Red Grape Caulerpa...?

[rustybucket145]

I got a free 'frag' of this stuff a couple of days ago... Absolutely beautiful but I know absolutely nothing about it. It is a clipping that is not attached to anything. I lightly rubberbanded it to a coarse shell to keep it from floating away.

I guess I'm just asking for an overall care/guidance for this stuff.

Should it be rooted in sand? mud? LR? shell?

Light reqs, Metal Halides? T5's? Flourescents? Refugium floodlight compact flourescent?

Flow, med? hi? low?

Will it attach to rock or shell or sand? How long to root? Good way to attach?


Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[graveyardworm]

There's no Red grape Caulerpa. So what you have is most likely Botryocladia. Wish I had personal experience with this one, but now yet. From what I've read low to med lighting, and low to med random flow should work well, and the nutrients it needs to grow.

Attaching may be as simple as loose rubber band or gently wedging it between some LR.

 

[rustybucket145]

Yup that's it!! So boy, do I look dumb That's why I come in here to ask you guys advice. I know nothing about the macros other than I have chaeto and a couple of mangroves and they grow GREAT!!

I have it in a tank with a marsh mud bottom right now... Is this a marsh resident? or reef?

 

[graveyardworm]

Nothing dumb about it, its pretty common for it to be called red grape Caulerpa. I think it would do just fine in a mud bottomed tank given lighting and flow are good. if the flow is low enough it may work to just let it settle on the bottom and see if it develops holdfasts into the substrate.

 

[rustybucket145]

So, if given a choice for lighting, which would you recommend? Flourescents, T5's, Halides or natural Sunlight through a sola-tube?

 

[TAF]

Maybe I can tack my question to the end of this... I have grape Caulerpa... it is not the other thing, and it is green. However, there are sections of it that are going all red. Is it dying or like some freshwater plants, is it turning red because of lighting?

 

[Caulerpanator]

Do you have a photo of it turning red?

 

[TAF]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11115299#post11115299 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Caulerpanator
Do you have a photo of it turning red?

As you can see it is turning red and it is all one plant.

 

[bluenassarius]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11115379#post11115379 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by TAF

As you can see it is turning red and it is all one plant.

looks like it could be cyanobacteria

 

[TAF]

cyanobacteria on my grapes?

Should I trim it out?