What is this?

[JenKensMom]

I have a 45 gal tank with a long tentacle anemone, a purple dottyback, and a chromis as well as a couple of large snails, hermits, and trochus. I also have an emerald crab, although I haven't seen it in awhile. A couple of weeks ago I started getting this red stuff on my rock and gravel. Any idea what it is? Is it harmful? If so, how do I get rid of it.

 

[MaxTremors]

Cyano bacteria. Lowering and balancing nutrients (but not zero) and increasing flow can help.

 

[JenKensMom]

Cyano bacteria. Lowering and balancing nutrients (but not zero) and increasing flow can help.

I thought Cyano was a blue/green color? Mine is more of a red color. Thoughts?

 

[LiveFreeAndReef]

cyano, comes in red too! Siphon off what you can during water changes and let it do it's thing. There are chemical treatments but they're just a band-aid and don't really fix the underlying issue (low water flow, high nutrients, lots of detritus built up in substrate, etc)

 

[Subsea]

Actually, in my experiences, low nutrients contribute to Cynobacteria outbreaks, because competitive beneficial algaes suffer, while Cynobacteria has adapted numerous survival strategies.
Cyanobacteria uses nitrogen fixation to transfer saturated nitrogen gas into ammonia. Cynobacteria mats generate enzymes to lower pH and dissolve inert calcium phosphate in substrate.

 

[Subsea]

I thought Cyano was a blue/green color? Mine is more of a red color. Thoughts?

There are hundreds of different species with different characteristics & colors. Blue/green was the original bacteria that converted earths early methane/sulfur atmosphere into 20% oxygen. European reefers use a black/green cyno the same as phytoplankton.

 

[JenKensMom]

Thank you everyone!

 

[JenKensMom]

Inadvertent cure......I have a heater that has a digital readout with a probe that goes in the water. The readout box fell off the side, taking the probe with it. I didn't notice it for awhile so the temp went up to 95 degrees. Needless to say, I lost both the chromis and the dottyback. However, the heat killed most of the cyno. Don't recommend this cure for cyno.