Lizzie February 22, 2008 Share February 22, 2008 so im setting up a new tank at my house, and i got about... what... 15-20lbs of live rock about 2-3 weeks ago...? im letting them cycle right now, and just this morning i noticed, about an inch of what i believe to be Red Grape Algae (3 small branches and a "grape") growing on one of the live rock. ive been researching on them all afternoon, but cant seem to be getting much more info, other than it is not true Caulerpa racemosa, its hardy, and it grows rapidly in good conditions and will need trimming. before it multiply like rabbits and get to the "will need trimming" part, anyone got some more info on them? or would like to share your experience with them? also, after i get some coral in my tank, i plan on getting a Blue Tuxedo Urchin. anyone have more info on Blue Tuxedo Urchins? from the research i did so far, it seems like, other than it eats coralline algae, it doesnt really knock down coral as much as other Urchins and it stays generally small in size (which would be perfect for my 30gall tank). and if the Red Grape Algae does decide to grow like crazy, will the Urchin help control it a bit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gastone February 22, 2008 Share February 22, 2008 "red grape", or Botryocladia is not caulerpa. Grows much slower IME. I received some on an order of florida lr a few years ago. I no longer had it, but I wish I did. Very pretty and non-invasive as it stays "rooted" in one spot. Garrett. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mogurnda February 22, 2008 Share February 22, 2008 My experience has been that any large grazers love the stuff and will wipe it out rapidly. If you want to keep it around, avoid tangs and urchins. There are at least two species of Botryocladia that show up in tanks. The tall branchy kind (B. uvaria, and probably others) is quite beautiful and well-behaved. I have been keeping the stuff for about 6 years, and it will spread if given the right conditions (nutrients, no grazing) but not become a pest. On the other hand, I have heard that the short, turfy stuff can be more of a pest, but I have not dealt with that one. Here's a page on the life cycle, showing how the plants are constantly producing spores. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzie February 25, 2008 Author Share February 25, 2008 alrightyy thankyou~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SixtyFeetUnder February 26, 2008 Share February 26, 2008 Botryocladia can be beautiful - when contained. But in smaller tanks or under certain conditions it can spread like a wildfire. Controlling nutrient content and not overfeeding is the first step, efficient protein skimming to remove the spores is step two. Not sure of the tank size but certain Zebrasoma tangs are effective; I've had good luck with my yellow tang. A good one two combo of herbivores is a yellow tang and mexican turbo snails - the snails help clean up the left overs after tang has done it's damage to sea grapes. If thye really get out of hand you may need to remove manually. See this article for detailed ifo on the do's and dont's of manual removal. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest webshout February 26, 2008 Share February 26, 2008 Botryocladia can be beautiful ... See this article for detailed ifo on the do's and dont's of manual removal. Good luck! No link attached. :( William Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SixtyFeetUnder February 26, 2008 Share February 26, 2008 No link attached. :( William http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-02/hcj/feature/index.php Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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