Caulerpa taking over!

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Chubosco

New Member
I have caulerpa scalpelliformis that has been well behaved the past six months. It now has decided to be come dominate on the reef. What a pain. I just spent two hours scubbing it off various rocks and the tank. What eats the stuff really well? We are talking a 12 nano. Anybody know the number for rent a tang? HELP!
 
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Chubosco

New Member
First, I don't know how to post a picture; second, my dear daughter thinks the camera belongs to her and is out of town. Besides, my camera is crap. Then there is the two hour cleaning and scrubbing, that did away with a good 75% of it. Someday, maybe Santa will bring me a good camera for tank shots. Someday, I will post a picture of my tank. I would have done it sooner but I didn't want to win the prize. O.K. that is really going to far. Anyway, any thoughts? I mean I know you can fry green tomatoes. What about ketchup and caulerpa?
 
J

Jennie

New Member
haha that's funny, a bumper crop of caulerpa. If that ever happens again, you can always try to sell it to someone with a fuge.

As for a fish that will eat it and fit in a 12g tank, Im checking on that.
 
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Chubosco

New Member
Thanks Jennie. I can only find tangs. I understand that would be a death sentence for them. I am rethinking about having plants in the reef. It is a great place to grow pods, though.
 
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Chubosco

New Member
I know. It just seems a fuge on a twelve gallon is kinda funny. Alot of effort and expense and I think it would look funny too, at least sitting on my bar. Like a jet engine on a VW.
 
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Jennie

New Member
:D I like your since of humor. I can't see where a fuge would be a bad idea for any size tank. Anyway, there are many people, surely someone local to you that would either buy or take it off your hands.

Has it got a strong hold on your lr?
 
djconn

djconn

New Member
Is it grape caulerpa? If so and its worked its way into your LR, you are in trouble. You can pull and prune everyday but that stuff will always fight back.

Keeping your water quality up will help but won't make the problem go away. Sorry to be the one to tell you the bad news.

Tangs and Foxfaces eat caulerpa but neither will work in a nano. :sad:
 
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Chubosco

New Member
It's not grape caulerpa. This has leaves. It works it way into the nook and crannys of the rock and it's difficult to remove. Every little tiny piece roots itself. Funny how something so wonderful can become such a pain. Had a wife like that.
 
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Jennie

New Member
Chubosco said:
It's not grape caulerpa. This has leaves. It works it way into the nook and crannys of the rock and it's difficult to remove. Every little tiny piece roots itself. Funny how something so wonderful can become such a pain. Had a wife like that.
Click to expand...
If it is in the nooks and crannys, DJ is right, only very good water quality is going to correct the problem. Why not get an older HOB filter and make a fuge? Will help the tank in the long run.
 
Sugar Magnolia

Sugar Magnolia

New Member
Feather or razor caulerpa probably. The problem is, all caulerpas grow by attaching rhizomes to the LR and unless you get every single bit of that root system off the rock, it will grow back. And, keeping caulerpa in the main tank is a ticking time bomb waiting to go off, unless you are diligent with the pruning. http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/nftt/index.php

My suggestion is to remove the rocks with the caulerpa attached and add some fully cured LR to replace it.
 
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incysor

New Member
Unfortunatel this is why most people don't keep macro algaes in their display tanks, unless it's a large tank and they have tangs that will keep it under control.

Your best choices are gonna be to find someone with a larger tank with a fuge, and just trade them your calerpa rock for some bare rock, or build a fuge. and move the rock into it. As for a fuge being strange on a 12g, that's really a matter of opinion, space, and design. My boss had a custom glass fuge made for his 18g half-round tank that is the same lenght and height as the display, sits behind it and actually just looks like part of the tank, the back of the display and the front of the fuge were both painted black so you can't see it from front of the tank at all.

B
 
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Jennie

New Member
I had a 5 lb piece that had caulpra (and a few others) growing on it and finally got tired of pulling the tweezers out so I ened up getting rid of the entire rock! Kris now has it.
 
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Chubosco

New Member
I'm moving in late October, once I move I'll set up another tank and figure something out. Till then, I'll clip a little everyday so the job doesn't become a major operation.
 
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drty811

New Member
this might be a bad example but.....i have a yellow tang in my 20L and i grow caulerpa in my refuguim to feed him.

when it grows out of control in my refugium....i trim the shit out of it, keep a chunk in the sump so i still have some, and then i move the tang into the refugium to clean up the rest that i couldnt get off the LR. so far this has worked great...
im in the process of building a partition for the caulerpa....

i havent had a problem with the tang in my tank.....just wondering what could be a problem?
 
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incysor

New Member
Yeah, that's a bad example. A 20L isn't large enough for a tang. Even a juvenile one. However lots of people with larger tanks do the same thing, pruning macro out of their refugiums for their tangs to eat.

B
 
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drty811

New Member
just wondering what is the worst thing that could happen with my tang in my tank?

is it ok if its just a temp thing?im just holding it it for a freind.......
 
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