Foster/Smith swore that the dwarf sea hare eats caulerpa. I've battled this stuff ever since set-up a move ago. It survived rock cooking that killed everything but caulerpa roots and one aiptasia.
I finally decided to bite the bullet and give this critter a try. It's quite personable, cute, moves fast---will eat absolutely any OTHER algae before it tackles caulerpa. They're sold at about 2-3", but can reach 1' in size, and I have a 54g tank.
They also 'ink' like an octopus if annoyed, and can destroy your tank so doing, so consider carefully: they like temps under 80 degrees, around 79, and meticulous water conditions: 1.024-6 salinity; 8.3-9.3 alk, 400-420 calcium, 1200-1300 mg. If you remotely consider getting one, be sure 1) you can maintain those conditions 2) you have shielded any powerhead it can get into 3) you have carbon and enough salt on hand in case of an inking 4) you have no aggressive fish that are going to pick on it.
If you can meet all these conditions, you may find this critter helpful: the jury is still out, but it is eating caulerpa. Whether it can survive on this diet, I don't know, but I am going to supplement it in hopes.
It is a tougher little slug than you might think. I have moved it by hand, and it has wandered nose-first into a torch coral and sat upon bristleworms, so it does not self-destruct. It is into EVERYTHING, so be prepared. It is light, does not shove rock, and will try every stupid move at least 3 times before it desists (talk about hard-wiring!) I confess I was a little squeamish about hosting a slug---I live in Washington, where slugs are epic---but this one is a hoot, and not at all objectionable to handle if you use exam gloves.
I finally decided to bite the bullet and give this critter a try. It's quite personable, cute, moves fast---will eat absolutely any OTHER algae before it tackles caulerpa. They're sold at about 2-3", but can reach 1' in size, and I have a 54g tank.
They also 'ink' like an octopus if annoyed, and can destroy your tank so doing, so consider carefully: they like temps under 80 degrees, around 79, and meticulous water conditions: 1.024-6 salinity; 8.3-9.3 alk, 400-420 calcium, 1200-1300 mg. If you remotely consider getting one, be sure 1) you can maintain those conditions 2) you have shielded any powerhead it can get into 3) you have carbon and enough salt on hand in case of an inking 4) you have no aggressive fish that are going to pick on it.
If you can meet all these conditions, you may find this critter helpful: the jury is still out, but it is eating caulerpa. Whether it can survive on this diet, I don't know, but I am going to supplement it in hopes.
It is a tougher little slug than you might think. I have moved it by hand, and it has wandered nose-first into a torch coral and sat upon bristleworms, so it does not self-destruct. It is into EVERYTHING, so be prepared. It is light, does not shove rock, and will try every stupid move at least 3 times before it desists (talk about hard-wiring!) I confess I was a little squeamish about hosting a slug---I live in Washington, where slugs are epic---but this one is a hoot, and not at all objectionable to handle if you use exam gloves.
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