Chaetomorpha... with a Holdfast

Have you ever come across attached Chaetomorpha?


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WheatToast

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1646898810154.png
Attached Chaetomorpha antennina is the first image on Wikipedia's Chaetomorpha page

How many of you all have come across attached Chaetomorpha, in captivity?

When I was figuring out macroalgae with my first build years ago, I discovered that Chaetomorpha is capable of attaching itself to rocks with a holdfast. My theory as to how this occurred in my system is that my excessively rough handling of the algae (as I newbie, I accidentally placed the Chaeto in my DT and shoved it in between rocks when it tumbled out of place ;Inpain) prompted it to release spores that eventually settled throughout my system's aquascape (reading through sites like marinespecies.org, it appears that Chaetomorpha can indeed reproduce in this manner). I still have some of these attached strands today:

Original Chaetomorpha clump on January 10, 2020:
C7E3B7DF-D71F-4DB5-A8C1-E9C79C11EBB5_1_105_c.jpeg

Attached Chaetomorpha on September 7, 2021; I am certain this is the same Chaeto shown above, and not some generic hair algae, as the attached strands share the same, segmented, wiry composition:
IMG_7692.jpg

Additionally, it seems as though most online images of wild Chaetomorpha show it growing attached:

Chaetomorpha linum, one of the more popular Chaetomorpha species in the trade, without the characteristic "curliness" it would display in a mound:
1646897904434.png

Chaetomorpha spiralis, another popular species:
1646898413032.png

Close up... it just looks so awesome in my opinion:
1646898947652.png


Chaetomorpha aerea:
1646898637969.png

Wicked looking Chaetomorpha coliformis:
1646898135018.png

Close up of Chaetomorpha melagonium:
1646899565370.png
 
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WheatToast

WheatToast

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More holdfasted Chaetomorpha pictures:

Chaetomorpha coliformis again. It is also known as Sea emerald/Mermaid's necklace algae and apparently tastes like cucumber :p:
1647660154924.png

1647719710404.jpeg


Chaetomorpha spiralis (on a side note, this species is supposedly common in California tide pools, but I have never seen it in the wild here):
1647659969038.png

1647719902451.jpeg


Not a holdfast picture, but from various images of Chaetomorpha spiralis (such as the one below), it seems as though this species mimics the growth patterns of climbing-plant tendrils to further anchor itself:
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQNllBfEzR5MLKX96_otelaJJbkGaIvZFp5fQ&usqp=CAU
The site the image originates from seems pretty strict with copyright, so I am providing a link.

Attached Chaetomorpha linum is the first and only image on Wikipedia's Chaetomorpha linum page:
1647660388821.png


Yup, this is actually Chaetomorpha linum, called Green hairweed/Spaghetti algae on the image’s source (the latter name is the one I generally refer to all Chaetomorpha species as):
1647719950887.jpeg


Chaetomorpha moniligera:
1647659377544.png


Chaetomorpha sp.:
1647659648973.png
 
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