Plant Life

[812 many]

Could anyone tell me what I have growing in my tank? I've looked around on line and have not come up with anything. Sorry about the fuzzy pics. But I am referring to the fern looking plants and the lily pad vines that are growing. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

Casey;;

[Ninong]

Hi Casey,



Unfortunately none of your pictures is clear enough for identification purposes. Both of the "plants" you are asking about are actually marine algae and not plants at all. The one you refer to as "fern looking" is clearly in the genus Caulerpa. The one you refer to as "lily pad vines" might be in the genus Caulerpa but I really can't see anything clear enough in your photos to come close to an ID.

The genus Caulerpa contains anywhere from 75 to 85 recognized species, depending on which reference you consult. If you want an identification down to species, you will have to provide in-focus, close-up photos that show a lot of detail.

Do you know where the algae came from?

If it came in as hitchhikers on your live rock, then where did the live rock come from? Which part of the world?

[812 many]

Thanks for your response. I tried getting better pics but the camera was cooperating. It all started growing off my Tonga rock.... Looks cool but I have already had to weed it back. Is it bad for my tank? Also there is some sort of red plant / algae growing off it.. Not slimy like algae, more plant like. Ill also try to get some better pics.

[Ninong]

It all started growing off my Tonga rock.... Looks cool but I have already had to weed it back. Is it bad for my tank?

Not really, but it's invasive. It will sort of take over your tank, if you know what I mean.

Also there is some sort of red plant / algae growing off it.. Not slimy like algae, more plant like. Ill also try to get some better pics.

The red "plant" is also algae. There are very few true marine plants and almost all of those are grasses that grow in shallow water in the sediment.

[812 many]

Couple more pics.....

[Ninong]

The one you described as "lily pads" is probably Caulerpa racemosa var. peltata. The one you described as "fern" is probably Caulerpa taxifolia. I won't even begin to try to ID the red algae.

[Ninong]

I forgot to ask if you have any fish or inverts in your aquarium and what size is your aquarium?

And when I said that the algae is not bad for your tank except that it is invasive, I forgot to mention that if it goes sexual in your tank, that could be a problem depending on what you have and just how much of it goes sexual at the same time.

When Caulerpa matures, it can suddenly (just after dark) go sexual. That means that it releases spores and the algae turns white and dies. This can be a problem, especially if you're not ready for it.

zhenya actually posted some pics on the board a while back of exactly what the Caulerpa looks like a few hours before sporulation. I'm talking about extreme close-up shots with a macro lens. zhenya has expert camera skills.

[sober_pollock]

.....zhenya actually posted some pics on the board a while back of exactly what the Caulerpa looks like a few hours before sporulation. I'm talking about extreme close-up shots with a macro lens. zhenya has expert camera skills.....

I went looking for that thread and can't ind it, but I'm not sure since I couldn't get any pictures to display.....

Did something hapen to this forum at some time that caused all the pictures in the old threads to be lost?

pollock

[Ninong]

I went looking for that thread and can't ind it, but I'm not sure since I couldn't get any pictures to display.....

I'll send zhenya a PM and see if he's able to visit the board. He has been unavailable for the past few days.

Did something hapen to this forum at some time that caused all the pictures in the old threads to be lost?

Yes, and believe it or not, it's called an "upgrade" when it happens. It has happened several times. It also happened to the very largest online reefkeeping bulletin board when they "upgraded." Maybe that's why they have been resisting upgrading lately?

Anyway, for whatever reasons, we have lost pics from older threads on at least three different occasions over the past nine years and every time it was during a software upgrade. Don't blame me, I didn't do it. I know next to nothing about software upgrades. Every time this happens, I complain about it, just like I'm doing now.

[zhenya]

Unfortunately I don't have any time to search my gallery as I have to leave in a few minutes. Having said that, feel free to browse my picture gallery and I am sure you'll find it there.

[Ninong]

zhenya,

I ran a search on your name with the word "Caulerpa" and came up blank except for this thread from 2003 that you started complaining that your Caulerpa had gone sexual overnight. In that thread, I linked to a photo Andrew Trevor-Jones posted showing Caulerpa just before it goes sexual. Unfortunately that link is now broken.

Now that I think about this some more, I believe you wrote an article on this that included one of your photos? In that article you included a very good close-up macro shot of Caulerpa about to go sexual. That photo is no doubt in your gallery but your gallery is ridiculously large and no one in their right mind is going to go through the whole thing unless they have an approximate date to narrow the search.

I believe I remember which online magazine you wrote that article for and I think I can find it fairly easily. If so, I will provide a link to it.

[Ninong]

Haha! I found it already, after an exhaustive three-minute search.

Be sure to read the text of zhenya's article and not just look at the pictures. That should answer all of your questions.

[zhenya]

Ha, that was quick...

It is not an article but a note, to be exact.

For some strange reasons that Caulerpa had never returned after I removed most of it. The Caulerpa racemosa that is pictured in some of the images is indeed a var. peltata. I would definitely try to remove it from display and instead place it in refugium if you have it. With enough nutrients and bright light it can overtake aquarium easily.

[Ninong]

It is not an article but a note, to be exact.

Well, since it's the only thing you wrote for them and since you went to the trouble of having the 'manuscript' peer reviewed, I thought we should call it an article.

[zhenya]

Well, since it's the only thing you wrote for them and since you went to the trouble of having the 'manuscript' peer reviewed, I thought we should call it an article.

Oh, well...

[Reefland]

Missing pictures?! I didn't do it, can't prove a thing. Don't worry, it annoys me too.
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