Algae ID?

[nbd13]

Hi Anthony,

i need some help here IDing a type of algae that is really starting to take over my reef.

i am thinking it is Dictylota divaricata but want to get another confirmation.

and

now if you can ID this for me that would be great.

Also what can i do to get this crap OUT of my tank?

i heard it produces some type of alkanoids that make it almost impossible to find something that eats it.

although i have heard of a few cases were red sea blonde naso tang or red sea salfin tangs would eat this stuff. also i heard Diadema urchins and Mithraculus crabs may eat the stuff. But i am not really a fan other either Diadema urchins and Mithraculus crabs.

is it hit and miss with tangs?

really any help would be great!

i know most say manual removal, but it will take forever. Heck i broke out the tweezers last night and picked away for a good hour and it didnt get me very far.

any suggestions would be great.

thanks

Nick

P.S. if you need better pics i will take some later when my MHs are on so you can get a better pic. thanks again

 

[Anthony Calfo]

the shots are extremely blurry... do check out some of the aquarium photo tips for future reference, my friend.

As for the ID... do a search on this forum and with google images (click the image link search tool atop the index page search field)...plug in Dictyota and see if they look like what you have here.

Else offer a clear image if you can.

kindly,

Anth-

 

[nbd13]

Hey sorry for the bad pics, haha working on that part.

here are some better ones that you can hopefully use to help me ID it.

is that any better?

thanks

Nick

 

[Anthony Calfo]

the pics are better indeed. But in my ongoing effort to educate and not just answer questions I must ask if you took a moment to do the suggested image search?

Do try please, my friend. Go to google.com and above the search field tag the link that says "images" and then use the suggested term (ahem... ) Dictyota that I provided above and browse.

Enjoy the journey, my friend.

Once you have made an effort, you can then dig deeper and ask more questions about handling this algae and what if anything to do with it.

kindly,

Anth-

 

[nbd13]

Hi Anthony,

yes i did do the search i found this

http://images.google.com/imgres?img...9&prev=/images?q=Dictyota+&svnum=10&hl=en&lr=

to resemble it quite closely.

also

http://images.google.com/imgres?img...?q=Dictyota+&start=20&svnum=10&hl=en&lr=&sa=N

that last link has many pictures that i find to resemble what i have.

so now that we have a postive ID.

what can i do to control/contain/erradicate this stuff my my 275 SPS tank? i hear this stuff is really hard to erradicate if not impossible.

No one that i have talked to has been able to give me a fish/invert that will eat this stuff on a regular basis. so far it has been a dissapointing search for a fish or invert that will eat this stuff.

thats why i am turning to you in hopes that you maybe able to add some "light" on the subject with your experinece.

thanks again

Nick

 

[Anthony Calfo]

very good my friend... kudos for the effort.

Sadly... Dictyota can be quite a scourge. It needs to be screened in QT ideally and never let into the tank. Once in, few organisms can or will eat it. Some Diadema urchins may... but usually you have to resort to manual extraction and very aggressive protein skimming to starve it into submission. Frankly... more of the former.

It's a bummer in reef tanks. Beautiful in other ways/tanks though.

 

[nbd13]

It is funny how striking it is for an algae, haha.

i guess i will bite the bullet and keep picking it out by hand combined with heavy skimming.

what are your thoughts about tangs consuming it? are there ones that have a better chance at eating this stuff? i know its all chance, but are there ones that show more intrest than others?

this stupid stuff came in a an aquaculture piece on the underside of it. and quickly spread. now its all over the dang place.

it seems like i pull so much out by hand but i dont even dent the population of this stuff....

thanks again for the advice.

Nick

 

[nbd13]

i guess i should have said which oraganisms "can" consume it besides an urchin? dont want it to put marks into my new acrylic tank.

Nick

 

[nbd13]

Anthony,

one more thing real quick,

i was doing some more research and found that some who have had this before have use Diadema(long spine) urchins with some success.

what do you think about those compared to tangs?

thanks again

Nick

 

[Anthony Calfo]

Few tangs can or will eat it... just occasional specimens and not a species per se.

I suspect you'd be very disapointed with most tangs indeed here.

The urchin is not going to harm your acrylic bro... there are far greater dangers of wear than Diadema. The are very fine grazers in general.

 

[nbd13]

Thanks, i kind of figured that the tangs would be hit and miss.

how many would you recommend for a 275 SPS tank? i was thinking of starting out with say 4 or so and see what they do with this Dictyota. i can always remove some later on if need be i guess.

are there any other inverts out there that are with trying in my battle against this Dictyota? or is the long spinned urchin the best canidate here?

thanks again for the help Anthony!

Nick

 

[nbd13]

shoot forgot to ask.

what is it that makes this algae not so attractive towards herbivores?

is it the seconday metablites they produce (aka alkoenoids)? or am i off base here? just kind of curious here.

thanks again

Nick

 

[Anthony Calfo]

I have battled this invasive genus for many years in the greenhouse from Atlantic snails and inverts that carry in frags on their shells/backs...

I hate to admit it, but I still feel manual control is the best anbd fastest. Very few creatures graze Distyota.

Its really not so bad... several very attentive weeks and a couple of big water changes.

 

[Anthony Calfo]

as for the resistence to grazing... they are noxious... includng and exuding compounds that inhibit herbivory

 

[nbd13]

Thanks Anthony,

well i will just keeping doing what i am doing then, manual removal combined with heavy skimming and my usual 10-15% water change every week.

thanks for all the help and Happy new year to you!

Nick