Caulerpa algae

[kenyacat]

I have some some Caulerpa growing in my tank. I I think I have two different kinds. One is a fern type like Caulerpa sertularoides the other I think may be Caulerpa nummularia. I also have hair algae and Halimeda and a clump of Chaetomorpha growing. The Chaetomorpha has never done very well.

All this is growing naturally out of my live rock in my main tank which is a 29 gallon bio cube. Would like to upgrade sometime next year, but that may be awhile.

Anyway, I remember hearing bad things about caulerpa about a year ago when I started, but as I had no algae at that time, I just filed it away in the back of my mind.

Now, I can't find anything. I remember something about it fouling your tank. I wish to keep the caulerpa to help choke out the hair algae. What do I need to know about this algae?

 

[lancer99]

Kenya, as I understand it, Caulerpa releases sugars & terpenoids, which apparently aren't good for your tank....but has never been a problem IME.

The worse problem is that when conditions aren't to its liking, it can "go sexual," i.e. sporulate, and the result is a tank that looks like green pea soup, and the gametes use up all the oxygen, which isn't good. Never had that problem myself though.

The worst problem is that it's so prolific, that you have to keep a close eye on it, prune/pull it regularly, and make sure it's not touching any corals. That problem I *have* had

HTH,
-R

 

[kenyacat]

Thanks, that makes me feel a bit better. It is growing extremely well and I have trimmed. Haven't pulled any out, but maybe I should.

No corals yet, but what happens if it touches corals? My hopes are to set up a 55 gallon next year and leave all this algae covered rock in the biocube as a refuge/sump.

So if it goes sexual, it lowers the oxygen. So that must be why I have heard some people say they don't want it at all. I will keep an eye on it as always. I think I heard that it gets lots and lots of white dots or something when it goes sexual.

Thanks

 

[lancer99]

It will overgrow (and through, if it can!) anything it touches. You can understand why that might make some corals unhappy

Moving it to a fuge/sump is a great idea.

I usually keep a little Caulerpa in my display tanks, but only a little....growing on one rock or small part of the sand, and trim it as part of my maintenance schedule. I just like the way it looks....

BTW, if you didn't know this already, Halimeda is a great addition to your display tank. It can also sporulate, but since it's a slow grower (calcareous), that isn't a problem (IME). Plus it looks cool too!

-R

 

[Sk8r]

Create a fuge, and start to run cheatomorpha algae instead. The caulerpa in your main tank will turn pale and die out, and your only algae will be in the fuge where you can control its lighting [promotes sporing --- but cheato doesn't spore and doesn't have roots.] It's much, much safer than caulerpa.

 

[JustinReef]

I have a display full of Caulerpa and have never had a problem. Mine is a FOWLR tank, so I wanted it to give the tank some life and color. It grows at a ridiculously fast rate and will spread fast throughout a tank. Thats great for me but may not be wanted in a reef tank. As others have said, just keep it pruned back and watch to make sure it does not go sexual. I have had a small portion once go sexual but it really was no big deal. I just removed the part that had gone sexual and ran extra carbon. A little murky water but nothing died.