Caulerpa Taxifolia taking over?

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

Gatorfreak

Aquarium Advice FINatic
Joined
Aug 27, 2004
Messages
617
Location
Gainesville, FL
I got my LR about 3 weeks ago. There was a small patch of fern-like algae on it. It looks a lot like Caulerpa Taxifolia pictures. Taxifolia is known to quickly take over areas in the wild and nothing really eats it. I haven't found anything on the web that says it has been found in the Gulf of Mexico (where my LR came from) but it sure seems to be acting like it. I made the mistake of ripping out the plant before reading that mechanical removal just helps it spread. Now it's everywhere... on the glass, sand, rocks. I really hope it's not Taxifolia and that I can get something to eat it.
 
That is the exact stuff that has given me a lot of problems. Good to know what it is. I haven't found anything that likes to eat it, and my tank is too small to support a tang.

I've had success by physically removing it as often as possible, and working hard on the standby methods of limiting algae control (RO/DI water, less feeding etc.)

I went to the drug store and bought myself a denture toothbrush. I've found it very effective at scrubbing this particular algae off the rocks. It tends to grow in places where there is a small accumulation of loose sand on the LR. It won't grow well on clean live rock and it can't displace coraline. It just kills me to scrub my LR, but I had no choice. The coraline actually seems to thrive on the scrubbing, but there are a lot of other creatures that can be deathly harmed by a scrub.

Also, if some of it happens to grow in a spot that isn't too concerning...let it be. That clump will take the nutrients that are available and limit growth in other areas. (kind of the idea of a fuge, without a fuge)
 
Back
Top Bottom