Marine Algae ID Help

sihaya

sihaya

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At Bob's suggestion, I compiled these pics from all the Marine Algae ID FAQs on WWM and made this "chart"...
trial page, algae ID

What do y'all think?

Sara
 
Hi Sihaya,

I thik the algae you ID'ed as "Rhodophyte, possibly Hypnea sp." might be Octhodes secundirema. I might be wrong.

Here is mine in my display:

124800c9b913d7b.jpg
 
Thanks dude... I didn't actually make that ID (nor most the IDs on that page). But Octhodes secundirema might certainly make more sense for that one... will edit/amend the page. Thanks :)
 
Cool ok. Sorry, I thought you did the ID'ing. But I think this page will prove very helpful as a reference!

One more thing. In the 11th pic from the top in the left most column, it is titled as: "desirable red, possibly brown algae". Are those really desirable? I have some of them, and if you damage it, they kinda "burst" and in a week your whole setup is infested. Best is to syphon them out or just don't damage it.

Actually, in the pic above you can see some of mine in the background near the top of the pic.
 
Well, most of those IDs/comments are copied from BobF and/or AnthonyC... so you might have to take it up with them. But generally, I think "desirable" is a subjective thing. As with caulerpa... some people love it, some people think it's evil... who's right? It's just a matter of opinion really.
 
Galibore said:
One more thing. In the 11th pic from the top in the left most column, it is titled as: "desirable red, possibly brown algae". Are those really desirable? I have some of them, and if you damage it, they kinda "burst" and in a week your whole setup is infested. Best is to syphon them out or just don't damage it.
Click to expand...

LOL

I actually culture this algae for customers. I think it's the prettiest macroalgae there is. It's also the only macro that I know of that fluoresces under actinic lighting when in adult form. Here's the adult form.

nemastomaadult.jpg


Footnote: there is a species of Scinaia that looks similar while juvenile
 
BRILLIANT compilation and collection for ID, Sara! Many thanks!

MantisFreak! WOW - I have NEVER seen macro algae that looks like that!

What are the required parameters to grow that type of macro algae?
 
jacquesb said:
What are the required parameters to grow that type of macro algae?
Click to expand...

For fast growth, you want high DOM (Dissolved Organic Materials). In particular Nitrates. Iron and Iodine. Believe it or not, you actually want lower light levels for this plant. In other words, it doesn't particularly care for metal halide lighting.
 
WOW! Cool! Many thanks MantisFreak! I wonder where in SA we can get that? Gali said he had some - BUT, got rid of it? I have never really been able to get any RED type algae to flourish..... Not sure how high my DOM levels in my tank are. I often create a "snowstorm" to bring POC's into the water column (for more effective skimming)...
 
Galibore said:
Hi Sihaya,

I thik the algae you ID'ed as "Rhodophyte, possibly Hypnea sp." might be Octhodes secundirema. I might be wrong.
Click to expand...

I would agree with you based on that picture
 
Sorry
 
Last edited:
Curt- I haven't updated the page yet because I haven't had time to confirm your IDs. I trust you're right, but it's not my website and those aren't my IDs, so I need more than a "Well, Curt says it's..." before I go changing all of them. Sorry... just give me some time, or link me to the algae base pages (or give me book/page references) or something... would help if you have the time/inclination. :)
 
is this the fluffy stuff on the left?

I think I have a patch of this. It grows like wild fire and I don't think I could get rid of it. I have a rock with some on and have tried a few times to pull it all off and it just grows back in a few weeks? Is it good or bad?
 
SIMS said:
is this the fluffy stuff on the left?

I think I have a patch of this. It grows like wild fire and I don't think I could get rid of it. I have a rock with some on and have tried a few times to pull it all off and it just grows back in a few weeks? Is it good or bad?
Click to expand...

Colonial hydroids are bad and will sting corals. As you've noticed, they can reproduce quite rapidly.

If you can remove the rock from the display tank easily, take it out and nuke them with a propane torch. Then put it in a bucket of saltwater with no other livestock for several days until the Ammonia from the death is gone or low. Ensure that you have some sort of water circulation going on.

If the rock is not easily removed, make a very thick paste of Calcium Hydroxide (Kalkwasser), smear it on the hydroids, and then cover with a clam shell or something similar. Do NOT want to do the whole patch in one day like this due to the Ammonia spike and pH spike. It has to be done slowly over time if you are doing it in your display tank.
 
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