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Help me identify this beautiful green grass/algae?

Regan

Regan

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Hi all,
Hope you guys are well.
Can anyone experienced help me identify the green grass/algae in my tank.
I first noticed them after 2 weeks of my tank set up. They wouldn't even flinch with a tooth brush.
They are on my wood and my anubias stem. They were also on a single grain of ADA Amazonia. (Like a mini grass planet)
I also have a little amount of black bear algae and it looks totally different than this green one.
My tank is now 2-3 months old
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Thanks in advance.
 
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That is a filamentous algae, and more specifically it's called Oedogonium. At least, that's my assessment. It is different than the more common hair algae we often see which grows longer and does anchor itself to plants or hardscape. If you want it removed, Oedogonium needs to be treated either chemically since it's well anchored. Amanos will also eat it.
 
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Hi all,
Welcome to UKAPS. Plant health looks good.

I going to start by saying I really like your algae, <"and it is beautiful">, but I appreciate that not every-one <"will see it like that">.
Regan said:
Can anyone experienced help me identify the green grass/algae in my tank.
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You would really need to take a small section and place it under a microscope for a definitive ID, the <"degree of branching and the shape of the chloroplast"> are the factors that allow you to differentiate between them. Looking at yours, it looks branched?

Control of green algae is difficult because they share the <"same basic physiology"> with all <"the higher plants">, so shrimps and/or snails are probably you best option.

cheers Darrel
 
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Thank you all for your positive replies.
I guess I will keep the algae as it really looks beautiful. I have around 3 x amano shrimp and 13 x cherry shrimp. They love to graze in the algae.
I was just worried that it might be a bad algae.
I managed to get some microscopic pictures with 250 magnification.

Hope this helps.
 

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My guess would be some kind of Stigeoclonium species based on those pointed end cells. This site gives some diagnostic features that seem to fit pretty well: "Branched filamentous chlorophyte with branches ending in pointed cells. Branches are one cell thick, and subbranches are similar width; there is no substantially wider main stem (cf. Draparnaldia). Non-terminal cells are usually cylindrical, but may be barrel-shaped (a mixture may occur in the same material). Each cell contains a single green chloroplast, which is a parietal band (cf. Cladophora). Filaments are not embedded in mucilage (cf. Chaetophora). There is a prostrate basal system of filaments that provides attachment to the bed." They also appear to be reasonably common and prefer waters with decent nutrient levels.

In any case, a very pretty algae, and if it turned up in one of my tanks I would definitely try to keep it.
 
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