All Things Coralline (and Other Encrusting Algae Species)

[reddevilant]

So I wanted to make this thread because I always read about and see comments about different types and colors of coralline algae but I never actually see pictures of them! I've heard about encrusting, plating, branching, pink, purple, red, orange, green, blue coralline. I feel like I only ever see pictures on R2R of the typical pink/purple encrusting types. So feel free to share pictures of the coralline in your tank! And if you have some uniquely shaped coralline (especially the plating variety) that you're willing to share LMK!

Here's a couple pics of the "Thick" and "Fine" coralline I bought from Gulf Coast Ecosystems.

 

[reddevilant]

Also, as @WheatToast pointed out on his Red Encrusting Algae thread (link below), the red/orange coralline some people may talk about is likely not coralline at all. Rather it is actually, most likely, a species of Peyssonnelia or Hildenbrandia. So I wonder if we can find other interesting encrusting algae, other than coralline, that would be cool additions to our tanks!

reef2reef.com/threads/about-that-red-encrusting-algae-not-cyanobacteria.866549/

 

[reddevilant]

As I said in the Red Encrusting Algae thread I cam across a lot of Hildenbrandia covered rocks while on a sampling trip for one of my marine ecology classes. Stupidly I didn't grab a one for myself to take home! Maybe one day next year I can try to make my way back to that beach to try and find more to take home and grow in my tank.

 

[reddevilant]

Bump

 

[WheatToast]

Here are many of the encrusting algae varieties I have found in my planted marine system (ignore all of the Aiptasia):

Generic pink and lavender encrusting Coralline

Somewhat purpler encrusting Coralline

Smooth, mauve encrusting Coralline

Deep-pink encrusting Coralline

Coralline “nugget” (solid mass of Coralline) from Gulf Live Sand (enhanced image)

Green encrusting Coralline (does not brush off)

Probably Peyssonnelia (under the turf algae, does not brush off)

Encrusting, maroon algae (does not brush off)

Dusty, red algae (not Cyanobacteria, does not brush off)

Dusty, pink algae (does not brush off)

Greyish-tan crust… I really do not know what this is (it’s alive, and not part of the coral skeleton composing the live rock)

 

[reddevilant]

@WheatToast I LOVE that third picture (minus the aiptasia lol). The color is awesome and texture almost looks smooth like velvet. Really cool!!

 

[WheatToast]

Also, here is some interesting, captive, encrusting algae that I have seen online...

Neon green Coralline? (seems calcareous)

The "purplest" Coralline I have ever seen (center)

Possibly very pale blue Coralline... or it could just be that the rock looks somewhat blue

Hot pink Coralline

Plating Peyssonnelia?

Boom Corals "Red Plating Coralline Algae"

... and some coldwater Coralline that is no longer in my system:

Tall branching Coralline (center) and short branching Coralline (top right

More tall branching Coralline (right) and thin branching Coralline (center)

Purplish branching Coralline with Codium and Chaetomorpha

Encrusting Coralline on a mussel shell fragment

Pebble with encrusting Coralline that became bleached under air exposure

Massive branching Coralline “nest” (size of a grapefruit)

 

[las]

following

 

[WheatToast]

You know, the odd, lumpy composition of these live rock pieces, which is not very reminiscent of most corals, makes me believe the pieces were actually formed by large Coralline clusters (as opposed to the usual coral skeleton). Perhaps they looked like this in life:

 

[reddevilant]

The Peyssonnelia and red plating plating piece are incredible! Do you by know if Boom corals still has some of the plating coralline?

 

[reddevilant]

@WheatToast Update: I asked boom corals about it and they said their urchin ate it . But they did say they could ask around if anyone has any! So fingers crossed! lol

 

[reddevilant]

Bump

 

[WheatToast]

Here is another neat Coralline:

Gulf of Maine sells these coldwater Coralline clusters as "live rock" (isn't this also called Maerl?) as well as other coldwater Coralline.

This is not Coralline, but some Hydrocorals can look amazingly similar to several different forms of Coralline algae:

I am no expert on Hydrocoral, but perhaps @Tamberav has more to add (I believe she has kept some of the varieties shown above).
Also, on a somewhat related note, the "shells" of Staghorn hermit crabs are Hydrocorals.

 

[waverider]

I have rock encrusted with several varieties: Red, Purple, Pink... Blue... Green. A year in and my rock is totally encrusted. I started with of Indonesian and fiji LR. I pay strict attention to dosing. I also dose trace elements (Red Sea 4 Part) in concert with my Calcium and Alkalinity dosing. The tank was a year old this past thanksgiving. This is a night shot so most of my coral have begun to go to sleep

 

[WheatToast]

I just keep finding more amazing Coralline! Take a look!

Here is some gorgeous Branching Coralline from the online Japanese pet shop, Charm (sold as "ratttles" according to Google Translate). The maroon specimen on the left appears to be Galaxaura (not in the order Corallinales, so not a Coralline algae but it is calcified)(sometimes, but not always, Galaxaura grows a coating of filaments which are part of the macroalgae), the pink specimen on the top appears to be Jania, and the red specimen on the bottom right... well I am not quite so sure. It looks like another species of Jania, though:



The encrusting algae coverage on their live rock is also wonderful (and do I spot Lobophora on those rocks?):



I actually received several clumps of Jania (center of image below) from Tropical Fish Plus on January 12th. However, they were unfortunately clogged with Medusa worms, which I removed from the algae before it entered my display tank. Currently, they are looking healthy but have not grown much:


A German aquarium store, Unter Wasser, stocks some unusual Coralline/encrusting algae from time to time, as well as a variety of other green, red, and brown macroalgae and even coldwater species that I wish could be imported to the states:

Branched red calcareous algae (Amphiroa sp.)
I never knew about this Coralline genus until I found this site:


Magnificent calcareous algae (Peyssonnelia sp.)
I wish they could sell this stuff here in the states individually, it looks fantastic!:



I always thought these Coralline algae starter kits from Ricordea Box and Addictive Reef Keeping were really neat. They seem to be a good source for calcareous, encrusting algae diversity.



Finally, it looks like @PacificEastAquaculture once sold this amazing WYSIWYG clump of Plating Coralline:


Currently, they also carry these stunning Coralline algae "nests":

 

[reddevilant]

I just keep finding more amazing Coralline! Take a look!

Here is some gorgeous Branching Coralline from the online Japanese pet shop, Charm (sold as "ratttles" according to Google Translate). The maroon specimen on the left appears to be Galaxaura (not in the order Corallinales, so not a Coralline algae but it is calcified)(sometimes, but not always, Galaxaura grows a coating of filaments which are part of the macroalgae), the pink specimen on the top appears to be Jania, and the red specimen on the bottom right... well I am not quite so sure. It looks like another species of Jania, though:



The encrusting algae coverage on their live rock is also wonderful (and do I spot Lobophora on those rocks?):



I actually received several clumps of Jania (center of image below) from Tropical Fish Plus on January 12th. However, they were unfortunately clogged with Medusa worms, which I removed from the algae before it entered my display tank. Currently, they are looking healthy but have not grown much:


A German aquarium store, Unter Wasser, stocks some unusual Coralline/encrusting algae from time to time, as well as a variety of other green, red, and brown macroalgae and even coldwater species that I wish could be imported to the states:

Branched red calcareous algae (Amphiroa sp.)
I never knew about this Coralline genus until I found this site:


Magnificent calcareous algae (Peyssonnelia sp.)
I wish they could sell this stuff here in the states individually, it looks fantastic!:



I always thought these Coralline algae starter kits from Ricordea Box and Addictive Reef Keeping were really neat. They seem to be a good source for calcareous, encrusting algae diversity.



Finally, it looks like @PacificEastAquaculture once sold this amazing WYSIWYG clump of Plating Coralline:


Currently, they also carry these stunning Coralline algae "nests":

I absolutely love the look of plating coralline and Peyssonnelia!!! They're near the top of my wish list of algae I've been searching for! Those and Hildenbrandia, which hopefully I can find again this summer.

 

[damsels are not mean]

This is an awesome thread I'm happy it got bumped. So many great links to rare pieces. I wish coralline algae and other cool hitchhikers could be bought like this!

 

[WheatToast]

Here is even more fascinating Coralline that I forgot to include in my last post:

You might know about Haliptilon, otherwise known as Red Fern, Red palm macroalgae, and Smooth kelp. Haliptilon, which is no longer an accepted genus and has become synonymized with Jania, is technically Coralline algae, with Haliptilon once belonging in and Jania currently belonging in the order Corallinales. However, I have an inkling that the so-called Haliptilon in the aquarium trade is actually a member of the family Gelidiaceae, and is thus not Coralline algae:

Captive "Haliptilon" (notice how it looks quite fleshy, like species of Gelidiaceae):


For comparison, here is Haliptilon squamatum/Jania squamata (notice how it looks heavily calcified):


I came across this wicked looking Tessellated coralline algae (Lithophyllum prototypum) while image searching for this post and MAN would it look good on live rock! Could you image a reef tank full of this stuff?:

Wikipedia's Coralline algae (Corallinales) page has some great examples of non standard Coralline algae coloration:


@slivacki owned this thick, pink Coralline that, over the course of two years, aggressively overtook and killed otherwise healthy corals in a stable system.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/aggressive-coralline-algae-or-some-type-sps.303101/

Initially started on a frag:



One of its victims:


Reeffarmers offers cryptic seed packs with these semi-cryptic Coralline algae varieties, which do best under low light and flow. Note the bright gold Coralline in the first image… now that is unique :


@eggplantparrot owned this somewhat invasive, red plating algae (possibly Peyssonnelia) that originated on some live rock. It is no longer quite as pervasive as it is in the photo (and possibly died out):


For people looking to purchase Coldwater coralline and encrusting algae online...

Matsu Collections offers:
Bossiella (Branching Coralline):

Gulf of Maine offers:
Lithothamnium which I included in a previous post (Branching Coralline):


Lithothamnium (Encrusting Coralline):

Corallina officinalis (Branching Coralline):

Gulf Specimen Marine Laboratory offers:
Hildenbrandia prototypus which is now Hildenbrandia rubra (Red encrusting algae):


@reddevilant, are you planning to look for Hildenbrandia in the wild on the East Coast?

Living Elements (I am not sure if they serve hobbyists) offers:
Clathromorphum (Encrusting Coralline):

Back in November, I found this clump of Plating Coralline at one of my LFS’s (Aquatic Collection), attached to a return (you can just barely see it extending off of the return, into the water column). Unfortunately, they wanted to hold on to the algae, and I wonder how much it has grown since I last visited

While I am a big fan of heavily encrusted, biodiverse live rock, sometimes I really appreciate the simplicity and minimalism of smooth, aragonite based ocean rocks with a light coating of deep-red encrusting algae in addition to being impregnated with years of bluish algal growth… how oddly specific:

 

[eggplantparrot]

Awesome write up, didn't know coralline algae was so diverse

 

[WheatToast]

A German aquarium store, Unter Wasser, stocks some unusual Coralline/encrusting algae from time to time, as well as a variety of other green, red, and brown macroalgae and even coldwater species that I wish could be imported to the states:

Magnificent calcareous algae (Peyssonnelia sp.)
I wish they could sell this stuff here in the states individually, it looks fantastic!:

Here is an old picture of the Peyssonnelia from Unter Wasser:

@slivacki owned this thick, pink Coralline that, over the course of two years, aggressively overtook and killed otherwise healthy corals in a stable system.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/aggressive-coralline-algae-or-some-type-sps.303101/

Initially started on a frag:



One of its victims:

Ironically, images of @slivacki's aggressive, killer Coralline are sometimes used on online guides for growing Coralline ...