Different types of Growths on my LR

Hi,

Today I decided to generally spruce up the rocks a little and I came across this growth of 3-4 bubbles one one of them. I touched and realized they were pretty well lodged in the rock. The bubble does'nt seem too flimsy and felt more like tight plastic. I'll try and post some pics later in the day. I also saw deep maroon ( i first mistook it for coralline) little growths. They are starting out as dots and then kind of stand out of the rock. They are quite tiny and hard as well. Can you please tell me if these are good or should I get down to getting rid of them?

Thanks
Ashima Major

 

Cool thing about LR is that it will be showing you all kinds of cool growth over time.

Think of it all as a "good" thing.

Things that will cause you problems down road are easy to identify and are actually quite few...aptasia, majano's, etc...


Growth shows you have healthy rock and healthy system...

Enjoy!

 

Sounds like bubble algea (I take it they are green?) Most people regard these as a pest because they can spread quite fast.

I had some in my tank but got an Emerald crab at the w/e and he's been tucking in;D

Live rock is V cool though with all the stuff that grows on it and if you're really lucky you can pick up hitch hikers from time to time. I saw a baby starfish the other day (think he came hiding in a coral frag)8)

If you like the look of the growths on your rock then I would be happy - as Omard said there are very few bad things that come on LR.

 

That maroonish growth could be coraline, I have that all over my tank, Its a good thing. Luna

 

Well i would agree on that , on new live rock it has all kinds of growth wanted growth , some un-wanted though are some times present ,
Such as green bubble algea and aiptasa.
And some times you get a dreaded unwated ( should watch for small mantis shrimp )
These critters are very small some and seem to be very hardy when being shipped in on rock thats been out of water with nothing more than
some wet news papers on it.
And mantis shrimp can grow quite large ( round 5/7 inches )
They are a preditor plain and simple.
Even the small ones can take a fish of notible size , their armed with 2 base ball bat looking clubs ( they can use them on fish and have been known to split the un-suspecting person handling live rock )
Hence the nic-name they carry "thumb-splitters".

If you do see something and it looks like a mantis, proceed with caution
even with a small one can inflict some serious pain. and should be removed if you plan on keeping a reef tank with other fishes.

 

Hi thank you for your positive responses. The bubbles are like plastic in opacity. I took a closer look and found each of these "bubbles" to have two tiny openings on the top.( Picture mickey mouse's head from the back!!). They are too small and have no color so I was unable to take a picture. The maroon stuff...it's hard and looks like a "comma" standing out of the rock. This too has an opening at the top. Again...too tiny to capture on camera.
Ashima

 

Isn't that soft though, almost like velvet? That's what I always heard.

I think it's coralline, I got some on my base rocks now too!

 

Tunicates! They draw water in through one opening, eat the stuff floating in it, ans expel it thru another! They arent bad, they are actually cool!

 

Aquaboy...you are so on the ball!!! I finally got a name for those tiny things! Thank you.