RECENT DISCOVERY OF NEW PLANTS ON LR

[JDSmith]

I have recently discovered about four plants sprouting on my lr. They look similar to a Poincettia.(Christmas flower). Hope that helps in id. Does anyone know anything about this plant? They look good growing on the reef.

 

[The Kapenta Kid]

If they are bright red like a poinsettia are you sure they ain't fan worms rather than plants?

 

[Trogdor]

is it possible to drop a pic here? A photo will help greatly to id something.

 

[JDSmith]

PLANT ID

I'm sorry, I was describing the shape of the plant. I didn't mean the color. The plant is green.

 

[The Kapenta Kid]

Some kind of Halimeda perhaps?

 

[JDSmith]

PLANT ID

Thanks for the info, but from what I found on Halimeda, none of the pictures matched what I have. The leaves are long narrow spikes with jagged margins.

 

[JDSmith]

PLANT ID

I think that I have discovered the identity of the plants growing on my lr. I think that I have a crop of Sargassum in the beginning stages. Has anyone experienced any problems allowing these to grow in their tank?

 

[The Kapenta Kid]

I have it growing in my tanks. It is usually brown IME, but it has never caused any problems. A slowish grower and easy to prune if it grows too much.

 

[JDSmith]

PLANT ID

Yes, it is really a brownish green in color. How big does it get? It seems to be growing rather fast.

 

[The Kapenta Kid]

I couldn't say how big it gets since I have not had my tanks for long enough, but it seems to me that it can easily be cut back if necessary. Remember, if it grows fast and you have to prune it, this is an excellent way of exporting unwanted nutrient such as nitrates and phosphates from the tank.
When I was researching what it was I found a lot of references to it in tanks by googling around.