What is this stuff?

[Ninong]

What is this red turf algae that has popped up over the past two months? My Foxface Rabbitfish eats it but it keeping growing and growing and growing. It is 2 - 4 mm high and grows by pinnate runners. I tried brushing it off with a toothbrush but that didn't work at all.




I have a sneaky suspicion this is bad news.

[Papa Doug]

If its the same, {looks like it}, algae I had in my previous 170, then its one tough stuff. Your lucky the fish are eating it. Mine never. I dont remember what it was called. Perhaps Ron told me in some old post.

The solution to mine was the long spined urchins. They ate it and it never came back.

[Ninong]

Doug,

Did the urchins also eat your coralline?

BTW, I posted this in Dr. Ron's forum, too, so maybe he will give me some input. It looks like nasty stuff.

Thanks,

[Papa Doug]

I dont recall them making a large difference in coralline growth. They loved the algae though. I had a thread going with Ron at that time also. It was the time I recieved a bad infection from a spine poke.

I sold them shortly after, so cant say what their long term eating of coralline would be. I wish I had some now, to eart some nuisance hair algae I have on old rock, {maybe Rons OTS in old rock is correct}. I also have an over abundance of calcium sucking coralline.

When I added the urchin pair, I also added 25 Deep Water Turbos, which assisited the urchins.