Nuisance Vine of some kind

Im hoping someone will know what this is and how to get rid of it. i made the mistake of not pulling the rock it came in on, and now its become a problem. i spent a lot of time yesterday clearing most of it out of my tank, but not all since some rocks i couldn't pull and scrub without changing the tanks rock work completely . i tried to pull what i couldnt scrub, but no luck getting it all.

i have searched the net and cant find any pictures of what ever this is. to me it looks like a type of Caulerpa? but none i have found pictures of looks like this.

thanks in advance for any help with this.

 

Hmm... it doesn't really look like caulerpa prolifera, unless it just hasn't matured yet. It almost look more like a seagrass, maybe something like halophila decipiens. Usually they are tough to keep though, so, I would think it would go away on it's own with low nutrients. A seagrass is a plant though, not an algae and can feed from the sand. does it have roots in the sand maybe?

 

it attaches were ever its touching rock, it doesnt seem to grow in the sand, the vines just lay on the sand and dont grow roots. i wish i had taken a picture of it in the tank. it was taking over in the tank. i was pulling it weekly, till yesterday i reached my limit and said you have to go! thats when i started pulling rocks and scrubbing it off.

 

probably a Caulerpa then, maybe brachypus.

Removal, what your doing, plus predators can help. There is a seaslug that will eat it. Sometimes you can find it available. Tangs may eat it. Also, algae can be sensitive to temperature. I'd have to look up the range this algae will tolerate though. Sometimes raising or lowering it can help. Keeping phosphate very low can sometimes starve it out, but it needs to be way lower than what a test kit could detect.

 

it does look more like that than anything i have seen on line. but it stays small as pictured its been in my tank for about 3 months but lately has started to really take hold.

not sure how to get rid of it since i dont know what it is. hoping there is a critter that eats it

 

i think that could be it, will start looking for predators. i think i sea hare will work but i worry about that in my tank. any experience with them?

 

I don't. I think the sea slug I was thinking of is called an oxynoe though.


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Emerald crabs will most likely eat it, they seem to like all non-calcareous algae.

 

i emailed John from reefcleaners about this and he just messaged me back about emerald crabs. i just placed and order with him this weekend wish i had asked about this problem than.
i have other macro algaes in my tank and on order that i purchased and i dont want to lose them so that makes this even more complicated. :-/

 

a little update for this incase others have this same problem vine. i have been pulling what i can and scrubbing the rock its been coming back on, i removed the macro algaes. and added some urchins from live aquaria. they are doing an awesome job cleaning the rocks, and are such a cute add to my clean up crew. i had read that urchins eat caulerpa which i do believe the problem vine is a form of. the local fish store told me nothing would eat it. well not true, the 3 urchins are eating it up only thought is about the spots they can't reach ...time will tell, any way when i run out of the vine and algae i will feed them algae sheets. which i already purchased for them. they truly are a cute and interesting add to the tank, besides really doing a nice job cleaning the rocks of all algae.

the type purchased are 2 of these Saltwater Aquarium Inverts for Marine Reef Aquariums: Purple Short Spine Pincushion Urchin and one of these in red and white, ( divers den item) very very pretty Saltwater Aquarium Invertebrates for Marine Reef Aquariums: Pincushion Urchin, Hairy Colored

as far as emerald crabs i have read of people having problems with them, so I'm leery to add one. anyone have one or two for a while and not had any problems. is it just a matter of keeping them fed well?