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Java Moss vs. Algae




I know this may sound like a really dumb question, but can Java Moss resemble algae? 
I have this algae in my tank, that nothing in there seems to be eating, but I began
to wonder if it was really algae, when I pulled some up.  It felt and looked (I
didn't try tasting it, yuck!) just like Java Moss.  I had java moss in my 75G tank
for a while, but after it began taking over, I removed it and put it in a different
tank (29G).  The problem was that the power head was blowing little bits of it all
over and pulling strands across the tank, so that it tangled in other plants.  The
smaller tank doesn't have the same current flow, so now it all stays in a big ball at
one side.  It was never really all that bad, but now I am finding little bits of this
stuff growing in odd corners and niches in the 75G.  How resilient is java moss? 
Will it take fragmentation and still keep coming back?  Am I being visited by the
dreaded hair/strand algae?  The algae/moss seems to come in two forms, one has
shorter strands (maybe half inch to inch) that attach to stuff like wood/gravel, or
just kind of grow in a little clump. The stuff is course and comes up in a clump when
you pull on it.  The other variety is really soft, silky and long and also comes up
in a clump when you pull on it, but stays together better than the other stuff.  I
took a better look at the java moss ball in the 29G tank and it seems to have a
mixture of the two different kinds of threads, just like the two different kinds I am
seeing in the 75G tank.  Did I end up buying java moss and thread algae conveniently
mixed together?  

As far as algae eaters in the tank, I have 6 adult SAEs, 1 baby SAE, 5 Ottos, and 1
gold nugget pleco in the tank.  There doesn't appear to be a lot of algae in the
tank, except for the hair stuff, so I think they fish are doing the job so far.  I
have noticed the SAEs feeding pretty heavily on the fish food that I add for the
other fish, so I am not sure they are eating algae at all, or are just really
hungry.  Do SAEs and ottos eat java moss?

Tank: 75G, heavily planted
Lighting: 2 150 watt halogen bulbs: shop light
Current: Fair amount, output of 2228 Prof. Eheim filter and 1 powerhead
CO2 bottled gas injection to an aqualine reactor
Nitrates/Nitrites: undetectable
PH: 7.1
GH: 4
KH: 8
Other stuff: no test kits

Thank you for any help in figuring out what this stuff is.  I guess if it is thread
algae, I give the SAEs a swift kick in the rear and start monitoring water parameters
a bit better and tackling that problem.  If this is java moss that just needs to be
deported out of there, I will physically hunt it down and remove it.  I don't want to
do the drastic measures people employ with thread algae, until I am certain that
there is a problem.  Actually, it really isn't too pervasive, so maybe I will just
let it live and prosper along with the plants.  Who ever said algae is all that bad?

Jennifer Glover
(equal opportunity photosynthesizing organism habitator)