What's This Red Stuff On My Live Rock (Photo)?

[Reinhold]

Over the past month, this red stuff has been growing on my LR. Unlike red slime algae, this stuff won't come off if I take the rock out and try to remove it with a stiff brush. It feels like coraline algae. Is it coralline? Is it good or bad? Is the short fibrous stuff on the left part of the rock a type of sponge?

[SKRIZ]

i have that too! Dont know what it is though

[Reinhold]

Help???

[MarkS]

The pic will not load. [img]/ubb/frown.gif[/img]

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How come when you talk to God it is called prayer, but when God talks to you it is called schizophrenia?

[SomeHairyOldGuy]

I think it is a kind of algea. I too have some on my LR. It has been there for almost a year. You do have some coraline algea right below it though.
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[tubs]

Kind of looks like brown wafer algae which is a common hitch hiker. My tangs love the stuff so I don't see it in the main display tank anymore but it does thrive in the sump. If it is it is not really a nuisance since it is easily controlled by tangs.


Does it kind of look like this:




This pic is from fresh Monano live rock before being put in the tank.

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John Susbilla
Visit my "Flashy" new site: John's Reef Flat
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tubs@firstworld.net

[This message has been edited by tubs (edited 06-01-2001).]

[Bughead]

I have that red stuff growing on some of the tufa rock I put in a couple of months ago. I'm glad my tangs don't eat it off, I think it's pretty.

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If it's broke, don't fix it---hide it.

[PDDII]

I believe that is a kind of red turf algae. It is very difficult to eliminate and grows fairly quickly. Mine was out of control until I purchased two Royal Urchins and my Algae Blenny. I can't really say which critter does the better job but if I guessed it would be the Blenny. It is all he really eats in the tank since I have minimal algae in the tank.

One word of caution if you elect to try the Urchins - They eat coralline algae as well. Otherwise they are great.

HTH

PDDII

[ravenmore]

Looks like you have both red coraline algae and red turf algae on the rock. Neither one is a problem, really - and of course most folks desire coraline!



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[Biomanjcs72]

My vote is that it's coralline, I think the turf would come off with a stiff brush. JAT

[ravenmore]

there's definitely some red turf on the rock - I don't know if that's what they were trying to remove with the brush or not. Never tried to remove turf algae myself so I'm not sure how hard it is to brush off.

-Mike