What type of algae is this ?

[Todd31]

Hello all...

Tank is five months old. Noticed a strange powdery-substance algae the last couple days.

Doesnt seem like diatoms because the turkey baster doesnt budge it. And the diatoms ive had were light brown.

Anyone Ever have a dark brown dusty looking algae thats stubborn?

Thanks for any input.

--todd

 

[Todd31]

It looks like my trochus snails are eating it. And it seems to be only on one piece of rock. 6 months seems a little late for a diatom bloom and this stuff is way darker then what i usually have seen for diatoms.

Its like super duper cinnamon colored diatoms? Just curious if anyone has seen this. When i blow the turker baster near it it doesnt budge. The appearance is powdery.

 

[Waleedwale1]

Is it fuzzy and maybe reddish?

 

[Todd31]

No... powdery/dusty... looks like piles of cinammon.

 

[Todd31]

There was a very small amount of cyano that came and went before this appeared. The cyano was easy to blow off with a baster. This stuff doesnt budge.

 

[Dan_P]

There was a very small amount of cyano that came and went before this appeared. The cyano was easy to blow off with a baster. This stuff doesnt budge.

You are referring to the patch in the center of the picture, purplish brown?

I have cyanobacteria in retreat and have dark colored patches left behind. I will do a microscopic exam and let you know what it looks like.

 

[Dan_P]

This PVC pipe was previously covered with red slime but as the slime receded, it developed this mottled appearance. Color ranges from blackish, dark red to dark green. It seems more waxy than slimy and comes off with difficulty as little partcles. These particles contain maybe five different organsims, the bulk of which are circular and mixed with several different species of big filamentous organism. I did not see in these particles any of the spirulina that made up the red slime in my aquarium. I assume this new patch is the next wave of microorganisms after the red slime. The rocks and sand are almost red slime free without the dark waxy colonies that are coating the PVC pipe.

Maybe your unidentified colony of "dusty cinnamon" is a similar phenomenon as the dark patches in my aquarium.

 

[Todd31]

Another pic of the brown stuff

Thanks to all for their input... Ive been to a couple of my lfs's and im getting a few different responses.... One guy said coraline, someone else told me i should remove the rock immediately. Ugh. You can get a good look of it on the white part of the frag plug.

 

[Dan_P]

Picture is still a little fuzzy but it does not appear to be cyano. Have you used a turkey baster to flush it off? Cyano usually blows off pretty easily. Watch it but don't lose sleep over it (that is what I tell myself)

 

[Todd31]

I cant budge it with the turkey baster...

 

[Dan_P]

I cant budge it with the turkey baster...

OK, doesn't sound like cyano then.