Caulerpa eating reef safe fish?

[Biotope7]

Can any one give some ideas on what will take care of the caulerpa thats going nuts in my tank? I am not sure of the name, but it has runners like an Ivy and has round flat leaves (If you will)
I have to harvest about once a week so it does not cover everything. I am not looking to tear the tank apart for the caulerpa as a means of removal.

24 gallon Aquapod
30-35 lbs live rock
2 percs
1 scooter blenny
various coral
1 BTA

Thanks-Mike

 

[garvin90]

Not to be a bearer of bad news but... As far as i know there isnt many caulerpa eaters period. You could try lettuce sea slugs(also called lettuce nudibranchs). Saltwaterfish.com sells those usually and all they eat are macroalgaes as far as i know.

The main problem is your tank size. You bought it for space and the good lighting it provides im sure. Well, the caulerpa also loves you for this as well since those PCs are more intense since its closer to the plants making fast grow in a small setting. That brings up the other thing, SPACE. Most herbivorious fish are also large fish.

I have a 2 questions though, how do you know its caulerpa( and if so what species) and how did it find its way in your tank.

This is a type of caulerpa species i have in my tank:

 

[Rondelet]

There are many species of Caulerpa and several fish that chow on it, but I agree with Garvin - your tank size is problematic if you want to consider fish options.

I have a Coral Beauty that goes for it but a dwarf angel may not do well in a tank that size. You might consider posting in the invertebrate forum for alternate invertebrate-biological control choices. Can't you just manually prune it every few weeks? Is it really growing that fast?

 

[1package]

I had the same problem. I got a piece of SPS with some one it. It quickly began growing all over. I scrubbed it off the rocks it came back.

Scribbled rabbitfish will destroy it.

The first 2 that I bought were harassed to death by my purple tang. My 3rd was big enough to hold his own. Every once in a while I move a rock and find some more of it. I leave the caulpera exposed and the rabbit fish vacuums it up. I had 3 and they each ate, not only ate it - wiped it out.

Did not look at your tank size, know the inhabitants, do not know if this fish is an option.

 

[Monkeyfish]

If the calurpa growth is really that fast it would seem to suggest an excess of phosphates, nitrates and/or nutrients in the water. Maybe you should cut back on feedings and increase the frequency of your water changes.

Just a thought.

 

[jda]

Most rabbitfish will take care of it really fast, they are just too big for a tank that size.

 

[Biotope7]

Thanks all for they replies, The pic below will show the caulerpa I am trying to describe. It is on the right side of pic behind the mushroom. I only use RO water and pre-mixed salt water from LFS and they use RO only. I only feed every 3 days or so. Garvin- The caulerpa was on a peice of live rock from a friends tank. I thought it would be a meal for something in my tank. I guess I will keep on harvesting when needed. It really isn't that tuff, just time consuming. Thanks again-Mike

 

[garvin90]

Thanks for the picture biotope. Do you have a close up those, its kind of fuzzy? To me, it looks like clover. Is that what it resembles?

Honestly if you really want to get rid of it, you could just boil the rock itself. Im assuming that there is no corals growing on this rock since the caulerpa seem to be covering completely. This may or may not solve your problem, especially if it has put out runners into other rocks nearby. Other than that, it's really just tank disassembly just like you didnt want to do right?

 

[Monkeyfish]

Nice looking tank... even with the macro!

 

[Biotope7]

You hit it right on the head with "Clover". There are some zoa's and shrooms growing on that piece so boiling would not be pleasant. I will just harvest when needed, no big deal and thanks for all of the input. -Mike

 

[ThunderousTalon]

how would one go about boiling the rock? i am assuming this isnt similiar to cocking rock(in the dark)

 

[Portsmouth Reef]

Siganus Lineatus is the answer. A Foxface with a Black Spot near the tail. I had loads of Grape Culerpa, that was a P.I.T.A. I got this fish, and within 2 weeks it had cleared the Caulerpa. Didnt touch my Xenia or Zoos, or Mushrooms.

 

[garvin90]

Talon- no your right, not cooking it in the dark. I really did mean "boiling" the rock. I was assuming since its such a small tank, the rocks would be small enough to fit in a cooking pot and put on stove. Obviously this wasnt an option, sry.

And yes, please dont stew your zoos or shrooms... im not aware of any marine recipes calling for zooanthid or mushrooms.

 

[ThunderousTalon]

garvin could you go into more detail about boiling the rock? i have a large amount of feather caulerpa. that needs to go.

 

[DOBryan]

I had a huge problem with grape caulerpa. Was pulling it, scrubbing it, and it would still grow back incredibly quickly. What work for me was a yellow tang. Every thing that I had read told me that nothing would eat the grape variety, but after I had scrub the rock good, he would eat the new little shoots and kept it under control.

 

[garvin90]

Talon- Well you can go one of 2 routes however, i forewarn you that these(and I'm 99.9% sure) will kill every living organism on your rock.

The first route is putting water in a pot, placing on the stove and bringing it to a rolling boil. After that drop in require rock/s and cook the rock/s! Be sure to turn the rock/s now and then to get all sides if water level isnt high enough to completely cover them. The important thing to remember is it has to be cooked in fresh water! Let your rock/s dry for several days and then place in your quarantine tank or suitable area for a period of 2 weeks. Your asking, "why do I need to quarantine these rocks? I just cooked the life out of them!" Well as we all know, sometimes saltwater nuisances can be harder to kill than a cockroach and as such, needs to be quarantined.

There you have it, Ray Garvin's recipe for Live Rock Soup- serves 4

 

[ahuxman58]

i have that same specie of caluerpa and also have grape caluerpa my tangs love it ,i grow it in a seperate tank and feed it to my tangs its a great source of veggie for the fish