Caulerpa eating slug

[Jon in SW Ohio]

I am wondering if anyone knows of a source or has heard of keeping Elysia tomentosa in a reef tank. I have a Caulerpa invasion in my tank that only gets worse, and plucking it out only leads to the remaining pieces multiplying. I would be very interested in experimenting with some to see if they could even put a dent in it.

The only info I can find on them is with the controversy of using them to control Caulerpa in the wild, which isn't really the kind of info I'm looking for. I am on the edge of pulling all my rock out and starting over, so these slugs could do their worst and not bother me.

Thanks in advance,

Jon

 

[Sk8r]

I have the same caulerpa [grape] problem, and read this thread with interest. I can tell you that there is an urchin that will eat it, the "hairy colored pincushion" and they're pretty careful around corals. I constantly wonder at the ability of my 4-incher to find his way through a 3" space between sps corals. He seems sort of to turn on edge, or just grabs a caulerpa strand and starts hauling. He's a tank, but a delicate one. A slug could get into those crevices and get it for good and all, but meanwhile tripneustes gracillis does pretty well to keep it from taking over.

 

[pjf]

Use a Vertebrate

Use a Vertebrate

In an article in Advanced Aquarist, Dr. Toonen writes:

"Despite our hopes for using sea slugs to eradicate nuisance species in the aquarium, I doubt that most will be any more successful at accomplishing that role in the aquarium than they are in nature."

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/oct2004/invert.htm

Per other forums, the Foxface Rabbitfish (Siganus vulpinus) is reputedly excellent in controlling caulerpa.

 

[aFs]

use a yellow "tang"