Caulerpa Confusion

I had some Caulerpa that was growing off a frag that I though looked cool, and maybe it would give some nutrients to my Kole Tang. It wasn't the feather or grape I had heard horror stories of, but within a month there were sprouts and tendrils all through my 55. I'm still battling it in my 125 from then. I would caution you to stick with chaeto.

 

Thank you all very much. I found this discussion and sharing of personal experience invaluable. The resource links are terrific! These will also come in very handy down-the-road.

While I was hoping there would be a clear cut choice or winner for nutrient export, that does not seem to be the case. My goal was to go with the better 'factory.'

After assessing the risk:reward for caulerpa, it seems 'safer' to stick with chaeto. There doesn't seem to be any overriding benefit to caulerpa (which was what I was led to believe when I started this thread) making chaeto an easy choice. With caulerpa, I was prepared to run my refugia lighting 24/7 to avoid it going sexual. But my reading indicates that chaeto will be happy with the reverse photo period lighting solution.

I am also considering something like ulva or some other macroalgae as a supplemental food source that I can grow to feed the herbivores. I can add this to the refugia or farm it in a small (10g) supplemental tank exclusively for farming it.

Any ideas?

 

I loved feeding ulva, I should say my herbivores and crabs loved it but I found it hard to keep alive long term.

 

I don't run my fuge 24/7, I was at first, but after talking to the LFS ran theirs 24/7 and still had it go sexual, I just keep an opposite light schedule.

I prefer the chaeto and I'm really enjoying the halymenia.

If you're home when it goes sexual, it's not a disaster. If you're out of town for the weekend like I was when it happens, it is a disaster because you're not there to clean it up and prevent further damage.

 

I'm not going to get into a discussion about macro going sexual, as it's simply a no win discussion. Some folks have actual experience with it, while others are simply repeating what "they" say. If you look at your tank daily, and I'm sure we all do, then you can see it coming a mile away so to speak, but I digress.

There are plenty of other non-Caulerpa macros out there that do well. We've had Ulva that simply grew like a weed, Botryocladia is a great-looking red that does well under dimmer lighting (it bleaches/goes brown under bright light). Halymenia is another nice red, and Halimeda is also a good one that isn't eaten as readily as others. If you want to feed fish, look into Gracilaria.

Codium is another nice macro, but tends to do better under temperate conditions (about 74*F max).

 

I lost my old nano tank to Caulpara overnight, literally.