can't seem to i.d. this thing, any ideas?

[jenwebber3]

Hey all,
I've had this plant (?) for a while, came on a piece of rock. He's been pretty quiet, slowly piling on himself, but now has started spreading, showing up on my halimeda, filter intake, other rocks, etc. I've looked at every algae i.d. site, and as soon as I think I see it and look for more pictures, I find I'm wrong. Nothing like this in any of my LFS tanks, either, so they're no help (not that they ever really are). any ideas? My brain is fried from googling the world for it.

It's not bubbly like red valonia (botryocladia), almost has little branched flat bladders. It doesn't grow upright, and is pretty firm (not floppy or fuzzy, not quite stony). Is it even an algae, or is it a coral? And is it going to take over my tank?

thanks for any thoughts, i (and google) are at a loss. hope the picture is visible, i don't have a good option for getting it below the max 50KB size and keeping it pretty...

 

[redsea reefer]

Use Photobucket and post a bigger pic, too small to id...

http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/red-sea-max-owners-club/52143-1-way-post-rsm-pics-photobucket.html

 

[jenwebber3]

thanks for the link, hope i did this right...

 

[redsea reefer]

You're welcome!

I've seen that before but can't remember the name or where I saw it. If I find it, I'll let you know...

 

[Reefmack]

Not one I've seen before, but the "not floppy or fuzzy, not quite stony" makes me think macro algae more than coral.

 

[BigJay]

I would agree on the macro algae possibly semi calcareous. Head to reefcleaners.org and email the photo to John or send him an email linking this thread. He is one of only a handful with really good algae taxonomy books.

 

[jenwebber3]

hi guys,
so i have some more pics and some updates on this mysterious red stuff. I asked John at Reef Cleaners, but he doesn't have too many i.d.s on Pacific rock (this was Fiji LR). This stuff likes to spread; tiny red pieces will sprout up amongst my sand bed and on rocks. I've been siphoning out what I can, pulling out what I can from reachable places, but don't know what it is and if it can be stopped. So far hasn't harmed any of my other algaes or coral, but it's annoying. so here are some more closeups, taken when i pried some out (dramatic lighting unintentional, ha ha). any thoughts, or any idea of a good i.d. site for fiji LR stuff? i don't know if it's "nusiance" or not, but it's been spreading in the last month when it hadn't done so at all before. (tried lowering photoperiod, keeping nitrates in check, poor fish are probably underfed...I'm clueless!) thanks, all!