Blue coralline algae - species name?

[greeno1645]

I Googled ‘blue coralline algae’ and found an old thread on this forum discussing the existence of blue coralline algae.

However, the photos others posted were not very clear, and honestly, I couldn’t tell if the ‘blue’ coralline was actually blue, or if it was due to lighting.

So, I’m posting what appears to be highly blue coralline algae growing in the 30 gallon setup that my son and I set up in January (so coming up on being 7 months old).

Is there a species name for this electric blue coralline algae (if that’s what it actually is)?

The two photos were taken about two or three weeks apart if the same area of rock. Seems to have spread out a little, and there are quite a lot of other areas showing growth throughout the tank.

FYI - lighting in the photo is setting that us suppose to create the look of natural sunlight.

 

[fridmani]

It could be a sponge of sort.

 

[DeepintheReef]

I have seen blue coralline on some of my clients’ older tanks that still had “wild” live rock from when it was legal to import. I have not seen it randomly pop up in newer tanks, but it’s possible, especially if you’re seeding the tank with established rock.

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

What kind of rock is that. At first glance it doesn't look like aragonite or calcium carbonate.

I'm curious if the blue is a reaction with some sort of mineral in the rock.

 

[Ordovician_Reef]

What kind of rock is that. At first glance it doesn't look like aragonite or calcium carbonate.

I'm curious if the blue is a reaction with some sort of mineral in the rock.

My thoughts as well, I also would do a scrape to see if it is sponge. In other words, does it posses dimensionality and porosity.

 

[shcrimps]

if it is blue coralline sign me up for a piece