percula February 22, 2008 Share February 22, 2008 OK fine, I admit it; I ignored the warnings and intentionally let the caulerpa peltata (tea cup var.) grow somewhat unchecked in the center of my display. I thought and still believe it adds a nice quality to the overall look with some nutrient export to boot. It now covers about 1/3 of my tank (5ft. 120g) and requires me to trim it every 2-3 days (and by trim, I mean ripping out handfuls and trying in vain to keep the floating pieces from grabbing on elsewhere). I'm finally beginning to realize I won't be able to keep up with it. My first thought was to let it grow but keep it thinned and back fill rocks and frags on top of thin spots where it already expanded. While this looks great, it's not working too well as I keep having to pull out tendrils winding their way through my zoas. This stuff grows everywhere in every direction. I suppose a foxface is now a must (tang, angel, and emerald crabs appear to pick at it but not really slow it down). My ultimate goal is not to erradicate it but just keep it manageable. Anyone out there keep macros in the main display and have any tips on how to reign it in? I'm interested in adding rooted halimeda (sp?) and shaving brush; anyone have experience with them? Is this just lunacy and I should jettison the idea of macros in the main display? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbartco February 22, 2008 Share February 22, 2008 Have some in my seahorse tank. Now it is another weekend duty for me to trim. Feel your pain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
extreme_tooth_decay February 22, 2008 Share February 22, 2008 Wish I had your problem! I tried growing it in my display to feed my tangs, but they always eat it too fast. I have to keep a 40BR full of it in order to grow enough to feed my Sohal. He can eat a gallon bag of it in 2-3 days. I also used to have a smallish hippo that would eat a decent amount of it. What tang have you tried? tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami February 22, 2008 Share February 22, 2008 I had a problem with Caulerpa mexicana that came in on my Gulf rock spreading across unabated across my display. At first, like you, I thought it added a nice look. Then it started to spread across everything. In the end, however, I won out. Every few days for over a month, I was in the tank picking at the runners and harvesting handfuls of the stuff using a bamboo skewer to help dislodge the plants. I also had a yellow tang and a coral beauty that picked at the stuff. After about a month, it seemed I had passed a critical point where the Caulerpa regeneration could not stand up to the predation, and finally it died out. Yeah, it did look nice and, yeah, it was useful for nutrient export, but it was just taking over. Overall, though, I'm glad it's gone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mogurnda February 22, 2008 Share February 22, 2008 I watched MichaelG go through that. His tangs wouldn't eat it, and he finally defeated it with a short-spined urchin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lancer99 February 22, 2008 Share February 22, 2008 (edited) Anyone out there keep macros in the main display and have any tips on how to reign it in? I'm interested in adding rooted halimeda (sp?) and shaving brush; anyone have experience with them? Is this just lunacy and I should jettison the idea of macros in the main display? I keep Caulerpa in all three of my tanks, but only in the sand. Whenever they get close to the rocks, I trim them back. Because Caulerpa's "roots" have the ability to dissolve calcium, they are extremely tenacious if allowed to grow on rocks...but I guess you know that already Halimeda and shaving brushes are both excellent choices. Be aware that shaving brushes will almost inevitably die back after being placed in your tank, but are still alive under the sand and will quickly send up new shoots. -R PS Does anyone know why Halimeda looks completely white when the lights are off? Edited February 22, 2008 by lancer99 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesbuf February 22, 2008 Share February 22, 2008 Wish I had your problem! I tried growing it in my display to feed my tangs, but they always eat it too fast. I have to keep a 40BR full of it in order to grow enough to feed my Sohal. He can eat a gallon bag of it in 2-3 days. I also used to have a smallish hippo that would eat a decent amount of it. What tang have you tried? tim I feel your pain. I also have tried numerous times to get macros to grow in my main display to no avail. Too many tangs for it to ever get established. I ended up growing it in a "betta display" that sucked onto the side of the aquarium. Kept the tangs from eating it and allowed for a huge pod explosion in the tank. The runners would grow through the slits at the bottom which the tangs would eat. I also pruned once a week which the tangs loved. Worked out great. Matt, I'll gladly take some off your hands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davelin315 February 22, 2008 Share February 22, 2008 Halimeda will go white with the lights off as the chlorophyll is hidden away. Not sure if this is because it's growing and putting a layer of calcium over the top, or if it's because it simply pulls back from the skeleton, but the chorophyll definitely retreats as you noted. One note on halimeda, it uses up a lot of calcium in your system, so make sure to keep it properly supplied. Also, after receiving my books from Nadir/Dan for the Calfo group buy, I also learned that halimeda contributes to reef sand when it dissolves after death! Had no idea that it was what sand was made of! It's kind of a cool bonus to keep it, then. Let it grow, find something that will eat it, and it will make sand for you from your calcium supplementation. I second Dave/mogurnda's recommendation. You need a machine to eat that stuff, try the urchin. You can also try a sailfin or Desjardini tang. I have watched them mow the stuff down in the past. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
percula February 22, 2008 Author Share February 22, 2008 Thanks for the replies; good info in there. Current tang is powder blue with a flame angel - neither of which do a whole lot more than snap off root tendrils that conveniently present themselves. From what I've read, rabbitfish are the way to go for caulerpa variants in particular-- grain of salt with that of course as it's culled from forums. I'll give that and perhaps the addition of a sailfin a shot. Ooooooh, trip to BRK, yay! (begins salivating at the prospect) The short-spined urchin appears to primarily eat encrusting algaes which I really like -- I guess I'll save that for a last resort. James - if you really want some, I can certainly start saving some for you and forward it your way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesbuf February 22, 2008 Share February 22, 2008 Thanks for the replies; good info in there. Current tang is powder blue with a flame angel - neither of which do a whole lot more than snap off root tendrils that conveniently present themselves. From what I've read, rabbitfish are the way to go for caulerpa variants in particular-- grain of salt with that of course as it's culled from forums. I'll give that and perhaps the addition of a sailfin a shot. Ooooooh, trip to BRK, yay! (begins salivating at the prospect) The short-spined urchin appears to primarily eat encrusting algaes which I really like -- I guess I'll save that for a last resort. James - if you really want some, I can certainly start saving some for you and forward it your way. No need to start saving just yet. If you plan on attending the next meeting, I could grab some from you then. I wish I still had my Sohal and Rabbitfish. Those two used to destroy any macro I put in the tank. Click on the link in my signature to see my old Tang collection. Those were the days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkiCurtis February 22, 2008 Share February 22, 2008 Can this be put in a sump and have it contained and let it grow to feed my tangs? They do love the stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
extreme_tooth_decay February 22, 2008 Share February 22, 2008 Can this be put in a sump and have it contained and let it grow to feed my tangs? They do love the stuff. That's what I do, except I attached another tank to my sump so I can grow a lot: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keeperoftherreef February 22, 2008 Share February 22, 2008 I just saw this link over on RC. Some good info on erradication and disposal. http://www.sccat.net/#the-caulerpa-information-center-1e86c5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Stearns February 22, 2008 Share February 22, 2008 I also let two varieties of calurpa grow rather wild in my sea horse tank- Quite amazing how rapidly it can grow in a nutrient rich low flow environment. I have a powder blue and hippo blue tang in my main tank that love both varieties. I take an encrusted rock from my old sea horse tank and move to my main tank which both tangs completely clean in 24 hours. The two short spined black urchins in the sea horse tank do not touch either species of calurpa, but do eat the film algea and some of the nice pink encrusting coraline. If I grab out large handfulls and keep rotating rocks in my main tank I end up with very god control of the stuff, not to mention two fat tangs. I keep only chaeto in the refuge of the main tank as a nutrient/ export pod haven. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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