Opaeula.co.uk

A dedicated forum and online store for the Opae ula shrimp! 

Having issues with your tank or inhabitants? Need to know what equipment to use or have other questions? Post here!
 #3460  by killifish100
 
Hello all
Having just joined a couple of days ago I thought i'd throw my hat in the ring with this question, probably the first of many! How on earth does one stop this red weed/algae from spreading?

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TIA.
 #3464  by odin
 
Welcome @killifish100 ! I'm glad you decided to join our forum. Wow i have no idea what that stuff is and i have never seen it before. What are your tank parameters like (SG and Temp) also what sort of rock and sand have you used? I must say it looks very cool but i understand it can be a issue if its unwanted..

I would try and remove it like hair algae and just grab pinches of it or remove the rock and scrub it with a nail brush in a bucket of RO water.
 #3478  by killifish100
 
Hi, thanks for the reply's to my question, I finally did a little research and came up with this (below), I hope that it is OK to put this on here, I thought that it may be of interest for the group!

I have an 80 Lt tank maturing in the hope of purchasing some more opae ula soon (Odin) :smile:
the small tank with my existing stock and pink/red weed in has a Salinity of 1.012, P.H. 8.1, Temp 78- 80 f a thin layer of black sand base, crushed cockle shell buffer media, lava and alfagrog, 2 marimo moss balls, a small piece of cheato, 6 black MTS snails and a small air stone, no filter...

Hope i haven't prattled on to much guys :blush:

Information from:

https://www.reefcleaners.org/nuisance-algae-id-guide

[Cotton Candy Algae.
Algae under this heading usually appear as a light pink fuzz. Closer examination will show it is made up of many branches with even more branchlets. The plants are very small, lose form out of the water and sway in the current. Each plant forms from a single holdfast. Callithamnion species and the sporophyte stage of Asparagopsis taxiformis are usual suspects. The pictured specimen is quite good looking, they usually dont have such an aesthetic appeal, and are a dull red or reddish brown.

Manual Removal is easy if it hasn't taken hold in places your fingers won't fit. Scrape your thumb on the surface it is attached too while holding the algae like a pencil as you remove it. This helps you get the small holdfast.

Clean Up Crew members include urchins, sea hares, large turbos, emerald crabs and most hermit crabs.

This algae isn't particularly common, but has the ability to grow rapidly from fragments]
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 #3479  by odin
 
Great write up man, i still have never seen this growing in anybody's Opae ula tanks except yours! Thanks for the information.
Last edited by odin on 24 Jun 2017 21:28, edited 1 time in total.