Chaeto, long strand vs scrunchy stands

[Benga]

Is there a difference and is there a way to go from one to another?
Is one better than the other?

I went to a dudes house to buy a light and I saw his chaeto is all long strands that are flowy whereas mine is very tight knit and scrunchy.

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

I have some of the thicker, more steel wool type stuff. It's not doing well in my tank, while nuisance algae is doing just fine. Even after dosing iron, I have no growth on the chaeto. It's getting covered in nuisance algae and turning white.

I ordered some of the thinner, more stringy stuff. It's in QT now. We'll see how it does in the DT in a few weeks.

 

[ZaneTer]

I don’t believe there is a difference between the two. I have received both but they both still ended up like steel wool.

 

[Benga]

I have some of the thicker, more steel wool type stuff. It's not doing well in my tank, while nuisance algae is doing just fine. Even after dosing iron, I have no growth on the chaeto. It's getting covered in nuisance algae and turning white.

I ordered some of the thinner, more stringy stuff. It's in QT now. We'll see how it does in the DT in a few weeks.

Yea I've been noticing bryopsis making more growth on the chaeto than the chaeto itself. I'll handle that soon and hopefully the chaeto will grow out too.
Steel wool is a good description of what my chaeto is like.

I don’t believe there is a difference between the two. I have received both but they both still ended up like steel wool.

Interesting, so I suppose the normal state is the steel wool form.

 

[ZaneTer]

Haha well hmmm I’m not too sure, I suppose that at least in my case it is.