What is this algae?

[Just John]

I have had some of it for months, but now it is really spreading. Grows in snot like, jelly-ish blobs. When you try to pull it out it just falls to pieces.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I have had some of it for months, but now it is really spreading. Grows in snot like, jelly-ish blobs. When you try to pull it out it just falls to pieces.

Known as bryopsis and a difficult algae to battle. Pull as much as you can by hand and pick off the rest with a dental pick or small crochet needle and reduce white light intensity. Be sure to remove the roots.
Chitons, large turbo snails and emerald crabs will help with control

 

[mherb24]

Known as bryopsis and a difficult algae to battle. Pull as much as you can by hand and pick off the rest with a dental pick or small crochet needle and reduce white light intensity. Be sure to remove the roots.
Chitons, large turbo snails and emerald crabs will help with control

I just found out I have it yesterday. I have Mexican Turbos and Emerald Crabs. Neither has touched it. Purchased Reef Flux and will be using as soon as it comes in. Check YouTube for videos on treating Bryopsis. It sounds risky, but has good results.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I just found out I have it yesterday. I have Mexican Turbos and Emerald Crabs. Neither has touched it. Purchased Reef Flux and will be using as soon as it comes in. Check YouTube for videos on treating Bryopsis. It sounds risky, but has good results.

Flux will work but can impact bacteria and other in tank. Picking it out is MOST effective. Turbos and emarlds will attack the remaining, not the bryopsis itself

 

[Just John]

Known as bryopsis and a difficult algae to battle. Pull as much as you can by hand and pick off the rest with a dental pick or small crochet needle and reduce white light intensity. Be sure to remove the roots.
Chitons, large turbo snails and emerald crabs will help with control

I'm confused, I thought bryopsis was a green algae that looks a bit like fern leaves. This is a brown snot ball thing that falls into slimy pieces when you mess with it.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I'm confused, I thought bryopsis was a green algae that looks a bit like fern leaves. This is a brown snot ball thing that falls into slimy pieces when you mess with it.

there is bryopsis present but now im on my PC screen and see what appears as dino. Blow it loose with a turkey baster and net it up. Reduce white light length of time
If it returns in a couple of days, prepare by starting with a water change and blow this stuff loose with a turkey baster and siphon up loose particles.
Turn lights off (at least white and run blue at 10-15%) for 5 days and at night dose 1ml of hydrogen peroxide per 10 gallons for all 5 nights. If you dont have light dependent coral- turn all lights off.
During the day dose 1ml of liquid bacteria (such as bacter 7) per 10 gallons.
Clean filters daily and DO NOT FEED CORAL FOODS OR ADD NOPOX as it is food for dinos.
Day 5,, you can start with blue lights - ramping up and work your white lights up slowly

Dinoflagellates are protists organisms -those that do not fit within the three natural kingdoms: animalia, plantae or fungus- with ability to move with rotating movements. All dinoflagellates have the common feature of having two flagella located at right angles allowing them to perform such rotational movement which makes them easily recognizable (although some species such as the genus symbiodinium they are virtually immobile).
There are about 2.400 species which have a highly variable size ranging from 20 and 300 µm in the most common ones and up to 2 mm in the case of species such as noctiluca. In the marine aquarium species are usual smaller as symbiodinium and Amphidinium, While some like ostreopsis are large and can be seen without a microscope (with good lighting and visual acuity).
The problem arises when conditions in the aquarium break the biological balance and some dinoflagellate species spread uncontrollably, smothering the rest of the aquarium inhabitants. If the dinoflagellate species in question has the ability to produce toxins (usual in ostreopsis, gambierdiscus and prorocentrum to name a few)
The problem often arises when we try to bring cleanliness it to the limit, in order to improve its appearance and color of corals.
They tend to occur suddenly when the aquarium water reaches an extraordinary cleanliness, in which most microorganisms perishes for lack of food. With no other organisms that can stop them, this type of dinoflagellate can multiply so fast that when we realize it's late and we will find an aquarium full of brown and ochre slime suffocating fish and invertebrates. These dinoflagellates possess chloroplasts enabling them to synthesize their own food even under a minimal amount of light. Some species can form cysts called pellicles which allow them to remain in the aquarium for months although we have completely sterilized or kept in complete darkness. Once the light or the right conditions come back, they will reappear and thus problems.
Most of these dinoflagellates have a very curious behavior, typical of pathogens and parasites. With the presence of light they secrete mucus which adhere to any surface, including algae, coral and fish. They spend hours synthesising food and extending vertically in search of the light source (if we turn off the pumps in the aquarium we can see brown filaments grow towards the surface). When the light source disappears and can no longer synthesize food, it begins to diminish to none.

 

[Just John]

Wow, that was a lot and fast! Thanks, as always!

 

[Timfish]

This technique using stainless steel straws I've found very helpful for removing unwanted stuff and minmizing it's spread around the tank:

 

[Just John]

there is bryopsis present but now im on my PC screen and see what appears as dino. Blow it loose with a turkey baster and net it up. Reduce white light length of time
If it returns in a couple of days, prepare by starting with a water change and blow this stuff loose with a turkey baster and siphon up loose particles.
Turn lights off (at least white and run blue at 10-15%) for 5 days and at night dose 1ml of hydrogen peroxide per 10 gallons for all 5 nights. If you dont have light dependent coral- turn all lights off.
During the day dose 1ml of liquid bacteria (such as bacter 7) per 10 gallons.
Clean filters daily and DO NOT FEED CORAL FOODS OR ADD NOPOX as it is food for dinos.
Day 5,, you can start with blue lights - ramping up and work your white lights up slowly

Dinoflagellates are protists organisms -those that do not fit within the three natural kingdoms: animalia, plantae or fungus- with ability to move with rotating movements. All dinoflagellates have the common feature of having two flagella located at right angles allowing them to perform such rotational movement which makes them easily recognizable (although some species such as the genus symbiodinium they are virtually immobile).
There are about 2.400 species which have a highly variable size ranging from 20 and 300 µm in the most common ones and up to 2 mm in the case of species such as noctiluca. In the marine aquarium species are usual smaller as symbiodinium and Amphidinium, While some like ostreopsis are large and can be seen without a microscope (with good lighting and visual acuity).
The problem arises when conditions in the aquarium break the biological balance and some dinoflagellate species spread uncontrollably, smothering the rest of the aquarium inhabitants. If the dinoflagellate species in question has the ability to produce toxins (usual in ostreopsis, gambierdiscus and prorocentrum to name a few)
The problem often arises when we try to bring cleanliness it to the limit, in order to improve its appearance and color of corals.
They tend to occur suddenly when the aquarium water reaches an extraordinary cleanliness, in which most microorganisms perishes for lack of food. With no other organisms that can stop them, this type of dinoflagellate can multiply so fast that when we realize it's late and we will find an aquarium full of brown and ochre slime suffocating fish and invertebrates. These dinoflagellates possess chloroplasts enabling them to synthesize their own food even under a minimal amount of light. Some species can form cysts called pellicles which allow them to remain in the aquarium for months although we have completely sterilized or kept in complete darkness. Once the light or the right conditions come back, they will reappear and thus problems.
Most of these dinoflagellates have a very curious behavior, typical of pathogens and parasites. With the presence of light they secrete mucus which adhere to any surface, including algae, coral and fish. They spend hours synthesising food and extending vertically in search of the light source (if we turn off the pumps in the aquarium we can see brown filaments grow towards the surface). When the light source disappears and can no longer synthesize food, it begins to diminish to none.

Now that the lights are back on I looked for other areas with dinos and there is nothing other than these blobs that never produce any bubbles at all. Nothing on the sand, spread around like a mat or slime anywhere, just these isolated things. Is that a typical way for dinos to grow? I haven't seen any photos of blobs without any bubbles like this.

 

[Aqua Man]

Grows in snot like, jelly-ish blobs.

Interesting!! Never seen anything like that before.

Do happen to have a microscope to get a good look at it?

 

[Just John]

Interesting!! Never seen anything like that before.

Do happen to have a microscope to get a good look at it?

Unfortunately, I don't have a microscope. I've had these blobs growing for months. Usually there are a few around the tank that I suck off when I do a water change, but I was out of town on vacation and they really multiplied while I was gone. It's not a big problem, just a nuisance.

How's the weather? Cooling down yet?

 

[Just John]

This technique using stainless steel straws I've found very helpful for removing unwanted stuff and minmizing it's spread around the tank:

I just ordered some. Thanks!

 

[vetteguy53081]

Now that the lights are back on I looked for other areas with dinos and there is nothing other than these blobs that never produce any bubbles at all. Nothing on the sand, spread around like a mat or slime anywhere, just these isolated things. Is that a typical way for dinos to grow? I haven't seen any photos of blobs without any bubbles like this.

Dinos dont have to have bubbles. Itys the amount of nutrients and gases produced that show bubbles