any idea what this is???

[Magnum Man28 142]

is it a form or type of red algae, black beard, mulm, or something else??? it’s in a very high flow area of the tank, ( this piece is literally in the bubble waterfall, just outside the filter discharge ) and it’s growing on mopani wood, it’s in clumps of sorts, it waves like hair algae, in the current of the water fliow, is almost an exact match to the color of the wood, it’s in an area of medium light, in my soft water African tank… the fish don’t seem bothered by it, but also don’t appear to graze on it… it’s only on the wood, none on the substrate, glass, or the resin hollow log…

and there is little to none of it on the other piece of driftwood on the other side, in calmer waters

 

[Magnum Man28 142]

another quandary, same tank… this came as a butterfly cichlid ( Anomalochromis thomasi ), is it a stressed color pattern, or a unknown fish shipped with the juvinal thomasi??? or ??? the other 2 thomasi are heavily vertically striped this one just has dots…

 

[Magnum Man28 142]

I’m not sure if the 1st picture is an algae / plant, or a fungus, that’s pulling color from the wood??? if so, that would imply it’s parasitic, and feeding on the wood, rather than getting it’s energy from the light???

2nd picture, may just be a Juvenal pattern??? as one of the others has the same dots, but is partially obscured by the stripes???

 

[Mr Limpet6 15]

another quandary, same tank… this came as a butterfly cichlid ( Anomalochromis thomasi ), is it a stressed color pattern, or a unknown fish shipped with the juvinal thomasi??? or ??? the other 2 thomasi are heavily vertically striped this one just has dots…
View attachment 384923

It’s a thomasi. Their coloration can vary with their mood.