Plant ID please
 

I don't pay much attention to my tank because it is just holding my LR until my 120 is setup. But I opened the garage door this morning so some sunlight can shine on it and noticed some funny algae growth this morning. My camera is just aweful at macro shots, but I've posted pics anyways.

Color is dark pink, similar to coraline algae color.
Size of each 'tuft' is just a couple milimeters
I have only noticed them on this one nub of one of my rocks. They cover about a 1" square area. The rocks get sporadic lighting (when I remember to turn them on/off). Probably lighted for 8-24 hours several times a week. The growth in question is located on the side of the tank, so light exposure would be very low. The tank only gets fed Tahitian Blend once a week, so PO4 should be near nil, but I haven't tested it yet. If necessary I'll run all the tests if it will help.

[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v213/bored4long/Picture085.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v213/bored4long/Picture084.jpg[/IMG]

Full Res photo (not any better than the above:
[url]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v213/bored4long/Picture088.jpg[/url]

Is it hard, or soft? If it's hard it could be a type of coral but i don't remember the name, it used to be really common on live rock, but i haven't seen it in a long time. If its soft it coulb be sponge. Obviously a clearer pic would help. I have some similar to what you're describing that changes shape during the day. Pretty cool stuff, but don't expose it to the air or it may die.

If it's hard and kind of spikey, it's probably a foraminiferan. I believe it's a single celled animal?

If you could get some better photos, I would recommend posting on the macroalgae & marine plant forum:
[url]http://reefcentral.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=30&forumid=176[/url]

I won't be able to get better pictures with my camera. I might be able to borrow a better one.

The growth is difficult to reach because its up against the tank down low, but I tried touching it with my plastic grabber and they seem to be hard and also seem to have a slime coat on them. When I touch them with the grabber, they tips just break off and float away with some slime.

[QUOTE][i]<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11390469#post11390469 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Mikey Donuts [/i]
[B]If it's hard and kind of spikey, it's probably a foraminiferan. I believe it's a single celled animal? [/B][/QUOTE]

That's what they look like to me as well :)

I hope it isn't this:
[url]http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=745530[/url]