sexual

[jnb]

I have seen numerous threads that referred to plants going sexual but they did not explain what it meant and any negatives exactly - while I am sure there is a complete enough explanation I have not found it.

Exactly what does going sexual mean? How bad is it? My tank has gone cloudy in 5 minutes or less several times lately and I am concerned - once it clears up (does not take long) - it well, clears up - should I be concerned?

 

[RicksReefs]

going sexual refers to an algae that has decided that
something isn't right, and as a last chance effort to
keep the species going, dies and releases all it's gametes
into the water. when some of it decides to go sexual, it
can frequently take all the rest of it's kind with it. you'll
see milky water as a result. Caulerpa species are the
type that most often do this. one of the down sides is
that all the nutrients it's adsorbed are released back into
the water. this along with the decomposition of the algae
itself may crash a tank. if the algae goes sexual, heavy
skimming, lotsa carbon and water changes can keep it
from doing to much harm.
to avoid it, keep your algae trimmed enough so that light
reaches all parts of the colony and continues to grow.
the shaded parts may decide conditions are bad and,
you guessed it, go sexual.
HTH