Caulerpa

[nikolai]

Hi guys,
I have a 55g reef tank with 2 clownfish, 2 green chromis, and a few mushrooms (also 20lb of live rock... getting more soon!). I got caulerpa yesterday, and it's now in my tank. I have heard from a few places that caulerpa shoudn't be placed in the tank...... should I keep the caulerpa or get rid of it?

 

[maurice]

Some caulerpa will take over your tank if you don't have something in the tank such as a tang to keep it under control.If you have a sump i would place it in there with a 24/7 light source.

 

[danedodger]

Ack get it out get it out get it out!!!!!! Some hobbyists have had their entire tanks nuked by this darn plant! For safety you need to have it lit 24/7s. Read this article for more info: http://www.LINK VIOLATION
Spaghetti algae (cheeto) is much safer.
Sorry but links of that nature are not allowed.

 

[nm reef]

DaneDodger.....very good source of info....I read thru it on a regular basis myself....but policy here does not allow links to that site. I hope you can understand...its not personal....just site policy.
There is a ton of info available on the risks involved with allowing caulerpa to grow unchecked in a display.....as mentioned it can quickly overrun a display and can be very difficult to remove/control.
In most situations it may be better to grow/harvest caulerpa's in a refugium type setting where it can be isolated from the display and easier to control.

 

[nikolai]

But if I don't mind it growing and getting rid of of excess Caulerpa, it should be ok NM Reef? If DaneDodger is right.... I will get it out immediately but I'm not sure if he's right.

 

[nikolai]

Originally Posted by nikolai
But if I don't mind it growing and getting rid of of excess Caulerpa, it should be ok NM Reef? If DaneDodger is right.... I will get it out immediately but I'm not sure if he's right.
*bump*
So should I get rid of the Caulerpa or no?

 

[nikolai]

Originally Posted by nikolai
*bump*
So should I get rid of the Caulerpa or no?
..... *bump*
I really need to know this.... I don't want my entire tank to crash.

 

[bang guy]

It's not going to crash your tank.
It's up to you if you want to keep it given the pros & cons of Caulerpa in a reef tank. I would suggest not keeping it.

 

[mudplayerx]

Caulerpa is NOT poisonous. This is an old wives tale. When sporulation occurs, the little flagellated reproductive cells use oxygen to fuel their movement. If you don't prune your caulerpa regularily then theoretically you can have so much sporulation at once that all of the oxygen is used in the water and everything suffocates.
This scenario is pretty much impossible to happen in a fish tank unless you went into a coma or something and didn't trim your caulerpa for around a month straight.

However, as was said, caulerpa racemosa grows like a weed fed with fertilizer. It can become very aggrivating having to prune it every day. Just prune off the translucent parts every night and it won't hurt your tank. In fact, it will help to keep your nitrates at zero.
ps- The belief that caulerpa is poisonous may arise from the fact that the plants can release trace amounts of alkaloids. However, you would probably need to put 20 pounds of the plant into a blender to get enough alkaloids to poison anything.

 

[chipmaker]

I use caulerpa in my fuge. I have three different types and its not an overly hard chore to trim it periodically. ANy I prune off I carry to my lfs who gives me store credit for it, as its in demand from tang owners and he can not keep enough in stock...........I would like to keep some chaeto, but have been unsucessful in finding any....Anyone have any sources to buy chaeto at?

 

[salisbury a d]

The first few years I had my tank it grew on its own from the rocks and it never got out of hand. Maybe once a week i ripped some out. Then for no reason at all, all of it died and i havent seen any since. I think it was around the time that i switched salts that it died. Anyway, I'd say keep it. I liked the look of it and my blenny liked to sit in it.
Adam

 

[danedodger]

Sorry, NM!!! I thought that link would be ok since it wasn't selling anything.
As for the original post I've had several people who had problems when their caulerpa went sexual. Since there are viable alternatives I just say why take any chance at all? But then I'm not much of a risk taker when it comes to my pets either.

 

[snailheave]

it grows on rocks which is annoying to me