Confirm my Suspicion

[Rychek]

Over the last few weeks, I've been noticing green filamentous algae beginning to grow on most of my rocks. At first I didn't pay much attention to it, but now it's beginning to become a nuisance despite my coralline, cheato, dragons breath and caulerpa. At first I thought it was just hair algae, but now I'm thinking it briopsis. What say you?

http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc246/Rychek426/Briopsis.jpg

http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc246/Rychek426/Briopsis2.jpg

[Bill S]

Do you have a bigger picture you can post?

Try posting to www.photobucket.com (http://www.photobucket.com) first. EDIT - I'm an idiot - it's photobucket...

I DOES seem to look a bit like what I have...

[Rychek]

Here are the same pics in a higher resolution

http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc246/Rychek426/Briopsis-1.jpg

http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc246/Rychek426/Briopsis2-1.jpg

[JimD]

Ive found that with good, regular water changes, that stuff usualy goes away on its own. Pretty sure its not Bryopsis. And the addition of kalwasser to help minimize PO4 never hurts... :thumbs_up:

[bimmerzs]

Hi,

It's very hard (for me at least) to tell from your pic, check here and report back after confirmation. http://melevsreef.com/id/algae.html

Cheers,

[Bill S]

Looks like mine... Here are photos:

http://www.maast.org/forums/showthread.php?t=45434&highlight=bryopsis

Jim, I've been fighting bryopsis for about a year. I've tried everything:

New lights
Water changes
Phosban
Kalk topoff
Every critter known to man
1700ppm magnesium
High pH (not too successful with this - I can't get it to stay above 8.3 - even with 2.5X alkalinity of seawater)
Ozone
Heavy skimming
Airation

Last resort: added 12 Lettuce Nudibranches last week, and they ARE eating it... We'll see if they can keep up.

[apedroza]

I agree with bill it does look like bryopsis. If it's only on the one rock take it out!!

[JimD]

Sheesh! I wouldnt know what else to suggest! Except constant manual removal. Everytime I see it, I go after it with a vengance and it usualy cant out compete the Chaeto so it just goes away.

[topsoil]

looks like what I had a while back. manual removal with consistent weekly water changes did it for me. that stuff is relentless. I think it could withstand a nuclear fallout.

[Rychek]

I agree with bill it does look like bryopsis. If it's only on the one rock take it out!!

At first I thought it was only on the one rock, but it has been growing on the back side of the rocks as well. It's beyond the point where I can remove the rocks from my tank.

According to Melev's Reef, I believe it to be bryopsis. I guess it's time to start looking at lettuce nudis.

[princer7]

I had a really nice outbreak of bryopsis a few weeks back. Used Kent Tech M and it took care of it. The goal is to raise the level of Magnesium beyond the normal 1400 range - even up to 1800 - 2000 is ok. There is something in the Tech M that causes the Bryopsis to die off. I raised my levels witht the max recommended dose over 5 days until I noticed it dying back. Did not effect any fish or corals. :bigsmile:

[ErikH]

That's just grass for your lawnmower blenny! :) I have that in my seahorse tank.

[Bill S]

NOTHING except the nudis seem to touch mine.

Paletta says if you can get your pH up above 8.4 it will die off. I haven't been able to get mine that high.

[Rychek]

That's just grass for your lawnmower blenny! :) I have that in my seahorse tank.


I have seen my blenny take bites out of the patch in the pics (he has cleaned all of the coralline off of my overflow as well). My turbo snails don't seem to like it though.

[Joshua]

Lettuce nudi never did anything for me, get a sea hare, those things mow down anything in their path.

[Bill S]

I have a sea hare. Doesn't touch it. Nudis are STILL eating it - after a week.

[Joshua]

That's weird, that ugly beast mowed my entire tank in a matter of days. When I bought that 180 full tank setup all the rock was entirely covered in hair algae and bryopsis, the hare I got was about 8" long and probably 3" wide and ate day and night. I remember when I first put him in the tank he took off along the front of the rocks and there was a trail of bare rock all the way across the tank, looked hilarious. When I woke up in the morning there were cross patterns everywhere, like someone randomly mowing an overgrown yard, looked hilarious. I finally had to get rid of it because I thought it might starve to death.

[Third Coast Tropical]

this is what i used to have in my reef tank ...it is a whelk (cant remember of the top of my head which one) from our local waters here.....2nd coolest things i have had in my tank....it would look over the side of the tank and squirt water at you...crazy and cool....was really big and got to a point where it knocked alot of things around.....and i was worried about it starving....so, he went back home after a year or so.....have wanted to get another smaller one...just have been seriously snorkeling at all this year

[Third Coast Tropical]

O ...and it ate everything...cleaned rocks and walls of tank great....didnt harm corals

[Rychek]

Freaky. I don't think my wife would go for something quite that large. :)

[Bill S]

It seems that each variety of bryopsis has it's eaters and non-eaters. That's why I've tried so many different things.