Macro algae question

Putting aside performance, what kind of macroalgae should i stay away from for my fuge?

I ask this because i haven't been able to find any chaeto and/or caulerpa in fish stores in here so i may have to go find it straight in the ocean so i need to know what to look for and what to stay away from.

Any place on internet where i can see some photos of caulerpa so it could be easier to recognize? i live in Venezuela so i will be diving into the caribean sea.

 

Where are you located? You could always order some
As for getting it from the ocean, be very, very careful. You could bring in a myriad of unwanted pests. And worse of all, you could end up collecting a restricted species, or one that requires a permit, and end up with heavy fines and/or time in a fed bin

 

I am located in Venezuela that's the north part of south america, the sea i have acces to is the caribean sea, there's no much legislation regarding what you can collect from the sea here unless you are in a protected zone.

I have been thinking about the "pest" thing for some time but i think i rather take that chance and try to minimize that happening than to just not look for it =).

 

The only thing i remember seeing down there 'Puerta La Cruz' was sargasso i dont know how that would do compared to other macros.Have you tried ordering anything from miami?
I just moved from Honduras and used to get lr and chaeto via fedex i just had to pay a small 'fee' and never had a problem.

 

I have asked about ordering some but the mail people told me it is unlikely that i could order from abroad since it's a living organism and if i get it here it has to go through quarantine and i dont think would last in a box for 6 weeks in some wharehouse specially holding a copepod colony. Do you think both the alga and the pods can wristand that?

My gf's granny is going soon to the U.S and i was thinking about buying some and send it to where she stays over there so she can take it in her suitcase over here, could it (algae and pods) survive the cold from the cargo bay in an airplane pressure is not a problem since it would be in a tupperware kind of thing, would a heat pad help??

I have always seen sargaso in beaches arround here, i know it's not a bad algae but im not sure if it can hold a colony of copepods wich i need for some of the fishes i want to keep, would sargaso be eaten by herbibore fish such as yellow/purple tangs and the kind?

 

If all you want is macro and pods why not just try some sargasso?It is always full of critters as far as pods im not too sure.
As far as shipping goes your would probably be better off trying one of the smaller shipping companies there are probably 2 dozen in south florida alone.Just ask if maybe the shipment could be "expedited" once it arrives down there.I think you will probably be surprised at how easy it is.
good luck

 

If all you really want is the pods there is no need for a macro. Rock rubble piles, kitchen sponges, etc will work just fine.

 

sargassum in dirft tends to come with pests, and when it dies certain species turn the water yellow. try diving and swimming out, chaeto will be hard to find, but you should see other seaweed. You can catch pods in the wrack.

 

Well i wanted the macro to reduce nitrates but also to house a pod colony, i found some amphipods today in a LFS but no sign of any good macro just mangroves.

I think i know where to find the caulerpa but its like 2 hours in car and then 2 hours in boat (same place they get all the LR that is sold in my country) I have alway loved diving and actually have been planning for some time to go in a coral search once the tank is cycled (do you think taking litle frags of coral is unethical?) but such a trip for an algae seems like overkill lol.

Got an answer from reefscavengers.com telling they dont have any caulerpa right now but they could certainly send me some pod cultives i was thinking abotu buying A LOT maybe about 1000 pods to start a colony in the sump. i guess ill do at least 2 dives just to get the tank going as i want it to be.