Purple fuzz

[zotzer]

I have a rather large green sponge that grows purple fuzz on the top. Here's a pic (actually, the purple fuzz has gotten so big, you can't even see the sponge in this shot)

 

 

Well, the same fuzz has turned up in other places now, without sponges underneath (and I do have lots of green sponge in the tank).

 

It is in holes/dents in the rock, in relatively low flow areas. As an example, you can see some in this picture of my recovering xenia.....

 

It doesn't appear to by cyano, as it is fluffy...not slimey. It doesn't look bad, on the contrary, it is rather nice looking.

 

What is it, and should I be siphoning it out?

 

Thanks for your help!

Tracy

Edited September 29, 2007 by zotzer

[treesprite]

is it like a matt of tiny hairs? I can't really tell frmo the pictures

[jason the filter freak]

Doesn't look like any cyano I've ever seen

[zotzer]

me neither. It is purple and fluffy, but it's propogating, and I don't know if it's troublesome or not. It's actually kind of pretty.

[treesprite]

can you describe it better?

Do snails or crabs eat it?

Is it purple=purple or reddish purple?

Does it move at all from the flow?

Does it come off the rock easily?

[Rascal]

It's a nuisance algae - or type of cyano -- id has never been my strong suit. Whatever it is, it may look pretty as a small patch or two, but won't look so hot if it spreads and starts to take up more of your tank.

 

I had it bad in my tank for a while last fall. Still get a couple of patches here and there when water quality starts to dip a little. IME - it likes nutrients (big suprise) and possibly thrives on dips in PH and/or Alk.

 

I have never seen anything eat it, but then again there are lots of things I can't see, so who knows?

 

It may go away on its own, but if it starts to spread the standard advice for dealing with nuisance algae applies -- syphon or pull it out whenever you can, maintain good water quality, make sure you have good flow, and be patient.

 

One of the problems with this stuff is that it seems to trap a lot of junk, so it may accelerate a decline in water quality if you leave it alone.

[Leishman]

Mexican Turbo snails, the big ones that cost ~$3 or $4 each are the only thing that will get rid of that nasty, nasty algae. It will take over your whole tank in no time, as did mine (see pic below). I got 5 snails from Roozens for $15 and the algae was gone from my 250g system in 3 or 4 days.

 

 

-Rik

[treesprite]

I'm just trying to figure out if its the stuff I sometimes have tiny bits of - what I have is difficult to distinguish from the coraline except its darker. The top of it is fuzzy looking because it's like very densely packed tiny hairs. Only scrubbing can get it off. Snails and crabs love it.

[zotzer]

Guess I'll get the turkey baster out tomorrow. It will be interesting getting that big glob off the sponge it came in on. LOL

 

Tomorrow is water change day anyway, so I'll do this job before hand.

 

Thanks for your help, all!

 

Tracy

 

I'm just trying to figure out if its the stuff I sometimes have tiny bits of - what I have is difficult to distinguish from the coraline except its darker. The top of it is fuzzy looking because it's like very densely packed tiny hairs. Only scrubbing can get it off. Snails and crabs love it.

 

Forrest....

I don't know how to describe it any better than purple and fluffy....just like all of the pictures posted above. It siphons off easily. I noticed there is a bunch of it in my chaeto too, so I will have to rinse that out after I do my water change.

 

Tracy

[treesprite]

Guess I'll get the turkey baster out tomorrow. It will be interesting getting that big glob off the sponge it came in on. LOL

 

Tomorrow is water change day anyway, so I'll do this job before hand.

 

Thanks for your help, all!

 

Tracy

Forrest....

I don't know how to describe it any better than purple and fluffy....just like all of the pictures posted above. It siphons off easily. I noticed there is a bunch of it in my chaeto too, so I will have to rinse that out after I do my water change.

 

Tracy

 

 

hmmm weird. I hope it doesn't grow back once you get it out of there.

[zotzer]

Great news! The purple fuzz has not taken over my tank. If you look *really* hard, there may be two or three small patches of it that I wasn't able to remove all the way, and while it seems to be surviving, it's not growing.

 

BUT...my fuge is FULL of it!! I realize that it is better off in my fuge than the display, and that this is one of the purposes of a refugium. Just wondering if I need to deal with it in there (ie: try to get it out), and if it will choke out my chaeto. Chaeto seems to be growing like gangbusters currently, and I'd like to keep it that way.

 

For the time being, I've put some filter floss in my fuge output just to make sure none of it breaks loose and flows back out to the tank.

 

Tracy

[lanman]

Great news! The purple fuzz has not taken over my tank. If you look *really* hard, there may be two or three small patches of it that I wasn't able to remove all the way, and while it seems to be surviving, it's not growing.

 

BUT...my fuge is FULL of it!! I realize that it is better off in my fuge than the display, and that this is one of the purposes of a refugium. Just wondering if I need to deal with it in there (ie: try to get it out), and if it will choke out my chaeto. Chaeto seems to be growing like gangbusters currently, and I'd like to keep it that way.

 

For the time being, I've put some filter floss in my fuge output just to make sure none of it breaks loose and flows back out to the tank.

 

Tracy

 

I had a bunch of it in my refugium/sump - it seems to 'hang out' with grape caulerpa. When I re-did my refugium last week, I picked as much of it out as I could and tossed it. As well as the grape caulerpa. I'm down to just three types of macro's in my refugium now. Well, 4, if you count the tiny piece of 'macropora digitata' (I made that up) that I got from Rebecca. A macro that grows kind like a monti digi.

 

bob

[zotzer]

I had a bunch of it in my refugium/sump - it seems to 'hang out' with grape caulerpa. When I re-did my refugium last week, I picked as much of it out as I could and tossed it.

 

Hi Bob!

It will be hard to pick out of the chaeto. I'm figuring as I prune back the chaeto, I will try to cut out the parts that have the most purple fuzz, and then pluck as much as I can out of the fuge itself (it's all over the walls).

 

This project will have to sit for next weekend, because today is GAME DAY! LOL

thanks!

Tracy

[st9z]

I had a bunch of it in my refugium/sump - it seems to 'hang out' with grape caulerpa.

 

I have a ton in my refugium as well. I just put it on a clip and feed it to my tang. She seems to love them.