Green leafy ID please. Friend or foe?
 

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/l...9_143258-1.jpg

It is only on one, small piece of liverock that my flowerpot came attached to.

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/l...209_143335.jpg

A closeup shot.

Any suggestions or ideas on its identification would be greatly appreciated.

macro algae
 

looks like caupillera

Which IMO in a display tank is foe. Pick it off.

But wouldn't it be a nutrient sink?

It would be a nutrient sink but if it suddenly dies all those nutrients a released back into the water.So i would keep it well trimmed.

so is aiptasia:P

and pulsing xenia!

are those leaf blades connected to each other via a long rhizome like stem? If not, it's probably not caulerpa. It looks almost like baby blades of Ulva lettuce algae, but there's probably a half dozen other species it could be.

Well said, I was going to respond with yup its algae :razz:.

Macro algae is a tough subject in reef tanks, generally they are kept in the refugium as they can grow rampant and over take most of your coral. I personally remove anything that's leafy and green, tweezers or a H2O2 dip will work very well.

Yup, and they have a root like structure on the bottom of that rock that goes into the sand. It just started growing this past week, so I'm not sure if it has released spores yet. I best get on it before it spreads.

The difficulty is that my flowerpot grows out of this rock and is very finicky about being touched. I don't know how well it would take to a dip, besides I don't think a dip would get all the rhizomes. Maybe an injection of lemon juice or vinegar?