Chaeto vs Caulerpa

Got a handful of each from a LFS a couple weeks ago. The caulerpa started to look like crap (was turning white and the ends looked frayed) so I read up a little bit and I think it may have been "sexing" (I could be wrong, it just didn't look healthy). It tries to reproduce but dies in the process is what I understood from a little reading but still don't quite understand.

Anyways, it said that leaving the lights on 24/7 can keep it from going into this reproductive phase. This is what I've done and it looks a bit better but is this bad for the Chaeto? Should I just focus on one type?

Just looking for a little info on peoples experience with the two and what they may prefer and why. Thanks.

 

Chaeto is the better choice IMO

Not invasive like caulerpa
Does not go sexual
Does not produce chemicals that are detrimental to sps

 

+1 I like chaeto better also! Less hassle

 

Agreed...Chateo is also a better breeding haven for pods and such!!

 

if you are just growing it to be a nitrate remover, i prefer the chaeto. However, i feed my macro to my tangs from time to time and they prefer the caulerpa.

 

You don't want it going sexual in your tank, trust me. I lost an entire tank to that years ago. Trash the caulerpa unless you're going to feed it to your fish or something, then keep it very well trimmed often. 24/7 lights won't hurt the chaeto at all, and it won't guarantee that the caulerpa won't go sexual, either.

 

The cheato needs to have a light and dark cycle or it may die off or stop growing well. It needs a rest period like your animals. Run the light in your fuge on a reverse schedule to your tank lights.

 

2in10, I kinda wondered about that. Some people said yes & some said no. We're going to switch to opposing cycles when we get back home instead of 24/7, really just because of the cyano, though, and because I think everything else in the fuge would appreciate it. Our chaeto is going nuts growing like crazy since we put it in there with lights 24/7, though, and hasn't abated a bit. What kind of time period would you expect to start seeing it having trouble with 24/7 lighting?

 

I wouldn't know on that but had read that it needed a rest period. It could be a month or more possibly. That would be an interesting experiment because I have not seen anything on a time frame.

 

I would consider growing a mixture of chaeto and gracilaria in this case.