Red macro Algae ID needed..

Woodstock

Woodstock

The Wand Geek was here. ;)
RS STAFF
I have large dense 'clumps' of this algae in my sump. It seems to be a fast grower and is very easy to remove when I thin it out. My tangs love it!

What is it??

Red_Macro_algae_001.jpg


Red_Macro_algae_006.jpg


Red_Macro_algae_003.jpg
 
Cougra

Cougra

Well-Known Member
I have a bit of that in my tank as well. I don't know exactly what it is but it's a slow growing and doesn't spread very much so I've left it. I think it adds some nice colour and texture to the tank.

The closest name I have came up with is a Botryocladia sp.
 
J

jimeluiz

Active Member
I have it too. It grows in my overflow. I remove it periodically, when it get to be a big clump. I've never seen it in my tank -- is that because my tangs chomp it up? It has never been a problem.

Nice pics.
 
cracker

cracker

Well-Known Member
I have a little patch of this in the 55 . It grows slowly and has a nice deep red color. I like it!
 
Boomer

Boomer

Reef Sanctuary's Mr. Wizard
I don't know what that suff is only that it is not Botryocladia sp and I have not seen or can find any Gracilaria that looks like this. They all growth differently and are stuctured different. I thought I found it, same kind of branch structure but is purple-red and is a creeper and not in dense clumps. I was actually going to post that species until I looked at pics on the net...nope. I'm sending to my maro planted guys maybe they will know. Four big marco books on the floor and nothing. And I thought it was going to be so easy with those great pics. :doh:

Mine was Catenella caespitosa


And this pick suks
http://www.horta.uac.pt/species/Algae/Catenella_caespitosa/Catenella_caespitosa.htm
 
reefjitsu

reefjitsu

Active Member
I had a red algae that I introduced to my refugium a few years back. The original piece was tall and bushy; but all the new growth as well as the new specimens that grew from it all looked like the above pictures. So the above pictures may not be typical of how this algae looks in the wild.
 
Boomer

Boomer

Reef Sanctuary's Mr. Wizard
Stil looking and even the marco boys don't know what it is yet, not even a guess
 
Boomer

Boomer

Reef Sanctuary's Mr. Wizard
So today I go see a reefer friend to drop something off. We start to talk and I bring up this red macro algae. He brings me to his 30 gal and reaches in and pulls out this red algae...POOF..... it is the same as yours and now in my possession :D This stuff seemas to be showing up everywhere lately. I'll see what I can do with it under theX-20 hand lens.
 
cracker

cracker

Well-Known Member
Where is the LR from and how long have You had it? I ask because I'm pretty sure the only lr I have put in the 55 is Haitian lettuce coral. I did obtain a couple of small rocks from Hawaii tidal pool by a well meaning tourist buddy.
 
Woodstock

Woodstock

The Wand Geek was here. ;)
RS STAFF
Ohh wow. I've had some pieces for a very long time. Most of my rock was dry base though. The pieces I have acquired that were 'live' had corals attached to them. No telling where it all came from ;)
 
Cougra

Cougra

Well-Known Member
Unfortunately I can't help out much about location neither. I have live rock that's come from all over the place. The only thing I would be willing to say is it didn't come in on my Fiji rock as I had only that in the tank for nearly two years without seeing signs of the red algae. It was only after I started adding peices of rocks with corals on them that the red algae showed up.
 
Boomer

Boomer

Reef Sanctuary's Mr. Wizard
I have had some recent contact with Julian Sprung, who was also puzzled by this algae not being in any ID books. He has said he does not now why he never put it in his book, as it is quite common to the hobby.

Recently I was at a friends and he has the same exact algae Woody has. Julian made a trip to the library to try and ID it. It appears it is Scinaia hormoides, a common algae to Hawaii and other Indo regions. I was actually on the first link below and said "Boom, I doubt it is a Hawaiian species and close the link :(

It also appears that the reef tank stuff grow at a much higher desnity and thus maybe missleading on ID. It also looses some of those "bunny ears" if you look at the bottom side, they are more like branches. You will see these in Woody's pic. My sample is also not as red but maroon and was growing under T-5's and a very nutient rich 30 gal reef tank.

http://www.coralreefnetwork.com/marlife/stepath/rhodophyta2.html

http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/ReefAlgae/What plants look like/Plants Scinaia hormoides.htm
 
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