What eats Caulerpa serrulata?

[FishDad2]

A while ago I removed a yellow tang from my DT as it had gotten a little too big and, together with a large tomato clown (also removed), it had become something of a menace in the tank. Prior to the departure of the tang I had not seen any Caulerpa serrulata in the tank so I assume it ate any bits that it came across. But since its departure the stuff is everywhere now and if the caulerpa was introduced after the departure of the tang I haven't a clue where it would have come from.

So, as this stuff is now growing everyywhere unchecked I decided to add a small hippo tang as I figured it would make short work of the this vile weed...after all, the seems the yellow tang liked it and the hippo tang I had 20+ years ago was a macro algae eating machine. Unfortunately it looks like I was mistaken as the hippo shows no interest.

So, other than farming this stuff out of the tank periodically what are my alternatives...fish or other critters?

Note that the tank is a former reef and is now a FOWLR. The hippo tang is the only candidate in the fish population to eat this stuff...the other algae eaters prefer micro algae.

 

[FishDad2]

The silence is deafening.

My Hippo Tang still doesn't appear interested and the lack of suggestions from the community leads me to believe that I will have to plan to farm this stuff out by hand going forward.

Let me know if you have alternatives to suggest but for now it looks like I need to start the manual extraction process.

 

[Whiterabbitrage]

If you find anything that eats Caulerpa let us know. :worried:

 

[FishDad2]

I assumed my old yellow tang ate it as the vile weed only showed up after the removal of the tang. I haven't added any live rock in years and in fact the only additions have been some new fish. However, every one of those new fish went through at least a 6 week stay in QT and there's none of the weed in my QT. If it arrived with a new fish I have a hard time imagining that it made it through QT and somehow managed to make it into the DT given the minimal water exchange and without any visible signs of it existing in the QT or being in the container used to transfer the fish.

The only other possibility I can think of is that it has been lurking unseen in my DT for years...many years...and it wasn't the departure of the tang that allowed it to flourish but rather the switch from MH to T5 lighting when I changed from a reef to a FOWLR. But still, if it was surviving in there all these years I surely would have seen it lurking in the lower light areas of the tank.

It's a mystery but regardless I guess I will start the extraction process on the weekend.

 

[Whiterabbitrage]

No telling what kept it in check. Sounds like the yellow tang. Hope you find someone else to eat it. In the meantime at least it pulls out pretty easily. Sort of. :hmm4:

 

[btreyes]

I've been fighting the same battle myself and this is by far the most insidiously evil species of caulerpa I have ever fought. I just bought separate three species of urchins (3 total in a 65 gallon) and my daily manual removal, along with the help of the urchins, has been drastically reducing the caulerpa serrulata. I just started the fight a couple of weeks ago, but my battle is far from over. Good luck and tell me if anything is working for you!

 

[FishDad2]

I think my Yellow Tang may have been an unsung hero...can't confirm because as I said above I never saw the weed until after I removed that fish but it is my best guess. Too bad it developed a bit of an attitude or I'd have kept it but when forced to choose between the Yellow Tang or my Copperband Butterfly I picked the CBB. I'm still happy with that decision...love the CBB...will just have to harvest the weed.

Let us know how the urchins fare and if they're successful which species you used.

 

[snorvich]

I know of nothing that eats it. Which is one of two reasons why I suggest never using it in a refugium.

 

[ClownNut]

try doliatus, only fish i found that will eat Caulerpa.sp,

 

[mcdonous]

Dose your tank with Hydrogen Peroxide. Look up how to do it properly. Best algae killer out there so far.

-Steve