Algae on Acropora

[Inconservatory]

Hello,

I've got some yellowish-green algae growing along the hard tissue of my acroporas. The algae is very thin and not hairy. It looks more encrusting than fuzzy, but can be found all over the rocks in my tank. I had the white lights on for about six hours a day, but have reduced the duration to about four hours now. Would this be enough to deter the algae from growing any further, or should I take a toothbrush and gently scrub off the encroaching greenery? I have some snails and an emerald crab, but nothing else that will really eat the algae in the tank. Any suggestions?

 

[ashton]

What are your water parameters looking like? Any Phosphate and nitrates? Also hows the chaeto doing in your tank? Thanks for the birdsnest frag to btw.

 

[Inconservatory]

The chaeto is doing great! There were little pods on it and it seems to be living well in its environment. Thank you.

The water params were at zero when last I checked a few days ago. I will check them again tonight. I had just added some more new water to their current setup, which may have changed the conditions they are living with. Should I just wait for the algae to die off, or will they not have a crippling affect on the coral at this stage?

Good luck with the birds nest! They have beautiful glowing tips and are a curious addition to any setup!

 

[FreakinReefin]

Hello,

I've got some yellowish-green algae growing along the hard tissue of my acroporas. The algae is very thin and not hairy. It looks more encrusting than fuzzy, but can be found all over the rocks in my tank. I had the white lights on for about six hours a day, but have reduced the duration to about four hours now. Would this be enough to deter the algae from growing any further, or should I take a toothbrush and gently scrub off the encroaching greenery? I have some snails and an emerald crab, but nothing else that will really eat the algae in the tank. Any suggestions?

I'm betting it's a type of bacteria...cyano or a different name. How is the flow in your tank?

 

[kevinpo]

Hello,
Filamentous algae cannot grow on living coral tissue. You can clip the dead skeleton off or cover it with super glue. stony corals can do a pretty good job of defending against algae encroachment if conditions favor the coral. If conditions favor algae (i.e. high nutrient & light) then the corals will lose the battle over time. Cutting the photo period will lower the corals ability to defend as it also uses photosynthesis for energy. The best control is to starve the algae out by reducing nutrient levels. I recommend no fewer than 8 hours of light for most SPS type corals.

HTH,
Kevin
PS: A photo would be a great help.

 

[Inconservatory]

The params are looking good. Phos, Nitrates, Ammonia, Nitrites: 0 One of the gents at the LFS said it might be calcareous algae, but it's rare to see it in green in captivity. The flow is gentle, but engulfs the acropora with little effort. I will try and post some pics tonight.

 

[returnofsid]

I would clip the tips with the algae off. Otherwise, it just might spread to the rest of the acropora. Clipping it off will allow the acropora to re-grow, without the negative effect of the encroaching algae.

 

[Inconservatory]

Hi all,

It has taken a while to get some photos, but I managed to take these three days ago.

Since the last post, I have moved the corals into the main tank from the quarantine. There is more stubborn hair algae on the tips, but it doesn't seem to have progressed down the rest of the acropora. The branch in the middle is the only one which may be showing signs of progression.

How far down the branches would you recommend cutting these? Could I take the cuttings and glue them onto other rocks in the tank?

Also, how does the color look on this guy? The brown color has diminished considerably, but there is a slight green hue on the tissue itself. Also, the polyps are all present and seemingly active.

Here is a shot of my 65 gallon setup. There are two Actinic t5s and two 10k t5s in the front, and a 175w 10k MH in the back right. The MH *was* in the middle, just above the acro, but I moved it because it looked to be too intense. Comments?

 

[Chichas01]

It looks like your acro has bleached out. Brown would be preferable to white at this point.

 

[Dr. Dee]

I'm betting it's a type of bacteria...cyano or a different name. How is the flow in your tank?

Now that was a good call from what the pic looks like,and some Bryoppiss.
Oh and you called it before the picture was posted

 

[Inconservatory]

Is there a way to better aid the recovery of the acropora, or is it too late at this point? I have moved the halide so that it is not directly over the coral.

As far as cyano growth is concerned, I could add some more flow to the tank. There is a 1300gph rotor pump in my garage which I could use to switch out the koralia 1 in there.

 

[Dr. Dee]

Hello,
Filamentous algae cannot grow on living coral tissue. You can clip the dead skeleton off or cover it with super glue. stony corals can do a pretty good job of defending against algae encroachment if conditions favor the coral. If conditions favor algae (i.e. high nutrient & light) then the corals will lose the battle over time. Cutting the photo period will lower the corals ability to defend as it also uses photosynthesis for energy. The best control is to starve the algae out by reducing nutrient levels. I recommend no fewer than 8 hours of light for most SPS type corals.

HTH,
Kevin
PS: A photo would be a great help.

Yeah do what Kevin said. You can clip the dead skeleton off or cover it with super glue.

 

[tike]

Ummmmmm....That coral is pretty much toast. That is why the algae is growing on it. From the pic I can see a few polyps on the right hand lower branch but you will be hard pressed to pull it through. Did it always look like this? If not what color was it before?

 

[FreakinReefin]

I don't think the coral is completely toast...however it has DEFINITELY seen a better time. It looks like there is "spotted" algae growth in the tips. Just like Kevin pointed out, the algae can't grow on living tissue. The algae you do have looks like it is growing very specifically on the tips, as opposed to blanket growth. I would see that as a sign that the coral is dying from the tip down...which to me seems a little unusual. This almost reminds me of a dying monti or something where algae grows in the raised spots that have died off and the tissue is still fighting. Either way, Kevin is again spot on about the kight and nutrients. I have had success in bringing acro back by this method due to accidental mag. overdose. What I did is just use my actinic only and within a week I saw better polyp extesion and the color came back.

On that note though, I don't think I have ever seen an acro so bleach white and still alive! I guess that should stand for something...not sure what though.

 

[FreakinReefin]

I don't think the coral is completely toast...however it has DEFINITELY seen a better time. It looks like there is "spotted" algae growth in the tips. Just like Kevin pointed out, the algae can't grow on living tissue. The algae you do have looks like it is growing very specifically on the tips, as opposed to blanket growth. I would see that as a sign that the coral is dying from the tip down...which to me seems a little unusual. This almost reminds me of a dying monti or something where algae grows in the raised spots that have died off and the tissue is still fighting. Either way, Kevin is again spot on about the kight and nutrients. I have had success in bringing acro back by this method due to accidental mag. overdose. What I did is just use my actinic only and within a week I saw better polyp extesion and the color came back.

On that note though, I don't think I have ever seen an acro so bleach white and still alive! I guess that should stand for something...not sure what though.

You know...now that I think about it, I think it just simply has too much light. I think when you had the coral right below the halide you literally burned the tissue off the tips and killed the tissue. Algae loves light and loves to grow on dead coral...but it does look like the coral is fighting back. It doesn't look like the algae is winning the battle at taking over the coral in whole. I would certainly move it out of strong light...and increase your flow by two or three times, you definitely have cyano all over the front of the glass/acrylic there. Big nutrient issues..

 

[Inconservatory]

I had first purchased the acro attached to some live rock while my tank was finishing up it cycling. The rock was quarantined in a container, but was too tall to sit completely under water. There was a centimeter of acro sitting above the water's surface, which took its toll on the tips. Since moving it into the display tank, the branches have grown (seen on right). I later added a halide in fear of not having enough light, even though it was doing fine under the t5s. You may be right, Freakin, it may just have been too much for the little guys, even at 1hr a day and less t5 exposure all together.

I will add a koralia 4 in there and see if it all picks up again. There is another strain of long algae which seems to be disrupting the flow in some areas. I will remove those, but hopefully the pump will help.

There is, however, another frag of the acro in the lower right side of the tank. It has also been losing color recently.

Thank you all so much for your input on this matter.

 

[FreakinReefin]

I had first purchased the acro attached to some live rock while my tank was finishing up it cycling. The rock was quarantined in a container, but was too tall to sit completely under water. There was a centimeter of acro sitting above the water's surface, which took its toll on the tips. Since moving it into the display tank, the branches have grown (seen on right). I later added a halide in fear of not having enough light, even though it was doing fine under the t5s. You may be right, Freakin, it may just have been too much for the little guys, even at 1hr a day and less t5 exposure all together.

I will add a koralia 4 in there and see if it all picks up again. There is another strain of long algae which seems to be disrupting the flow in some areas. I will remove those, but hopefully the pump will help.

There is, however, another frag of the acro in the lower right side of the tank. It has also been losing color recently.

Thank you all so much for your input on this matter.

As far as the algae goes, I have a 14g biocube just packed with Bryopsis(green hair algae) and I used maybe a quarter cup of Kent Tech M magnesium booster and it completely destroyed all of the algae. I found this while browsing through some posts here and on Reef Central and it appears to be specific to only Kent Tech M. It might be something you want to check out.

In your tank you would have to do the math to boost your magnesium using KTM 100ppm per day.

 

[kevinpo]

Hello,
The coral has expelled its zooxanthellae but is still alive. It is most often caused by a sudden light intensity increase, exposure to high UV levels, high temperature, or chemical shock. Corals can recover from this if conditions are ideal. The coral usually turns a light brown then dark brown then returns to some color (can be different that the original). This process can take 3-4 months.
I would move the coral to the bottom of the tank and break/cut the tips where the algae is growing, as the coral in a weakened state has to expend too much energy warding off the algae. Provide moderate alternating flow and parameters near NSW and it should fully recover.

Regards,
Kevin

 

[Inconservatory]

Well, I finally attempted to move the coral about a week ago. It had grown onto the rock pretty firmly and I was not able to remove it from its spot. Some of its base cracked and became separated from the mothership.

It now turns out that where ever I had touched the acropora, algae is starting to grow. The tissue at the base is starting to die back. I fear it's getting closer to being a goner. Should I attempt to frag the tips and place them about the tank? I have been using Fuel as a vitamin supplement and am not seeing any improvements (after 2-3 weeks).

Thanks

 

[Inconservatory]

In regards to using the Kent M; If the bryopsis is flourishing, that would mean there is a phosphat/nitrate problem, yes? At this point, those values are reading 0, or near to that. Would killing them off allow the phos/nitrates to spike? I could do a water change after the die-off, I suppose. Maybe adding some more macro algae would help to fight off the bryopsis?