Help!!! Caulerpa War...

[Shotcaller]

I know this is a topic that has been talked about many, many times. I have already searched through the forums and online to read as much as I can about this. I am posting this in hope that someone here has had a successful outcome with this problem.

I have a Fluval M60 (24 gallon) that has been up about a year. Sometime about 6 months ago, I noticed caulerpa growing (I figure it came in on some liverock and chaeto that I had purchased). There was grape caulerpa and what I think is razor caulerpa. I did my best to pluck it out, and I still do this regularly. I have been able to get rid of the grape caulerpa, I haven't seen any in quite awhile. However, the other stuff is running rampant. I have tried running a couple types of nutrient removing media, tried a blackout, amped up skimming and water changes... nothing seems to help.

I currently have a variety of snails and crabs, lots of pods and worms and stars, etc all flourishing. The only fish are a blue damsel and a lawnmower blenny, as I have been holding off getting some of the livestock that I want until I fix this problem.

I have considered a sea hare, a juvenile foxface, emerald crabs... but have not gone forward with any of them because I have heard good and bad about each. Is there anything that will eat this stuff and get rid of it???

 

[soulpatch]

some things will eat the tops f grape culpera but the way it puts its roots into the rock work you are only masking the problem.

You need to treat it into the rocks. Look up peroxide paste (I have a video on youtube) and/or dipping. If you have limited corals then I would simply pull the rock and dip it. Takes a couple times to get rid of culpera completly but it is easy, cheap, and HIGHLY effective. Continue to run gfo or like media and include carbon as well after the dipping as the culpera will break down and you want to pull it from the water column before those nutirents aid further growth.

Increase amount of water changes as well.

 

[Shotcaller]

Thank you! I am going to try the peroxide dip.

 

[Shotcaller]

WOW. I tried the peroxide dip last week. I took out each piece of liverock from the tank, pulled off as much caulerpa as I could, and then dipped each one for about 1 minute.

The results were amazing! The remaining caulerpa has been "withering" the last few days. My lawnmower blenny is having a feast on the caulerpa that is falling apart (he wouldn't touch the stuff before). My rocks are almost completely bare of the stuff now. I am going to treat the tank water with peroxide for the next few days to try to get rid of the rest. Also, my xenia, gsp, and zoas are all looking completely unaffected. I will try to post a picture of the before/after later.

 

[soulpatch]

You could dip longer and I would recommend it honestly. The root structure takes the longest to break down. The tops of the algae breaks down fast but you need to get to the underlying structure.

I dip for around 5 minutes or so each time I need to do so.

 

[Shotcaller]

Here's a before / after pic... what a difference!

 

[Sk8r]

Peroxide is a wonderful tool in the marine aquarium if used knowledgably. Instead of h2o, 2 hydrogens and an oxygen atom, which is water, it's h2o2. Meaning it's got more oxygen---and if added to water, it supplies oxygen in an emergency. Soak a rock in it, and that rock will give off extra oxygen for some time, as pure oxygen bubbles rising like Alka Seltzer.

BUT---BIG BUT!!!! ---oxygen itself is capable of burning, aka oxi-dation, and pure oxygen can outright burn gills, coral tissue, etc. That's how it kills what you dip in it. So if you use it with caution to be sure that NOTHING gets hit by a bubble of pure oxygen (or the h2o2 itself) you can use it safely---just use your head, understand what the threat is, and be real sure that the stuff is limited to the area you want to kill.

 

[Shotcaller]

So, after the peroxide dip, the caulerpa all came back very quickly. Within a few weeks, it was covering my liverock again.

This time, I went to my local saltwater store and asked the owner what to do. He immediately responded with "Foxface Rabbitfish". I had heard this before, and I was skeptical, but decided to give it a try. I did not want to keep doing peroxide treatments.

He found me a juvenile Foxface that was suitable for my tank, and I brought it home.

For the first week, I didn't really notice anything. The Foxface was skiddish, and hiding out. After a week or so, he started to come out and would eat during feeding time... and he had quite an appetite. About a month later, ALL of my caulerpa is GONE. The Foxface completely devoured it. Amazing!

 

[ReefWreak]

I hope you're giving him back soon, since he'll outgrow that tank in probably 3-6 months, depending on his size. They grow VERY large, even if kept in too small of a tank.

I love rabbitfishes, tangs, and full-size angels, but wouldn't ever keep them unless I was temporarily babysitting a small one for someone else.

 

[CrayolaViolence]

I have a macro algae tank with all kinds of macro--or did till I dropped in a few turbo snails. Yes, they have decimated my macro algae population. Even the more calcified macro algae as succumbed to their nibbling. I'll have to restock soon.