algaes etc over that rock work. At this stage you shouldn’t really be able to see the raw rock, particularly on any light facing piece. How are you maintaining your levels? Does the tank receive much light?