Pruning Neomeris

[Dizzle63]

Is there anything that will eat this? I have a friend that has this in plague proportions. It seems to not like hight nutrients as opposed to other algaes. Any thoughts?

[micstarz]

Manatees.

[sbcaes]

give me some! =)

[Mentat]

Aquarium algae predators won't normally eat Neomeris because it produces a toxin; terpene. Once it becomes a problem, it's not that easy to get rid off the cute little "green worms."

A combination of mechanical removal, dark photoperiods, and a refugium with Chaetomorpha (to compete with it) might help controling it.

[Plantbrain]

I picked it clean in a 400 Gallon reef once, never came back.
Took awhile.

It was a SPS tank, so high light, good care was done etc, he just let it get way out of hand.

Attack it before it gets too out of hand.
Nothing eats it I know of, but I have not tried many critters that are reef friendly. It attached in shallow areas with high current and waves, high light etc in natural systems.

But...it is seasonal, if you changed the temp or had some changes recently, added some new rock etc, that might have induced it's spores to germinate and then settle and grow.

So if you pick it off, keep things stable, it's not likely it will come back.
It's also removing KH/Ca right now that your corals want etc, so get rid of it. Some macro algae can really remove high rates of KH/Ca.

Regards,
Tom Barr

[Dizzle63]

He said that this is the second time it has done this in his tank. He has a 240 set up and it has already been torn down once due to the neomeris. He said that running his skimmer and cleaning his water actually spurs this algae on more. He prunes it completely, and it just keeps coming back. He thinks that it may actually like cleaner water. What I proposed was to add more fish to his tank. He only has ten small fish and two yellow tangs in the tank. His total system is 400 gallons. As for high light, it will actually grow under rocks all the way up to right under the halides, so that is also not an option. I know it is frustrating him, and it hurts my eyes just to look at it :)

[acurro]

I found that I had alot of them in my old 90 at one time but they eventually got pushed out. Halimeda took over then died too. I believe the term of art is "secondary succession."

I believe if they are growing the water quality is quite high. I would leave them alone. Can you post a picture of the tank?

[Dizzle63]

Sorry, I don't have a picture nor the ability to get one at the moment. It will cover up just about everything in the tank. The water quality is high, but I think that is what is allowing them to grow so prolifically. As mentioned by Mentat, the chemical substances that this algae produces will not allow other algaes or corals to grow as well as in other tanks. The tank has been set up for three years and he also has halimeda and caulerpa in the tank, but not to the same degree. It still seems to be spreading, so not sure what is the best way for him to go on this.