caulerpa

[clowninround]

My friend gave me some caulerpa and maiden hair from her tank. What can I do to make sure the caulerpa doesn't go sexual???

[seaham358]

what kind is it and where do you plan on keeping it... Most keep there lights on 24/7 to keep it happy. If your putting it in your tank then keeping the lights on 24/7 is not an option.

[clowninround]

I have it in my fuge and it is grape caulpera.

[seaham358]

AHHHHH grape caluerpa I have had that and it went sexual in my reef 3 times.. It is great for nutrient export but is know for going sexual.
You need to light for 24/7 and prune on a regular basis. I have read that if you start to see little shoots(roots) coming off the vine then its getting ready to go sexual. I tossed out all mine after the 3rd time.. I was not running lights 24/7 when I had the grape.

[melosu58]

I grow it in my refuge and never had any problem with it. I pull a big ball of it out to feed my tangs every week and its gone in a few days. I leave my lights on 24/7 but I think your suppose to turn them on oppisite your main lights. In other words have them on when the main lights are off and vice versa. This is the favorite food of my tangs

[MantisFreak]

Originally Posted by melosu58

I pull a big ball of it out to feed my tangs every week and its gone in a few days.

Are you growing it for food for your tangs or for nutrient export? If you are growing it for food, that's fine. However, if you put it back into your display tank, all of the Nitrogenous compounds and Phosphates that it had absorbed, is now being pooped back out into your display tank for algaes and bacteria to grab.

[melosu58]

Never had an algea problem in 6 years and I feed my tangs every week Grape Calerpa from the fuge

[MantisFreak]

I'm sorry.

I didn't intend to indicate that you were necessarily going to get algae from feeding Caulerpa from your fuge to your tank. I was trying to point out that whenever someone does this, they are not doing an export. They are just moving the nutrients within the same closed system. As an average, only 10% of the nutrients that a critter eats remains in that critter and the rest goes back into the system. It sounds like you have a lot of other good export mechanisms in place and this hasn't been a problem for you.

[melosu58]

I understand. Have a good day

[coralife]

I also use it to feed my tangs once in a while. I trim the ends and just toss them in the main. They are also good for them because it helps them with their immune system.

[hcuellart]

I would think that when you trim your Caulerpa you still leave quite a bit in your refugium for it to export the excess nutrients your tank might have. Basically this is a natural cycle so your main as far as I might think will not suffer of excess nutrients.

Trimming the Caulerpa and feeding it is one of the best ways for it not to go sexual. I believe that they might go sexual when there are not enough nutients in their surroundings so they have to spread around (going sexual).
Well I did it some time ago when I successfully kept a Moorish Idol for at least 3 years until I moved and had to donate my beautiful fish to an aquarium... So sad...

[aquanaut]

Hi Guys

I have some in my fuge too, but its not Grape, kinda like a mushroom shape... alone with Chaeto. What happens when it goes sexual? I havent trimmed mine much, but lately its taken off . Does it cause problems in main tank? Thanks

[hcuellart]

When they go sexual they begin turning whitish and suddely disintegrate realising all the nutrients it had into the tank. All these released nutrients would damage your inverts... Trim it to keep it from going sexual. Well at least that worked for me...

I believe that when they run out of nutrients they go sexual...

Homero

[pufferman]

i just contacted one lfs that i go to here in CA, and the guy said that it is illegal in CA to sell caulerpa. WHAT! I just bought caulerpa from another lfs about a year ago. Did something happen that i dont know about? I am trying to look for a reefer in Bay Area, CA for some chaeto or caulerpa who has some he/she can give away.

[hcuellart]

Here´s what I know happened some while back in California. Some time back Caulerpa taxifolia which was used in our hobby was somehow released into the CA coast. Probably by some hobbyist who decided to get rid of his/her trimmings in the toilet and ended up on the coast, it has been so invasive that it has caused a lot of damage to the natural flora and fauna in the state.

Not only in CA but also in the Mediterranean happened I believe in the 70's and 80's. Now all Caulerpa is considered a plague specifically the taxifolia variety. That is why it is of extreme importance to people living near coastal water to freeze and dispose this algae in the dry basket not in the drain.

Well thats how it got banned from CA...