Caulerpa sertularoides? ID needed.

[farfromsea]

Hello,

I got a cleaner shrimp from the store and the salesman threw in a piece of macroalgae. I started looking around to ID it but was having difficulty. Did not research macroalgae before going to the store.

Anyways, it looks like Caulerpa sertularoides which per Reefkeeping magazine is banned in California. Should I not plant this in my tank? Is it a nuisance?

Thanks

Please see pictures below. Too big to attach, my apologies for poor quality
https://flic.kr/p/HiBhcQ
https://flic.kr/p/HiBhrN

 

[rocksaus]

It's either sertularoides or mexicana. Can't tell.

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[jraker]

As stated above, it is either sertularoides or mexicana. Either way, caulerpa is a fast grower and can be a nuisance if not properly trimmed.

 

[farfromsea]

Thanks for the quick reply! I'm going to be pretty occupied (but home) over the next year so I didn't want to get something high maintenance in the tank. A lot of people seem to regret putting this species in the tank. Do you guys think I should avoid it? I'm planning to put some peaceful corals in the tank and I don't want the Caulerpa to be an issue. Everyone seems to not have positive feelings about it from my research so my gut says don't do it but I do kind of like the idea of having marine plants

 

[jraker]

If you want marine plants with coral, you are better off getting something that won't grow as fast, such as dragons breath, halimeda, Gracilaria, Hypnea, the list goes on forever. Calciferous macroalgaes (like hypnea) tend to grow slower than other algaes, and look very cool. Caulerpa works great in a separate refugium.

 

[farfromsea]

Thanks for the feedback! I am going to give away this little piece. Coral is definitely in the plans for my tank so macroalgae taking over is less than ideal. Although I have a sump, unfortunately I don't have a refugium down there (lacking a divider.) Maybe someday