Caulerpa serrulata going sexual

[shista]

okay so i have had caulerpa in my main tank for a while now,, and today i realized small tentacle type things on it... I searched up and found out that it was going sexual... so i immediatly removed it but i am not sure if it released 'eggs' or if my sand went all over the tank... Is it possible for that to happen just from pulling it out? or could it only happen when its time for it to release?

 

[michaeltx]

if it went completely sexual your water would be milky and tests would be off the charts. when it goes sexual it releases everything back into the water column that it has scrubbed out.
keep an eye it for a few days and have water change water available just in case usually prunning will keep it from going sexual if you got it in time
mike

 

[snakeblitz33]

What he said. lol

 

[btldreef]

It also depends on the specific variety of caulerpa, and how much of it you have. Saxman and I were speaking about caulerpa. He actually let it go sexual in one of his tanks, and it didn't do a darn thing. I have had a handful size clump of caulerpa prolifera in a 20G go sexual and nothing happened.

 

[shista]

it was serrulata caulerpa, and i removed all of it.. i had a pretty good amount, like about a basketball size ball after i took it out. my water doesnt look milky and parameters are all good.. i guess it was just the sand from ripping it out... from now and on only cheato!

 

[saxman]

Actually, actively-growing macro can have whitish tips (esp. the new stolons). Unless the fronds are going white, the stuff was likely just growing.
If you had a lot of the stuff growing and ripped it all out, you're gonna need to make up for it with more WC's and really watch your nutrient input, as you've just removed a large part of your filtration. What typically happens is you get a serious algae bloom. If it was a little bit of macro, not so much of a worry.
Think of it as removing any part of your biofiltration system...if you remove it, the tank has to catch up.