caulerpa

[alix2.0]

i was wondering about caulerpa. i know everyone says NEVER to use it because it WILL go sexual and nuke your tank. but i was wondering about peoples real experiences with it, not just regurgitated information. i realize that keeping it may not be worth the risk, especially in a tank that youve spent tousands on to keep alive, but i just wanted to know exactly whats goin down, and how much of a risk there really is.
what can cause caulerpa to go sexual? or is it spontaneous?
if youhave ever kept caulerpa, how long did you have it, how did you care for it, such as pruning and harvesting, and did you have any problems with it?
would you ever reccommend someone keeping caulerpa, as long as proper care is taken, and explain your definition of proper care.
what happens when caulerpa dies?
is there a way to save your tank if caulerpa does go sexual?
how do you know that caulerpa has, is going, or will go sexual?
is it possible that caulerpa can go sexual and not affect the tank in a significant way?
thanks, and sorry about all the questions.

 

[spanko]

IME with Caulerpa it has never gone sexula. But it has overrun the tank and I do mean overrun. There is now way to keep that part of it under control because as you pull it out it grows back worse. This is because the runners leave small holdfasts in the rock that do not come out when you harvest it. And each runner can and does have multiple holdfasts where new runners grow from.
Do a google search on Caulerpa and read some of the horror stories about it in the ocean off the coast of California and Europe. Bad stuff, best to avoid it IMO.

 

[sueandherzoo]

I have some in my 55 gallon FOWLR because I bought the entire system used and the caulerpa was on the live rock. I actually don't mind it (yet) because I kinda like the look of a green, planted tank (that one is a FOWLR) and when I'm in the tank putzing I just rip off any pieces that look like they are getting too big and hiding nice rockwork. And supposedly the yellow tangs love it so maybe my tang is keeping it under control. I've also placed a few of the pieces I've ripped off in my seahorse tank and I like the look, but I won't put any in my new reef tank. So far, no horror stories to tell about the stuff.
Sue

 

[auroradrvr]

Never gone sexual and never over run the DT. A much better nutrient exporter (Suction Cup & Feather) than Chaeto, IME.

 

[tang4me]

IMO caulerpa gets a bad rap. Especially, in a 75G or less. It's very easy to manage in smaller tanks. In a larger tank I could understand how it could be a pain to manage if you didn't have a tang. I think it looks very natural in a SW tank. I keep it one spot in my tanks. You can either seed it on a rock or buy a rock with it already attached. You just have to trim it. I like to adjust it so it only grows upward. It's very easy. All you do is move the runners anchors so they attached to each other. Once it gets going it will keep growing upward and automatically keep attaching to each other. Then just clip any lower vines trying to spread out. No big deal. Then you just grab and cut it off when you need to trim it down. My fish love to swim through it. I adjusted it one time so it basically grew into a ball a couple of inches above the rock it was attached to. My flame hawk would perch in it. It was neat to watch him sit in it as it moved with the flow of the tank.
When you trim it pieces may get away from you and land on another rock. Like I said in a smaller tank it is easy just to reach in and pull it off. I've had it for years and never encountered a sexual event. That's way overrated.

 

[kwpgrooming]

I had caulerpa on a coral I bought. For the last year I have been fighting it. It has taken over my tank. I even took out all the rock & cooked it for 3 months in the dark. It all look gone but within a few weeks it started to grow again. All over the rocks again. I have a tang. It doesn't touch it. Chokes out coral. It may make me give up this hobby.

 

[scopus tang]

Originally Posted by alix2.0
http:///forum/post/2898982
i was wondering about caulerpa. i know everyone says NEVER to use it because it WILL go sexual and nuke your tank. but i was wondering about peoples real experiences with it, not just regurgitated information. i realize that keeping it may not be worth the risk, especially in a tank that youve spent tousands on to keep alive, but i just wanted to know exactly whats goin down, and how much of a risk there really is.
what can cause caulerpa to go sexual? or is it spontaneous?
if youhave ever kept caulerpa, how long did you have it, how did you care for it, such as pruning and harvesting, and did you have any problems with it?
would you ever reccommend someone keeping caulerpa, as long as proper care is taken, and explain your definition of proper care.
what happens when caulerpa dies?
is there a way to save your tank if caulerpa does go sexual?
how do you know that caulerpa has, is going, or will go sexual?
is it possible that caulerpa can go sexual and not affect the tank in a significant way?
thanks, and sorry about all the questions.
Lots of Questions alix2.0; I would've thought you'd been on the boards long enough to know most these answers. I've had caulerpa twice in the past. The first time was the feather leaf variety - came in on a internet order as a free marine plant sample. Introduced it into a tank, and as the others said, it went absolutely crazy - grew everywhere and chocked out everything else. I would rip it out by the handful and fill entire wastebaskets with it, and you still couldn't get rid of it. No matter how carefully you pull it out (harvest it), you never ever get it all as Spanko said. It went sexual on me and finally all that was alive in the tank was caulerpa. I tore the system down because of it.
Second variety was the grape - got it on some used live rock, guy who had it said, "kept it for years, never had a problem, just pull some out everytime you get into the tank to keep it under control. Started out pretty nice, as others said, I really like the green contrast with everything else. Thought "wow that makes the tank look so much more "natural.""

I pulled it out on a regular basis; following book directions, carefully removing it - attempting to pull up an entire rhizome at a time, etc. But everytime you pull it out, small pieces would escape - float around and end up plugging up your pumps and powerheads. I was constantly have to clean them out - pain in the butt! And the stuff kept growing - pretty soon is was plugging intake hoses - cutting off the water flow to the chiller and the filters. Then one morning I walked into this . . .

Pea Soup Green, couldn't see a thing! Remember this thread?
https://www.saltwaterfish.com/vb/showthread.php?t=317670
Yeah, carbon and filter floss for 24 hours. Only lost one fish and saved all the coral, but guess what? The caulerpa came back with a vengence

. I personally think the reason it when sexual was because it plugged up the chiller intake and the tank got warm, but I don't know that for sure. Best advice I can give - never ever put any of that stuff in a display tank! Maybe a sump, but never a DT.

 

[scopus tang]

Originally Posted by alix2.0 http:///forum/post/2898982
i was wondering about caulerpa. i know everyone says NEVER to use it because it WILL go sexual and nuke your tank. but i was wondering about peoples real experiences with it, not just regurgitated information. i realize that keeping it may not be worth the risk, especially in a tank that youve spent tousands on to keep alive, but i just wanted to know exactly whats goin down, and how much of a risk there really is.
what can cause caulerpa to go sexual? or is it spontaneous?
if youhave ever kept caulerpa, how long did you have it, how did you care for it, such as pruning and harvesting, and did you have any problems with it?
would you ever reccommend someone keeping caulerpa, as long as proper care is taken, and explain your definition of proper care.
what happens when caulerpa dies?
is there a way to save your tank if caulerpa does go sexual?
how do you know that caulerpa has, is going, or will go sexual?
is it possible that caulerpa can go sexual and not affect the tank in a significant way?
thanks, and sorry about all the questions.
Lots of Questions alix2.0; I would've thought you'd been on the boards long enough to know most these answers. I've had caulerpa twice in the past. The first time was the feather leaf variety - came in on a internet order as a free marine plant sample. Introduced it into a tank, and as the others said, it went absolutely crazy - grew everywhere and chocked out everything else. I would rip it out by the handful and fill entire wastebaskets with it, and you still couldn't get rid of it. No matter how carefully you pull it out (harvest it), you never ever get it all as Spanko said. It went sexual on me and finally all that was alive in the tank was caulerpa. I tore the system down because of it.
Second variety was the grape - got it on some used live rock, guy who had it said, "kept it for years, never had a problem, just pull some out everytime you get into the tank to keep it under control. Started out pretty nice, as others said, I really like the green contrast with everything else. Thought "wow that makes the tank look so much more "natural.""

I pulled it out on a regular basis; following book directions, carefully removing it - attempting to pull up an entire rhizome at a time, etc. But everytime you pull it out, small pieces would escape - float around and end up plugging up your pumps and powerheads. I was constantly have to clean them out - pain in the butt! And the stuff kept growing - pretty soon is was plugging intake hoses - cutting off the water flow to the chiller and the filters. Then one morning I walked into this . . .

Pea Soup Green, couldn't see a thing! Remember this thread?
670/oh-my-gawd-help-me-plz" target="_blank">https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/317670/oh-my-gawd-help-me-plz
Yeah, carbon and filter floss for 24 hours. Only lost one fish and saved all the coral, but guess what? The caulerpa came back with a vengence

. I personally think the reason it when sexual was because it plugged up the chiller intake and the tank got warm, but I don't know that for sure. Best advice I can give - never ever put any of that stuff in a display tank! Maybe a sump, but never a DT.
In fact, thats what this thread in tips and techniques is all about . . .
https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/320567/caulerpa-in-your-dt

 

[keri]

Yeah....I'm one of those people who has NOTHING good to say about caulerpa!

 

[markus0909]

anyone try Maiden's hair algae? I have tons of that and it seems to work quite well, and doesn't make a mess. I have so much of it though, I'm wondering if it has an effect on my PH. I've heard too much macro can cause ph to lower......???

 

[socal57che]

More caulerpa info in this thread as well...
https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/333392/caulerpa-revisited

 

[florida joe]

i use it and have never had a Problem but there is bad calurpa out there please read one of my old threads
The BAD caulerpa

[hr]
Not wanting to highjack someone else’s thread and since caulerpa still comes up frequently in posts I submit the following on the bad guy of Caulerpa which is taxifolia it is a decorative green alga (or seaweed) native to warm tropical waters that normally grows in small, isolated patches, and is popular with many marine aquarists. However, its popularity opened the door to the invasion of this very aggressive Mediterranean strain of alga along U.S. coastlines. Even though this Caulerpa was banned for importation INTO the United States, its possession and sale is still legal under federal law in many states. A suspected means of how this algae spreads is from a plant fragment that gets dumped down a drain that may connect to the ocean when aquarium wastewater is disposed of. Ah, so that's how you may be contributing to its release into non-native waters!
A Caulerpa alga closely related to the Caulerpa taxifolia species was cloned and cultured for display at the Stuttgart Aquarium in Germany, and this cloned alga was then shared with aquariums in France and Monaco. Sometime in 1984 this Caulerpa either escaped or was accidentally released into Mediterranean waters and quickly began spreading, and since that time has continued to spread rapidly throughout the Mediterranean region. This very destructive seaweed is strangling and killing coral and other marine animals by growing over sea beds and choking off the nutrients and light from other organisms. The governments of France, Spain, Monaco and Italy have been unsuccessful at combating the spread of these invasive algae, and this species was reported near Sydney, Australia not long ago.
Apparently, this cloned strain can grow in colder waters, both at shallow or deeper depths, where the typical tropical strain can't. It grows much larger and spreads by fragmentation, with a single frond multiplying quickly. It is said to be able to live 10 days out of water, and contains toxins, which have a repulsive effect on herbivorous marine animals. Despite bans on its possession in France, Spain, and Australia, this dangerous organism has been continued to be transported and sold in the aquarium trade. If you do have caulerpa (which I do in my refug) and want to get rid of it please put it in zip lock bags and in your freezer for 24hrs first

 

[stdreb27]

I wouldn't put it in a DT except to feed the tangs. But I know many people who run that in their fuges with no problems what so ever. But they do prune it every day. And feed it to the tangs.

 

[veni vidi vici]

Anyone watch Killer Algae on the science channel?It was pretty interesting to find out that it is a strain of Calupera Taxifolia that has been created by man,by keeping it in aquaria where it changed DNA structure.I dosent reproduce by going sexual it does so by cloning.Similar to if you where to lose a strand of hair and it cloned another you.
http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/519228.html

 

[mantisman51]

I bought green and red caulerpa for my DT, for color. I know, big mistake. It was a mistake that my yellow tang rectified within 2 days. He ate at the caulerpa like a fish possesed. I was unhappy at the time, now after learning about it, I wish I could get my $30 back from the guy who sold it.

 

[gatorzone19]

I suggest using caulerpa prolifera. Had it in my tank for a while until my angelfish ate it all. It doesnt grow to fast and is very nice looking.

 

[spanko]

Originally Posted by florida joe
http:///forum/post/2933163
i use it and have never had a Problem but there is bad calurpa out there please read one of my old threads
The BAD caulerpa

[hr]
Not wanting to highjack someone else’s thread and since caulerpa still comes up frequently in posts I submit the following on the bad guy of Caulerpa which is taxifolia it is a decorative green alga (or seaweed) native to warm tropical waters that normally grows in small, isolated patches, and is popular with many marine aquarists. However, its popularity opened the door to the invasion of this very aggressive Mediterranean strain of alga along U.S. coastlines. Even though this Caulerpa was banned for importation INTO the United States, its possession and sale is still legal under federal law in many states. A suspected means of how this algae spreads is from a plant fragment that gets dumped down a drain that may connect to the ocean when aquarium wastewater is disposed of. Ah, so that's how you may be contributing to its release into non-native waters!
A Caulerpa alga closely related to the Caulerpa taxifolia species was cloned and cultured for display at the Stuttgart Aquarium in Germany, and this cloned alga was then shared with aquariums in France and Monaco. Sometime in 1984 this Caulerpa either escaped or was accidentally released into Mediterranean waters and quickly began spreading, and since that time has continued to spread rapidly throughout the Mediterranean region. This very destructive seaweed is strangling and killing coral and other marine animals by growing over sea beds and choking off the nutrients and light from other organisms. The governments of France, Spain, Monaco and Italy have been unsuccessful at combating the spread of these invasive algae, and this species was reported near Sydney, Australia not long ago.
Apparently, this cloned strain can grow in colder waters, both at shallow or deeper depths, where the typical tropical strain can't. It grows much larger and spreads by fragmentation, with a single frond multiplying quickly. It is said to be able to live 10 days out of water, and contains toxins, which have a repulsive effect on herbivorous marine animals. Despite bans on its possession in France, Spain, and Australia, this dangerous organism has been continued to be transported and sold in the aquarium trade. If you do have caulerpa (which I do in my refug) and want to get rid of it please put it in zip lock bags and in your freezer for 24hrs first
Then burn it, line a lead box with garlic cloves, put the ashes into the lead box, melt the lid to the bottom of the box sealing it, bury in an approved radioactive containment site no less that 25 feet deep.

 

[florida joe]

Originally Posted by spanko
http:///forum/post/2945326
Then burn it, line a lead box with garlic cloves, put the ashes into the lead box, melt the lid to the bottom of the box sealing it, bury in an approved radioactive containment site no less that 25 feet deep.

JUST PLEASE DON’T DO WHAT HENRY DID JUST BEFORE HIS POST
SMOKE IT

 

[cranberry]

I have caulerpa in all of my tanks, I believe, and I presently have 11 going. I've kept it for as long as I have kept seahorses which is 10+ years. It has never gone sexual without some prior warning. It will look funky the night before and warn you that you better step in before the lights come on in the morning. It always waits until the lights come back on before it blows. I try to check all of my tanks before going to bed and you can tell in the dark that it is going south. I've had to turn back on the lights for some pruning on occassion. I've had it explode in my tank before when I wasn't paying close enough attention to the signs.

 

[floridacatfish]

What do you mean by looking "funky"?