Does anyone know what type of algae this and how to treat it?

nano reef · Aug 21, 2024

I have had little patches of this for a long while but now its getting much worse and need to get rid of it! No One seems to know what it is! I bought Jullian srungs book too and dont see it. It very short and dense. It almost lie a flowering underwater hedge! lol. I have treated spots with peroxide and it just kills the flowery part but not the whole thing! Scared to use anything really strong. I dose MB7 and MB clean.

Scary thing is this company has owed me corals for years and finally wanting to ship! I guess if I have to I can pull out the rocks and try to remove it all manually and prey it dosnt come back. Does anyone think an emerald crab can or will pull it off and eat it?

Also how do you get rid of zoas and mushrooms that have taken over my main rockwork?

Appreciate any advice

Timfish · Aug 21, 2024

Looks like cyano to me. Does it siphon off easily? Here's a technique I use with steel straws.

nano reef · Aug 21, 2024

I didnt know cyano had roots! I have treated with chemiclean a lot of times. Its bushy so I don't think its cyano. It has some wicked strong roots. I guess I am just going to have to see if I can manually remove its all!. It now on my main rocks though so I am going to have to pull rocks out!

I may try to break some off and syphon it when I do a water change but scred it may float around and attach to to other places. Its much worse since I took those pics.

I have made several posts and none seems to know!

ptrusk · Aug 21, 2024

Is it hard? My first thought is some type of Halimeda but hard to tell. Pics are pretty blurry.

nano reef · Aug 21, 2024

Timfish said:
Looks like cyano to me. Does it siphon off easily? Here's a technique I use with steel straws.

I just watched the youtube! Thats an awesome idea. I don think it will work with algae but maybe zoas. Its the really big green palys though.

Would I have to change water after each go with the straws? Thats what scares me is the toxins being spread! Also the mushrooms are big. They are forest fire rhodactis I think. Funny thing is I dont recall putting those in my tank! lol. I did in my other tank though!

Where did you get the straws? I have seen people attach and acrylic rod also. I wonder if that would work the same but I like that yours is bent seems it would be easier to work with?

ptrusk · Aug 21, 2024

Here is a post I made a while ago about removing mushrooms:

I have been trying to rid a tank of purple disco mushrooms and this may help.

Turn off pumps. I rip out as many mushrooms as i can with hemostats and cover whats left with kalk paste. May not be able to grab aiptasia but smothering them with the paste will kill them.

Mix up some kalk paste, i use about 1 tsp per 5ml rodi, others say consistency of toothpaste but I use a small syringe and don't apply it that thick.

Smother them. After about a half an hour, I siphon the smutz.

5/16 steel straw, 3/8 id hose

If you siphon out the crud, it really doesn't mess up the water too bad, just do a little at a time. I usually stick to one syringe at a time and do it right before a water change.

I have been putting a hurt on mushrooms this way and I bet you could wreak some serious damage on aiptasia. Just do a little area at a time.

I remembered because I was just doing a second dose today before water change. Last week, both of these rocks were absolutely covered in mushrooms.

Straws are from Amazon

Timfish · Aug 22, 2024

nano reef said:
I just watched the youtube! Thats an awesome idea. I don think it will work with algae but maybe zoas. Its the really big green palys though.

Would I have to change water after each go with the straws? Thats what scares me is the toxins being spread! Also the mushrooms are big. They are forest fire rhodactis I think. Funny thing is I dont recall putting those in my tank! lol. I did in my other tank though!

Where did you get the straws? I have seen people attach and acrylic rod also. I wonder if that would work the same but I like that yours is bent seems it would be easier to work with?

It works very well with turf and hair algae. What will cause problems regardless of what you're trying to remove is unstable aquascaping. I always use the straws with water changes and while I have in the past siphoned into a filter sock and resued the water after understanding how detrimental the DOC from organisms can be I alwasy toss the water now. With larger polyps it may be better to firt cut of as much as possible then use steel straws to remove a smuch as possible of the reamining foot and as an added precation use the kalk paste as described above.

Regarding palytoxin, while it is a very deadly toxin it is also misunderstood and is actually made by an algae found in many different species of corals and fish, not just zoas and palys. It is better known by many as ciguatera poisoning found in contaminated seafood. It's absorbed through cuts in skin, ingestion and inhaling fumes from heating up organisms and aerosols made with the mucus (like would happen when drilling rock covered with zoas/palies out of water). Providing you're not ingesting, handling with cuts on hands and arms, rubbing your face after handling or boiling or drilling out of water and wash your hands thoroughly after handling you should fine. Protective gear like gloves and goggles or facemask are certainly recommended if you do have cuts or abrasions or are drilling out of water or may have compramised immune system.

Steel straws are available online in a variety of sizes.

nano reef · Aug 22, 2024

ptrusk said:
Is it hard? My first thought is some type of Halimeda but hard to tell. Pics are pretty blurry.

I looked that up and dosnt look like it to me. It grow very short dense and rooted very close to rock! Its crazy how noone can Id this. I left several posts too! I am going to manually remove it but its going to be a big job because its spreding worse then before! I have had it for years but just now really getting out of hand!

nano reef · Aug 22, 2024

Timfish said:
It works very well with turf and hair algae. What will cause problems regardless of what you're trying to remove is unstable aquascaping. I always use the straws with water changes and while I have in the past siphoned into a filter sock and resued the water after understanding how detrimental the DOC from organisms can be I alwasy toss the water now. With larger polyps it may be better to firt cut of as much as possible then use steel straws to remove a smuch as possible of the reamining foot and as an added precation use the kalk paste as described above.

Regarding palytoxin, while it is a very deadly toxin it is also misunderstood and is actually made by an algae found in many different species of corals and fish, not just zoas and palys. It is better known by many as ciguatera poisoning found in contaminated seafood. It's absorbed through cuts in skin, ingestion and inhaling fumes from heating up organisms and aerosols made with the mucus (like would happen when drilling rock covered with zoas/palies out of water). Providing you're not ingesting, handling with cuts on hands and arms, rubbing your face after handling or boiling or drilling out of water and wash your hands thoroughly after handling you should fine. Protective gear like gloves and goggles or facemask are certainly recommended if you do have cuts or abrasions or are drilling out of water or may have compramised immune system.

Steel straws are available online in a variety of sizes.

definitely ordering the straws and kalk! Are you using airline tubing or is that the bigger tubing like from the end of a water change siphon type kit with a bulb and a tube for vacuming. I have both so not sure what size I should buy.

Also what is the meaning of DOC and what do you mean by and unstable aquascape?

You also said maybe better to cut off some first. Would that not spread toxins?

I just now yanked the whole zoa off real easy. Didint seem to release anything! Shocked!

Would it be ok to do that too? I am sure they all wont come off that easy though! If I can yank them off easy will I still need to do a water change? If I scrape the rock afterwords would i need the kalk.

Timfish · Aug 23, 2024

I always use a 9/16" OD siphon hose. For smaller diameter straws I use rubber bands as gaskets. You'll need to experiment to see what you're comfortable using. In case you're not familiar with some basics of hydraulics, using a larger diameter hose will increase suction versus a smaller diameter hose. And pressure head or height of the aquarium water to the bucket will be a variable also. I like a larger diameter hose that has better suction that I can control by pinching the hose in my hand. But be careful as using a combination that has stronger suction will damage corals easier.

exnisstech · Aug 23, 2024

Can you pull some off and lay it on some white paper to get a clearer image?

Gettie · Aug 26, 2024

there is no sure way of getting rid of it, just try to control it the best you can

nano reef · Aug 28, 2024

exnisstech said:
Can you pull some off and lay it on some white paper to get a clearer image?

I will do that tomorrow! I had to catch a crazy damsel that just went rogue so pulled almost all my rocks out to get to him! Since rocks were almost all out I tried pulling it off and it impossible! Its stuck down with alot of roots and its very short, dense and just hard to grab a hold of in a lot of areas!