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FAQs about Red Algae/Rhodophyte Identification
2
Related Articles: Red
Algae in General, Coralline Marine
Algae, Avoiding
Algae Problems in Marine
System, Algae
Control, Marine Maintenance,
Marine Scavengers, Snails, Hermit
Crabs, Mithrax/Emerald
Green Crabs, Sea Urchins, Blennies, Algae
Filters, Ctenochaetus/Bristle Mouth
Tangs, Zebrasoma/Sailfin Tangs,
Skimmers, Skimmer Selection, Marine Algae, Coralline Algae, Green Algae, Brown
Algae, Blue-Green
"Algae"/(Cyanobacteria), Diatoms, Brown
Algae, Algae as
Food,
Related FAQs: Red Algae
ID 1, Red Algae ID 3, Red Algae ID 4, Red
Algae ID5, & Red Algae 1,
Red Algae 2, Red Algae 3, Red
Algae in General, Red Algae 2, Red
Algae 3, Red Algae Behavior,
Red Algae Compatibility,
Red Algae Selection, Red Algae Systems, Red Algae Nutrition, Red Algae Disease, Red Algae Reproduction/Propagation,
Coralline
Algae, Marine Macro-Algae, Use
in Aquariums, Algae as
Food, Marine Algae ID 1,
Marine Algae ID 2, Marine Algae Control FAQs II, Marine Algaecide Use, Nutrient Limitation, Marine Algae Eaters, Culturing Macro-Algae; Controlling: BGA/Cyano, Red/Encrusting Algae, Green Algae, Brown/Diatom Algae,
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Marine Aquarium Algae Control
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Help Identifying this macroalgae 10/17/19
Hi,
<Hi Holly>
I have this macroalgae taking over a couple of rocks in my tank. It's
starting to spread to a third rock now as well. It's pretty, but I'm getting
concerned it's going to be a nuisance and damage corals.
So far, nothing in the tank eats it (I thought perhaps my emerald crab or
Halloween urchin would, but no). The tank is a 32g biocube, so I can't put a
Rabbitfish or tang in it. Can you help me identify it and give me ideas on
controlling it? It may be Fauchea laciniata, but I'm not sure.
<It appears to be some type of red macro algae, probably Halymeda
floridiana; not harmful but needs nitrates to survive, you might want to
test for NO3.>
It's very short and individual little leaves are attached by a single point
to the rock. I'm including some pictures from when it started and current,
First picture is from 9/12 and second picture is from one month later,
10/12.
Interesting observation, so far, it's only growing on the man made Real Reef
rock, and not on the natural live rock in the tank (so far anyway).
<It looks it prefers the smooth surface of your "man made rock." If you
notice it starts to spread beyond control, you can manually trim it.>
Holly LaClair-Bogedain
<Cheers. Wil>
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Re: Help Identifying this macroalgae
10/18/19
Thanks.
<Welcome>
My nitrates routinely test at 2.5 (Salifert) and my PO4 tested at .043 a couple
of days ago (via Hanna checker).
<Good, keep it that way. Wil.>
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Cyano? Red Hair Algae 02/05/2008 Hello WWM,
<<Hello, Andrew here>> My tank has had an algae problem for
a while, and I believe I am slowly taking it out. First of all, I got a
better Pinnacle RO unit which replaced my crummy tap water filter.
<<Certainly going to help no end>> The algae has decreased
significantly, but it is not quite gone yet. The one I notice the most
is a long, thin, hair like red algae, that grows in certain spots
mainly the substrate. I wasn't sure if this is Cyano, but I guess I
won't find out until I do more water changes and more skimming. Is
there a different between Cyano and red hair algae? Its my main
problem. Would a Phosphate reactor help here? <<There are a few
different types of red hair style algae's such as Gelidium,
Polysiphonia and Asparagopsis. Providing a photograph of the algae in
question would help a lot to advise what type of algae you have. And to
answer the question, yes, Cyano and red hair algae's per say, are
quite visually different. A phosphate reactor would certainly be a good
device to add if you feel the phosphate levels are high and your unable
to control them yourself>> Thanks, Joe <<Thanks for the
questions. A Nixon>>
| Live Rock Hitchhiker IDs (Corallimorph and Red
Alga) -- 05/07/07 I purchased a new piece of live rock and a
few weeks later found this growing on a piece of dried out plate
coral. <<Neat>> The plate was totally bleached out and
dead when it went into the tank. These appear to be some
sort of mushrooms and I have no idea what the red stuff is in the
other picture. <<Mmm yes, perhaps a Ricordea species...and
the 'red stuff' is a Rhodophyte though what species it is I
don't know...perhaps if you have a look around at
algaebase.org...>> It started out with just one small
creature and has now expanded to at least 20. <<Fast grower,
eh>> They are now about 6 months old. <<Mmm, ok...not
atypical for Corallimorphs>> There is clearly a mouth in the
middle of each one. The stalk is soft and will extend
out. They look like Blastomussa on the top surface, but
as I said the stalks extend and are soft. <<Yes...like
Ricordea>> When they are fully contracted the
"fleshy" parts will look pink as can be seen in some of
the smaller ones. They can also blow up much larger than
this like an anemone. <<Typical Corallimorph behavior>>
The red stuff also appeared when the new rock was put
in. It has now spread over about 40% of this
rock. It is made up of many small -3mm or so
lobes. These lobes are vertically flat. <<The red
alga 'may' become problematic/spread more than you
like. If this happens, your best bet for controlling it
(short of manual extraction) will be an urchin
species. Mespilia globulus is a good choice for smaller
systems or a Diadema species for large (100g +) tanks...but be
aware it has been my experience the latter will also sometimes
graze on Acroporids. EricR>> |
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| Where the Red Fern Grows -
03/24/07 Hey Guys, Absolutely love the site. Have been lurking
here for about 6 months now and every question I have had has been
answered by doing research on the site. Every one except this
one... <Is indeed a great resource and thanks for taking the
time for looking before asking now, lets see if we can help..>
In the last 6-8 weeks we had this beautiful red fern
"thing" grow off of a piece of Live Rock that we obtained
from our LFS. In the past 2 weeks the thing has gone gang busta on
us. We are not sure if it is ok to have in our aquarium. Could you
try to "id" it for us (sending an attached photo) and let
us know if it should be removed. I hope it won't need to be
removed as I think that is very beautiful. <Not to worry, it
looks to me, and without further close-ups, like Gracilaria, a type
of red algae that is quite common in aquaria and food markets.
It's harmless to your system and I agree, adds a really vivid
colour. Although you mention excessive growth, which may be due to
high nutrient levels, and I would definitely check your nitrates
here> Thanks for all your help. <Pleasure, Olly> Dawn
<Also thank you for taking the time to spell and punctuate
everything correctly> |
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| Algae ID - Gracilaria textorii? Fauchea?
Red Macroalgae 1/30/07 Hello WWW crew! <Hi
there! Mich with you today.> I'm having quite a
time ID'ing this algae. I've found pics of Gracilaria
textorii that look similar, and pics of Fauchea sp. that look
similar. Any looking at the pics of Fauchea and g. textorii, I
think THEY look similar to each other! <Heeheeee!> HELP!
<Given the choice between the two, my vote goes for Gracilaria
textorii, though I am no expert in algae.> To save you pain of
email attachments, I've hosted the images I took last night on
my website here: http://www.climatestudios.com/algae/algaeid.html
<Got it.> Any ideas? <A beautiful red Macroalgae for
sure.> Thanks so <You're
welcome! -Mich> |
| Re: Algae ID - Gracilaria Textorii? Fauchea? Red
Macroalgae <Hello again, Mich here.> Thanks for the
reply. <You're welcome.> I now have another opinion that
thinks Delesseriaceae. <Another possibility. I
don't know if you are aware, but there are nearly 4000 species
of saltwater red algae, so narrowing down the exact species is
quite a challenge. A marine botanist would probably be
more suited for the task. I will pass along to WWM guru
Bob Fenner for comment.> Links to 2 new pics of leaves: http://www.climatestudios.com/algae/alg_close1.jpg,
http://www.climatestudios.com/algae/alg_close2.jpg.
Also, if it helps, when this is pulled and left out, there is an
almost "stinging" feeling in the air. A couple months
ago, I pulled a bunch out and as my girlfriend and I were laying in
bed, our eyes stung (both of us) and there was a very strange odor.
Since then, I've tossed it outside when removed. Now, as the
clump I pulled is drying, there is the same odor, and places on my
arms where I touched after handling it are itchy, similar to an
allergic reaction. <Yikes! I'd recommend wearing
gloves in the future.> Link to original page: http://www.climatestudios.com/algae/algaeid.html To REEF
CENTRAL thread: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1032798
<You're welcome! -Mich> |
| RMF any thoughts... <From what I see/saw, this
look/ed like a Fauchea species. BobF> |
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| Algae et al. ID,
coldwater? 1/14/07 Hi All, Picture 1: Last
week I saw some red macroalgae I was interested in and asked what
it was, no one knew, the tank was simply marked "Red
Macroalgae on rock" I tried researching it from
memory but with no luck. This past Friday I went there
and although the piece I was interested in was gone they had
another nice one and I bought it. <Not for a tropical tank I
hope> Following are a couple close-ups and one almost full shot.
The piece is about 7 inches tall. In all the research on
pictures I saw one that looks similar, Gracilaria textorii. With
all the different species of red macroalgae it's difficult for
me to really know which one it could be. The fronds are
leathery feeling and one small blade is solid white, as opposed to
how Caulerpa seems to turn clear. My concerns are amount
of light, how to trim it down when needed, and water
movement. It came attached to a very tiny rock
fragment. <Can't put my finger on the
genus here, maybe a Galaxaura... but am pretty sure this is a cold
water organism... collected off of California... not an uncommon
practice... some folks who don't know... sell/buy Metridium,
Tealia et al. anemones, Catalina Gobies, macrophytes from here...
Won't live for long in warm water... Picture 2: A couple weeks
ago I asked to purchase a small bit of Chaeto from the LFS and the
staff person pulled it from the sump under their soft coral display
tank. Within a couple days I had tons of copepods, but I
also noticed this thin red line on my glass and at first I thought
it was a worm. But it is growing and
changing. I have 10 of these 'red things'
located in one area growing on the glass. Attached is a
picture of two growths labeled with the dates. The
longest one on Day 1/14 is almost a half inch in
length. Do you have an idea what it might
be? Thank you. Debra Piedra <Mmm,
maybe a hydroid... originating from/with the coldwater Rhodophyte.
I would keep your eye on the algae... remove it when it appears to
be decomposing. Bob Fenner> |
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| Another Rhodophyte? - 08/03/06 Hey, how's
it going? <<Fine, thanks>> Can you ID the subject of
this picture for me? Thanks. Jim H. <<Appears to me as a
translucent species of Rhodophyte. We've had a
couple inquiries on these of late...must have been an influx of
live rock from someplace where these are
common. Regards, EricR>> |
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| Saltwater ID 8/1/06 Hello, use
your site for reference all the time, thanks!
<Welcome> I am wondering what
this is. I assumed it was algae, but have not been able to ID it
anywhere. Though I saw it on your site, but not sure. It is growing
rapidly and I would like to either trim it or move it.
Thanks <Is a beautiful photo and specimen of a
Rhodophyte... likely a Fauchea species: http://search.msn.com/images/results.aspx?FORM=IRRE&q=fauchea
and on WWM: http://wetwebmedia.com/redalgae.htm
Can be trimmed, cut, pulled... Thank you for sharing. Bob
Fenner> |
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| What is it? Red algae ID
2/25/04 WWM Crew, I have this probable red algae growing in one
of my tanks. Do you know what it is? First picture was taken today.
the other picture in Sept. 03. Mitch <Hi Mitch. I am
not sure of the ID of the first algae that sort of looks like a
bunch of curlicues. The second algae that is sort of
feathery looking, looks like Gracilaria. Both are
beautiful and nice finds! Best
Regards. Adam> |
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New Print and
eBook on Amazon
Marine Aquarium Algae Control
by Robert (Bob) Fenner
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