Invasive Plant Identification and Help!

Braden8558

Non-member
Hello everyone! I have recently had this plant growing up towards the top of my tank near my SPS. I tried grabbing it and pulling it out and it grows very fast and nearly impossible to get it all out. Could someone tell me what it is and how to get rid of it? I prefer to use natural methods such as a fish or preferably an invertebrate or cleanup crew member that I could purchase to get rid of it.

Thanks for the help, Braden

plant 1.jpgplant 2.jpgplant 3.jpg
 
That is Bryopsis. Only aggressive phosphate control using something like GFO or carbon dosing will get rid of it. There is no fish or snail that will eat it. It is one of the more challenging algae issues reef keepers get to experience.
 
Bryopsis
Like what Reefkeeper2 said, phosphate control. Others have had luck with slowly raising their mag.
Try not to rip it out and let it fly around your tank, it spreads like the plague. If you are going to manually pull it out, make sure your turn off power heads and get all of the pieces. It's root system is almost impossible to remove.
 
You can try the Kent Tech M, raise your magnesium up to 1500-1600, I tried this and it did kill it but it came back. So I cooked my rocks (not in the oven) and it's been almost two years now with out a sign of it. It did take about two months for the process.
 
Man alive I feel for you. I got this crap in my tank off a frag plug and have had absolutely no luck at all getting rid of it. I'm going to end up doing an acid bath on all my rocks soon and I've been doing carbon dosing. This is nasty stuff so act fast.
 
Typical when Algae dies off is to relapse as the nutrients go right back into the tank. That is why Paul's advice is the way to go in combination with the Tech M. but once it dies you need to continue to be aggressive
 
The Tech M will work but usually only the first time you use it. It only worked a single time for me. Just like with antibiotic resistance, the little bit that survives the treatment will laugh at you the next time you try and use it. Also, it's not the magnesium in the Tech M that kills the Bryopsis. There is some other ingredient in the product that does the job because if you use any other magnesium supplement it won't work.
 
Hate to say this because all fish are different, BUT...I had a tank FULL of bryopsis..

My friends (reefer and non reefer) wondered why I even kept the tank going with all the algae. Tried everything, magnesium, h2o2, snails, tangs...

I put a foxface in there and the algae was all completely gone in 2-3 weeks.

This "crap" is being passed around and it is no easy job to get rid of. Search the forums, you'll find a ton of threads on treatment and experiences.

Good luck
 
What's most important is that people post there problems so other know what to look for. And if you have some success or failure with a particular issue there is no reason to not share it
 
Sometimes this will 'burn itself out', I've seen it happen on a few tanks. My large tank had a big problem with it, but really not much anymore. I have seen lawnmower blennies pick at the stuff an do some good. By constantly cleaning the surface of rocks they sometimes keep it from starting as well. High waterflow can also help in that it keeps the nutrients that it lives on from settling onto the surface of the algae.
 
I have to agree with Greg, I have had it in the past and lawnmower and bicolor blennies were able to keep it under control with a little help for me trimming it away. Not saying it will always work but might be worth a try.
 
Hate to say this because all fish are different, BUT...I had a tank FULL of bryopsis..

My friends (reefer and non reefer) wondered why I even kept the tank going with all the algae. Tried everything, magnesium, h2o2, snails, tangs...

I put a foxface in there and the algae was all completely gone in 2-3 weeks.

This "crap" is being passed around and it is no easy job to get rid of. Search the forums, you'll find a ton of threads on treatment and experiences.

Good luck

You can make that an N of 2. I just recently got a small foxface and it cleaned the display tank right up. One thing to remember is that there are many different species so maybe some are more well liked by fish than others. In parallel I upped my GFO and it is finally starting to recede a little in my refugium as well.
 
You can make that an N of 2.

Docs medical terms :cool:

An N of 1 trial is a clinical trial in which a single patient is the entire trial, a single case study. A trial in which random allocation can be used to determine the order in which an experimental and a control intervention are given to a patient is an N of 1 randomized controlled trial. The order of experimental and control interventions can also be fixed by the researcher.
 
Yes...but an N of 2 do not count at all in statistic. You will need a bigger sample.....but in this case provides hope. And is nice to know that info.
 
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Thanks Jason :) Maybe I just should have said "me too". I was actually pretty surprised when I threw some into the QT tank and he gobbled it up. Once I released the foxface into the display, he went to town.

Yes...but an N of 2 do not count at all in statistic. You will need a bigger sample.....but in this case provides hope. And is nice to know that info.

Exactly.
 
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