Wierd and neat little surprise!

My almost 7 year old reeftank started growing Halimeda in a couple of spots. I find this extremely odd since I haven't added anything that it would be growing from. Do macro algae spores live many years before coming out or dormancy?

 

mine grows it randomly from time to time. I wonder if my tangs will eat it.

 

Is it possible that you added new rock in the past months? I don't know this, but I think your theory about the dormant spores could be very well true. For example, there are worms that are in my tank, that are starting to show up all of a sudden, and I had never ever seen them before in the 9 or 10 months I've had my tank.

Perhaps somebody with knowledge of this macro can chip in here and clarify this for us.

Good luck! I'm subscribed.

- Mag.

 

yeah last new piece of rock in the tank was 2005. Since then I put a frag of blastomuussa and acan echinata but they had nothing growing on them not the base. Heck the blast didnt HAVE a base. Oh and john sent me a gorg as a bonus for my big CuC order in feburary but it had no base.

PS John, if you are watching he is still doing GREAT!

 

@ Bama I've never had this algae grow in that tank for as long as its been up so thats the wierd part. I do have kelp on one rock that comes and goes though.

 

Bama halimeda is a calcareous and will not be eaten.

 

you ARE calcareous and will not be eaten!!!

 

I had that stuff growing on my LR years back, then I took down my tank and dried out all the rock. Rock been sitting dry in my shed for ~3 yrs before I setup my current system where I re-used the rock....halimeda started growing again. I usually pull it out and throw it in my fuge but now my fuge is loaded with this stuff too.

 

Maybe some of the spores were in the shells of the CUC you ordered? I've been seeing several posts lately with things that mysteriously come back from limbo... who knows... life will always find a way.

 

one of y rocks randomly started growing caulerpa it consumed the rock and the right side of my reef lol. that was fun to get out.... not. now it resides in my 55 FO that is void of life.