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What is this?? Some type of nuisance macro algae?

nanoguy

Supporting Member
So I have this stuff growing all over the rocks in my 30 gallon.....it's really starting to take over everything. I pulled out quite a bit manually but there's no way to get it all. It looks like some type of macro algae....maroon/dark red in color. I think it came on a rock on one of those maricultured colonies I purchased a few months back. What is it and what will eat it?

algae.jpg
 
Unfortunately my tank is too small to house a tang.....it's just a 30 gallon. I read somewhere urchins will eat this stuff......maybe I will give one a try.
 
By the way.....I notice some turbos snails are advertised as.......well..........turbo snails and some as "Mexican turbo snails." Is there a difference or is it the same thing?
 
Yes there's a difference link. Get the Mexican one's, try to find smaller ones.
 
Get the mexican turbo snails, not the regular turbo snails. As said in my previous post, mexican turbo are large compared to regular turbo, and they can knock your unfixed frags off. I got mine from aquatic gallery before they moved, and am not sure if they still stock them. I found larger ones (they can be really large) eat more, but also die faster (just my experience, nothing scientific). If you have choices, try to get the ones collected more south in warmer water, and they will live longer in aquariums.
 
You've got that in reverse. All of them are collected in the Sea of Cortez. The further North you get in the SoC the warmer it gets, and stays. Counter intuitive I know, it has to do with a trench in the middle and the currents.
 
Other then size, how else can you distinguish a regular turbo vs. a mexican turbo? Are there specific markings on the shell?
 
Thanks for the info Gresham.....looks like there's another snail attached to the shell. I'm going to have to hunt some down.
 
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