Plant on LR. Macro? Pest? ID Please

not an expert in any way shape or form, but the green on the one rock looks good but the slimy stuff you are getting on the other rock where the plant is kind of brownish, doesn't look so good....it almost has the appearance of dinos...don't freak out though, let others chime in. and I'm not talking about the algae itself, but the film growing out from it...your other rock is very clear and green...

 

man I'll tell ya, if I had that stuff growing out of my live rock like that I'd have a hard time deciding whether or not to get rid of it. its kinda cool looking and you don't see many tanks like that.

although I suppose in the long run it would be a pain to control and could over take any corals you might have.

 

Hmmm...that kinda looks like Sargassum, which is a type of kelp (still a macro tho)...is it more yellow/brown than green? This would also account for the lack of runners...kelp grows from a single holdfast, altho it can have many vertical stalks on the same hodfast. It also looks like it's going to be "bushy" like Sargassum. Do you know where the LR came from? If it's from FL or the Atlantic, I'd say you have Sargassum.

Man...was I ever WAY off... *blush* The clear photo helped a LOT, BTW.

 

I'm battling dino's right now and from what I can tell, he does not have dino's. that said a close up of that particular rock would be nice in order to determine that but from what I'm looking at, it just looks like regular green film algae.

 

not trying to derail the thread, but how is your dino battle coming along tony?

 

That was my first thought........maybe I'm getting better at this!!!! I am in now way an expert, thats why I defer to you guys, but I am familiar with Sargassum. I lived in Jacksonville FL for a few years and am an avid off shore fisherman. I see it all the time, and infact stalk it in some cases. Always seems to be some good fish hanging out under it!

yes, it is more of a yellow/brown than green. I have watched it grow from nothing. The entire time it has been from a single stalk.

I'm not sure where the rock came from, but I bought it at Premium Aquatics. They are in my city, so I didnt have to have it shipped. They sell it as Fiji, but I dont know if that means it REALLY came from there or not. Overall tho, I am very satisfied with it. Far better quality than the other LFS's in my neck of the woods. There were no major bad hitchhikers, (unless this possible sargassum is)

SO, keep it or pluck it? Ive read mixed things about sargassum.....assuming that we are correct in the ID. As I understand it, it is rare in an aquarium and will usually die off over time. But I also read that it can be a very helpful macro???? It's been growing so well that I have a hard time believing its going to die off.

 

interesting article on Sargassum.

The Natural Reef Aquarium - Part Four

 

Update to this thread. Based on what I'm seeing, it is sargassum. Infact I have fallen in love with it and care for it the same as my fish and corals! I am constantly pruning it and making sure it stays happy. It has taken up much more space that I originally expected though. I have decided to hold off on additional coral and let it grow. Here are some pics. I prolly remove a gallon size bowl full of the stuff every week or so!

 

If it was me, i would leave. Gives reef tanks a really natural look IMO. I would add micros to my tank if I didnt have Tangs lol

 

I have a rabbit fish that would love to get his hands........errr fins on that stuff!