# purple algae question



## MikeyB5788

i have abundant purple algae growing in my cichlid aquarium, it is a red purple color and it looks like velvet. it covers basically everything except the front glass which i keep clean. it isnt cyanobacteria and i dont think it is black beard?brush algae because it doesnt grow in clumps, could be in the same family though. it starts off a bright purple film then grows soft looking and water movement makes it sway like a field of grass slightly, it has very short filaments and my mbuna love to graze in it. the pictures dont do the color justice, it is a brighter red/purple. more purple. my water is alkaline and hard. i dont mind the algae i actually like it but wanted to know more about it. any info would be appreciated.


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## DJRansome

It will grow longer...I'd take steps to keep it under control.


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## MikeyB5788

looks just like this algae i found online that someone else has, but people cant seem to identify it.


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## MikeyB5788

DJRansome said:


> It will grow longer...I'd take steps to keep it under control.


*** had it for about a year now, where the fish cant get to it it is still very short maybe an 8th of an inch. the cichlids love to eat it and i dont mind having it in the tank because of the color. its probably good for them since they are algea eaters, it almost makes my rocks look like live rock


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## MikeyB5788

where my cichlids graze alot on the purple algae it gives the rock an interesting look almost like live rock in my opinion.


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## CrypticLifeStyle

Looks like cyanobacteria to me. I would definitely take a broad scope of water tests. Not a good sign


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## smitty814

I had the same algae. Almost like a red hair algae. I purchased some nerite snails and they ate all of it.


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## MikeyB5788

CrypticLifeStyle said:


> Looks like cyanobacteria to me. I would definitely take a broad scope of water tests. Not a good sign


its definitely not cyanobacteria, i know the difference, this stuff isnt easy to remove doesnt smell and has all the characteristics of algae, i know its a type of red algae just dont know what species. my water is very healthy and i think this algae plays a very important role at keeping my nitrates and ammonia down


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## MikeyB5788

smitty814 said:


> I had the same algae. Almost like a red hair algae. I purchased some nerite snails and they ate all of it.


yeah i was thinking about getting snails but i grew to love the algae as weird as that sounds. my cichlids keep it in check


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## CrypticLifeStyle

So no one on plantedtank knew either huh? Very odd. Is yours originating from any wood too?


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## b3w4r3

I would say it's a type of beard or brush algae. Here's an article that seems to describe what you have http://www.thekrib.com/Plants/Algae/red-algae.html


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## MikeyB5788

CrypticLifeStyle said:


> So no one on plantedtank knew either huh? Very odd. Is yours originating from any wood too?


nope, and no i dont have any wood in my tank. i have added rocks from nature though and also added a piece of coral i found on a hawaiian beach but i dont think marine algae could survive in freshwater even though my water perameters match the ocean other than salinity


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## MikeyB5788

b3w4r3 said:


> I would say it's a type of beard or brush algae. Here's an article that seems to describe what you have http://www.thekrib.com/Plants/Algae/red-algae.html


yeah thats what i was thinking, its must be a type of brush algae, just not one that is as common as the regular black beard and brush algae. it grows in mats not clumps, even though my fish eat it and make it look like its in clumps sometimes


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## CrypticLifeStyle

MikeyB5788 said:


> CrypticLifeStyle said:
> 
> 
> 
> So no one on plantedtank knew either huh? Very odd. Is yours originating from any wood too?
> 
> 
> 
> nope, and no i dont have any wood in my tank. i have added rocks from nature though and also added a piece of coral i found on a hawaiian beach but i dont think marine algae could survive in freshwater even though my water perameters match the ocean other than salinity
Click to expand...

Well you pointed out another theory right there. There is known cases of coralline algae surviving in freshwater tanks.


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## MikeyB5788

CrypticLifeStyle said:


> MikeyB5788 said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> CrypticLifeStyle said:
> 
> 
> 
> So no one on plantedtank knew either huh? Very odd. Is yours originating from any wood too?
> 
> 
> 
> nope, and no i dont have any wood in my tank. i have added rocks from nature though and also added a piece of coral i found on a hawaiian beach but i dont think marine algae could survive in freshwater even though my water perameters match the ocean other than salinity
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> Well you pointed out another theory right there. There is known cases of coralline algae surviving in freshwater tanks.
Click to expand...

parts of it do look alot like coralline, like a darker purple coralline. If someone saw my rocks and didnt know they were in a freshwater tank they would think it was marine. im sure my 10,000k, 50/50, actinic, and par38 white and blue marine leds help promote its growth


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## b3w4r3

It's not coralline algae. Coralline doesn't have any type of filament growth, it's a calcareous encrusting algae much like rock. I have had it in pink, purple, red, and shades of blue in my old reef. If you look at this linked pic you can see the same type of red brush algae growing on the glass. I had to scrape this stuff off with a razor, and even then it was tough. Still have a lot of scratches on the glass from those days.

http://www.freeimagehosting.net/g9dpu


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## MikeyB5788

b3w4r3 said:


> It's not coralline algae. Coralline doesn't have any type of filament growth, it's a calcareous encrusting algae much like rock. I have had it in pink, purple, red, and shades of blue in my old reef. If you look at this linked pic you can see the same type of red brush algae growing on the glass. I had to scrape this stuff off with a razor, and even then it was tough. Still have a lot of scratches on the glass from those days.
> 
> http://www.freeimagehosting.net/g9dpu


gorgeous tank, and yeah it looks alot like the purple algae on the side glass on the right of that tank, just a little less pink


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## b3w4r3

It does look pretty in your tank. Do you think it might have come from a LFS where you buy plants or fish?


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## MikeyB5788

my camera on my phone is **** so kind of hard to see detail and color, but this used to be a normal gray piece of slate, now its covered in red, purple and green algae


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## MikeyB5788

b3w4r3 said:


> It does look pretty in your tank. Do you think it might have come from a LFS where you buy plants or fish?


it could have came from a fish store, i didnt see it in their tanks though, maybe a little bit. im going to have to go back to eddies aquarium and scope out their tanks now, haha


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## MikeyB5788




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## CrypticLifeStyle

I dunno. If it isn't coraline then any research I've done trying to figure this out myself is only pointing to diatoms or cyanobacteria.


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## Yael

I dunno what it is but I want some. I'd love to have that growing on rocks in my tank.


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## MikeyB5788

CrypticLifeStyle said:


> I dunno. If it isn't coraline then any research I've done trying to figure this out myself is only pointing to diatoms or cyanobacteria.


cyano is easy to remove and doesnt adhere to hard surfaces, this stuff is hard to remove, its prob in the same family as the black brush/beard algae but just a less common short form of the red algae, and better looking


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## anthraxx4200

i like it myself. my fish seem to graze it off the back glass panel, (my labeotropheous fuelleborni seem to love grazing the rocks) i also like how it will blend the rocks together and make it more of a solid reef look. if the nitrates get out of control it can also turn to green algae but it will go away as soon as you get it back in control :*(. my fry seem to do better in algae ridden tanks


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## DrgRcr

I get this on the rocks in all of my tanks. It's never had an adverse affects on any of them, and the fish seem to have no problems munching on it. If you really want it cleaned off, a bristlenose pleco will do the trick. In my big mbuna tank, I leave it alone as I like the look. In others where no one eats it, I move the pleco around and it is gone in a day or two!


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## MikeyB5788

i don't think i could have enough of it, haha, the more the merrier. my fish devour it. i have a rainbow shark in with my africans and all he does is graze on it all day. hes my version of a pleco


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## Nightnday

I have the same algae, purple mixed with green, my mbuna love grazing the purple more then the green. I have had this algae for well over a year and never lost any cichlids, but i know i didnt get this algae untill i ugraded my lighting from a double bright led, to a aquaticlife t5 ho dual light fixture 10,000k actinic. My algae went from a dull green, to a deep rich green, then certain spots turned a reddish purple ( but more purple), and now just maintains a rich green purple mixture, I dont mind it at all since i love the natural look and my cichlids love it but i'm positive the more powerful light set up encourages the growth of this type of algae. 
BTW love the tank, beautiful natural look


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## WS61998

what about this one? do i have to worry about it? not trying to steal your thread i just though i might ask.


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## jcarson

I am pretty sure this is called brush algae, usually growing on plants then when you get em in your tank they will populate. 
I know a few fishkeepers who say their mbuna love it. Im not sure of adverse or negative affects but in some cases it can be beautiful.


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## jcarson

WS61998 said:


> what about this one? do i have to worry about it? not trying to steal your thread i just though i might ask.


BEAUTIFUL!
I strive for algae like that.


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## toxicmegakitten

Its amazing how pouring a little flourish excel on it during a water change kills it almost instantly.


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