What is it?

[theishkid]

Hey how's it goin? I've got a couple of pictures here that I can't figure out what these things are. Please help out if you can identify them. This first stuff came up a few months ago and the "leaves" sort of resemble cups.

 

[theishkid]

here's the second one that's really freaking me out. You can probably just see it from the pictures but it started growing about 2 or 3 months ago and it's starting to get big. I don't know if it's algae or some sort of plant but here it is.

 

[theishkid]

Here is the 3rd and final pic. I'm not sure what this is either but it sort of looks like a leaf, it might be hard to see.

 

[alison]

:happyfish Magic carp is right on about ID, I would just remove the grape algae surrounding the first plant pictured. The grape algae is the bubble like stuff surrounding the tea cup algae. The red kelp is very prized, and doesn't really spread, so consider yourself lucky to have it, tangs LOVE IT! Just proon the red kelp back a little if need be. Your doin good to have those things! Right on!- ali

 

[theishkid]

Thank you both for the information. I feel so much better now knowing this isn't a big problem. It's so great to come here and get info so quick. Now I know I do have a problem with the bubble algae... but is there a reason I got those? And what is the best way to get rid of them? I tried picking them off in other areas but I didn't want to disturbe the cups that were on that rock.

 

[theishkid]

Is an emerald crab ok to put in a reef tank? I've only heard bad things about them. What are the pros and cons of having one?

 

[theishkid]

I don't know if it makes any difference, but it's not really new... it's been up for a year and a few months now. But lately I have been having a problem with algae.
You wouldn't happen to have a guess on how much an emerald would cost do you?

 

[theishkid]

hey thanks i went and got one. he looks like he's doing fine.

 

[alison]

:happyfish I had problems with bubble algae once, and got a bunch of emerald crabs for my 55 gal. reef, but they didn't really help a whole lot. Is what I did is I took out the grape algae infested rocks, and put them in a bucket, and scrubed it with a toothbrush where the grape algae was, and kept in same temp , and same adjusted saltwater, so as not to have die off of the live rock, and rinsed frequently, and it worked 100%. Not one single grape algae since. Very messy and time consuming though. Be carful not to break the big ones, they will release spores and seed your tank with hundreds of grape algae. I did numerous phosphate dips to keep them away too for the first month. NO problems since! If you don't want to do that, You can do phosphate dips, or get more emerald crabs. Good luck, and you are really doing good to have the algae, it's just the grape algae that are bad news, because they spread EVERYWHERE easily if poped, and become an eyesore if they take over a tank. Good luck, ali