How to attach Sargassum sp.?

[Sen]

Hello,

I've got a Sargassum but don't know the exact species. It grows out of my live rock. Now its so big that I made some frags of it. Does anybody know how make the frags attaching themselves to a rock? At the moment I attach them to a rock using elastic bands. The frags grow very well but they don't stick to a rock.

 

[graveyardworm]

How long have they been attached with the rubberbands? Seems like a sound method, but may take extra time.

 

[Plantbrain]

They likely will not attach, new spore settlement and recruitment is required. So that would require sporulation events...........
And then subsequent growth, which may include lots of growth where you do not want it

I pick clean those areas and leave behind what I want.
Otherwise, prune what you have and realize the seaweed will not attach. Some have used epoxy in the past, but that seems to rot the base, did not work with seagrasses either etc.

Regards,
Tom Barr

Regards,
Tom Barr

 

[Sen]

As I posted this thread, the search-function was" temporarily disabled". Now I found this thread:
Attaching various algae to rock/sand/other here on Reef Central.

In this thread piercho says that attaching sargassum to rocks is possible and it develops holdfasts (very slowly). I will try it for a long time.

This topic is a little bit confusing. If you do some research on google you find both statements: "they attach" and "they never attach".

@plantbrain: Is there a way to initiate sporulation events?

 

[Plantbrain]

Not that I have found at this scale, new hold fast are required and that is plant developmental i n nature, so adding epoxy etc to solve this is not likely going to work.

It might for a time, but not that long IME.
Given the alternative, it's about all you have, I think rubber bands will do better than epoxy.

Regards,
tom Barr

 

[piercho]

Sargassum fronds taken from my display tank eventually developed holdfasts to rock in a refugia tank. The Sargassum was in constant contact with the rock. This was back in 2002 and my memory not too sharp as to the specifics but I think the time frame was fairly long - weeks.

I think most people who have Saragassum attached to rock got it as an incidental on live rock. The loose fronds grow well just free-floating on the surface of a tank without attaching but that is probably not what you want. If conditions are good for it it can grow gangbusters. I'm unsure exactly what its requirements are as far as nutrients go. Over time its growth rate slowed and eventually stopped in my system.

It is a good display tank algae for exactly this reason. It does not spread readily across rock like Caulerpa and Y-branch algae do, it tends to grow up from a single hold fast, and fragments do not readily spread by re-attachment. If what you have is a fragment and you want it to attach then that may be frustrating. It has been my experience that under certain conditions it will.

 

[Plantbrain]

I just stuffed it in the back amongst the rocks and have had only one sporulation event. It sort of attached when I wedged it, but not nearly as well as the sporulation of new germlings(which required some picking as they do not settle where you always want them to! Arrrggh!).

I think if they where cultures on rock to start with like frags, in isolated bins, then shipped out for us, it would be much better.

Did you get a picture of the new hold fast?
Any notion as the the N and P levels? Current etc?

Regards,
Tom Barr