I don't recall Red Ogo having such a firm (it feels kinda hard!?) texture, but this stuff is blooming in my sump, and it floats up to the top. Is this good stuff? (That's Chaeto, trying to hang on in the foreground)
I think this is Red Ogo....but I'm not sure?!
- Thread starter Siberwulf
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AnotherReefHobbyist
Well-Known Member
All of the red ogo I have ever had has been very stiff, so it seems like red ogo to me!
Heres my ogo. After looking closer it does not look like mine.
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White light pic? That would help a lot. Plus a pic of the macro close up.I don't recall Red Ogo having such a firm (it feels kinda hard!?) texture, but this stuff is blooming in my sump, and it floats up to the top. Is this good stuff? (That's Chaeto, trying to hang on in the foreground)
WheatToast
2500 Club Member
Personally, it doesn’t seem like Red ogo (your red macroalgae has too many nub-like branchlets), though I agree with @Eagle_Steve that we need white light (ex. with a flashlight) and close up pictures for better identification.I don't recall Red Ogo having such a firm (it feels kinda hard!?) texture, but this stuff is blooming in my sump, and it floats up to the top. Is this good stuff? (That's Chaeto, trying to hang on in the foreground)
It does look like Bryothamnion triquetrum or similar.I'm thinking maybe Red Razor?
WheatToast
2500 Club Member
The nubs seem too spaced out for the algae to be Red razor (Bryothamnion). Personally, though, it greatly resembles Spiny algae (Acanthophora spicifera), an incredibly rare algae in the states and can potentially become invasive in our systems, though it may feature desirable colors based on lighting.I'm thinking maybe Red Razor?
https://www.marineplantbook.com/marinebookspicifera.htm
https://web.archive.org/web/2021101...cies/marine-macroalgae-acanthophora-spicifera
https://web.archive.org/web/2021051...son/acanthophora-spicifera-spiny-algae-detail
Now that I am back on my pc and not my phone, I think you nailed it. That guy is a beast to remove if it gets a foothold in the rocks. There are also red variants out there of it. Almost nothing eats it. Edit: nothing we usually keep in our glass boxes.The nubs seem too spaced out for the algae to be Red razor (Bryothamnion). Personally, though, it greatly resembles Spiny algae (Acanthophora spicifera), an incredibly rare algae in the states and can potentially become invasive in our systems.
https://www.marineplantbook.com/marinebookspicifera.htm
https://web.archive.org/web/2021101...cies/marine-macroalgae-acanthophora-spicifera
Can you take piece out, set it under the room lighting and take a pic with it on a paper towel or other white item?
Would help us to be sure on an id
WheatToast
2500 Club Member
Hmm... I have actually wanted to keep this in my macroalgae display for a while; would it make more sense to keep it around in this setting (as opposed to a reef environment)?
I would say it would be fine in a macro only tank. All the other macros you have are direct competition for it, so will help control it.
For example, I grow a wire algae in my mangrove lagoon that without macro competition would overrun a reef very quickly, unless you have a ton of long spine urchins. Not sure of exact name, as I never really researched it, but it is native to FL and will straight cover a rock in a week in a tank with no competition. I like it though, as it looks like a field grass and keeps my urchin fed with other stuff besides my other macros lol.
OP
OP
I think I'm going to just rip this out and get as much off my Chaeto as possible. I'm not in the mood for an invasive species and frankly, my nitrates are pegged at zero, so this may help that anyway.
I think @WheatToast nailed it. It may not be the exact species of Acanthophora listed, but I am almost 100% sure it is Acanthophora of some type.Here's a close up, with something for scale (my kids ate all the bananas)
Before you trash it, hit up @WheatToast via PM. He might pay shipping for a piece to be sent to him for his macro tank.
On a side note, Acanthophora is found in the gulf of mexico and all down the atlantic coast of florida. there are few types I have seen while diving on both sides of FL. A. spicifera being one of those. So if your rock or anything purchased was from any of those areas, it could have come as a hitchhiker. It could have even been attached to the cheato when you got it. Who know lol.
I do know that Atlantic blue tangs (smaller and still yellow) munch on it, as do large parrotfish and sea turtles.
For the invasive part, the issue is the root structure. Easy to trim, but the roots dig deep in rocks. This is why it can take over a tank. You can pull and pull, but would have to dig deep in the rocks to get the roots and runners of the roots.
OP
OP
Excellent point. DM Sent. I do have a shipping box from some fish I just received so that might do just fine!
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