Can you help id a few things for us?

[themartins]

1.) The rock that the lawnmower blenny is on has this growing on it: it's very soft textured, velvetly, and almost carpet like feel to it. We have this on a couple of other rocks as well.

2.) This pod looks different from the other pods that we've seen thus far. Do you know what it is?

3. The rock with the featherduster: There are tufts of purple (looks similar to hair algae) growing on it. Is there such a thing as purple hair algae or is it something different?

4. Zoa frag. : There is something in the forefront that looks like a tightly closed tiny clam. Is it part of the coral?

5.) zoa frag. : Are the 2 "horns" part of the coral or something different?

 

[AquaRick]

From top left going clockwise:

1) Cyano bacteria. Scrape it off\remove it and siphon it out.
2) Looks like coraline (pink stuff) with more cyano starting to grow around it
3) The two horns look like juvenile zoas reaching for light. Actually all of them look like they're reaching for light. What kind of lighting do you have? Is the clam you mentioned right on the frag plug?
4) Maybe a small isopod? Not sure on this...i just lump them all into the "pod" group regardless of species.

Either way what are you water readings? How often and how much do you feed? Seems like you have a pretty decent outbreak of cyano. Regular PWCs, siphoning, and reducing your feeding schedule will help.

 

[themartins]

Lighting: Coralife 4 bulb t5 fixture with 2 moon LED's - the fixture was purchased new last fall.

The carpety stuff doesn't scrape off easily. I thought cyano was more like a slimey algae? What would you suggest we use to scrape it off?

Yes, the clam is right on the plug along with the zoas. If it is a clam - I suspect we'll need more light to get it to open, is this correct?

Is the isopod ok? - I know some can be problems.

Water chemistry is great.
ammonia 0
nitrites 0
nitrates maybe 10
ph 8.1
calcium 500

I feed 3 - 4 times per week and do weekly 25% water changes.

 

[Fishy Aston]

Leave nature to be.

 

[AquaRick]

Lights look fine. Feeding schedule looks good. If it's not easy to remove than probably not cyano. Could be cotton candy algae\red turf algae, a pest:
Patience by Sandra Shoup - Reefkeeping.com
or A.Taxiformis, a seaweed:
Asparagopsis taxiformis (Delile) Trevisan de Saint-Léon :: Algaebase


As for the clam, it may not be alive. Have you ever seen it open? When not enough light is present, the mantle still spreads out trying to receive what it can.

The pod looks fine. Very few species are carnivorous. Keep an eye on it and your fish.

 

[AquaRick]

On 2nd look, it looks more like red turf. Mexican turbo snails are known to eat that type of algae.

 

[themartins]

No, we've never seen the clam open. Would a protein skimmer or fuge help with the pest algae issues? If so, which would you recommend for a 38 gal. tank?

 

[AquaRick]

If you haven't seen the clam open, odds are it's already gone. A protein skimmer will definitely help your tank and remove proteins before they decompose into ammonia; but it's not going to help your current situation with your algae.

Do you have a sump with your tank? If so you can get an insump Protein skimmer. If no sump, a HOB will work well. I like Reef Octopus skimmers myself.
Reef Octopus Protein Skimmer | Bulk Reef Supply - English

 

[themartins]

The tufts look like the red turf algae that you mentioned. The lawnmower blenny picks at it sometimes. I'll see if we can get some Mexican Turbo snails, though. Thank you for the help in id for that so we can work removing it. I'm able to brush it off with a toothbrush.

The rock by the blenny has something different, though. Maybe it's harder to see in pictures, but it is a fairly dense, close to the rock covering, and velvetly soft/smooth to the touch - it's super adhered to the rock, not sure how I would scrape it off, except maybe with a knife.

How can we tell if the clam is dead or alive?

 

[AquaRick]

TBH, if it's never opened, it's not alive.