Plant Taking Over Acropora

[manny]

Does anybody know what these plants are? They're starting to take over my acro colony

[COBRA201]

do you have any tangs, they may eat that.

[reefer]

i have that same stuff in my tank. my purple tang hardly ever touches it. but, the rabbitfish in my tank tends to keep it in control.
the 2nd photo is focused on, i believe, dictyota, not many fish will eat it, so its no wonder why my tang doesn't. it comes in various colors, brown, green, yellow, or blue. the 3rd photo looks like, nitophyllum, commonly reefered to as "red dictyota". your best bet at controlling this stuff is to get a diadema urchin, or some emerald crabs. a rabbitfish may work, but be cuationed, some rabbitfish will snack on soft corals also.
8)

[manny]

nope no tangs, just a couple clowns, a blenny, and a damsel. nobody has a definate id on this stuff?

[cubera]

FWIW, exact ID on this algae is less important than how to remove it. Reefer's suggested ID's are excellent IMHO. If you have not already done so, manually remove as much of this stuff from around the Acropora as possible. A royal urchin would probably chow this algae away in no time:) HTH

[Andrew]

royal urchin=tuxedo urchin? or no?

[reefer]

yes, a tuxedo urchin is also reefered to as a royal urchin.
http://www.justphish.com/saltwater/inverts/tuxedourchin.htm

[dan]

if you cut it down and then get a tang it will keep it down. tangs don't care for the long stuff.

[Xtreme]

get a chevron tang, might set you back $100.00. he should moe it down.

[reefer]

dictyota isn't palatable to most herbivorous fish. if you get a tang, you will still have this algea problem, which is why you might consider a rabbitfish, if you want a fish instead of an urchin. otherwise remove the algea by hand.
8)

[alexwolf]

If i remember correctly, isnt this a 30 gallon tank? A bit too small for a tang IMO.

[manny]

38 gallon. I used to have one of the small tangs from Aquatic Warehouse until he got sucked up into one of my powerheads. He was ok in my 30 gallon but he was just a baby. I'll just have to remove it by hand and maybe get another small tang to remove any leftovers. My tank would be way to small for a rabbitfish huh?

[reefer]

most rabbitfish don't grow as large as surgeonfish, but, both fish need room to swim. i think a small urchin would be the best choice. but then there's the lawnmover blenny. it might be a better choice for a smaller tank like yours instead of a tang or rabbit.
8)

[Tim Marvin]

I'd do the urchin, emeralds, and a couple mexican turbos. This shouldn't set you back much either. $30-$40 at a LFS

[SueT]

I would go with a foxface over a rabbitfish, plus I've seen lots of small foxface's around. My foxfaces are incredible at mowing anything down that is an algae type plant. When the foxface finishes it then you can trade it back to a LFS or trade it to someone who may have a problem.

[reefer]

foxface is a rabbitfish. just like a tang is a surgeonfish.
8)

[Sherri]

Manny....I think I had this stuff about 6-8 months ago. Be careful if you try to remove it - any of it that gets away from you will start over. From what I remember, it spread & grew fast. Also, from what I remember, it wasn't hard to detach, but it did have a tendency to break apart, so watch for small leaves/pieces if you don't want it spreading any more than it has. My tangs wouldn't have anything to do with it. It was spreading too much so I took it out... Good luck.

[OrionN]

This is Dictyota sp algae. Some can be very beautiful. I find it to be a horrible pest. Nothing will eat it that I know. Take the rock out of the tank before you work on it or every little piece of it will start a new colony. Don't bother with biological control in a small tank like yours. Take care of it early or you will be sorry.
Good luck.
Minh

[Sherri]

Good idea about taking the rock out of the tank Minh....It would have saved me from hasseling with it. Take his advise Manny...trust me! :D

[Tim Marvin]

Yes, take the rock out and tooth brush it.

[GaryP]

I never thought anything would touch the chaetamorpha in my tank. Its like steel wool. MikeP's foxface finished it off in a day or two.

[manny]

I'll have to take out the whole rock and scrub this crud off like you guys have said. I've noticed some small pieces that have broken off have started to grow in other areas of my tank like mentioned. It'll be hard getting that whole rock out but I might be able to just get that small section out cause I think it's part of a rock that is attached onto a bigger rock with epoxy.