Calupera algea

[kbaker721]

At the lfs I went to today, he had a lot of calupera algea - all different sorts. I like the look of it - like a sw planted tank. He was selling it since it grows quickly, he was selling a handful to be trasported for $4. He said it was good and would help filter out the "junk" in the tank including help keep nitrates low. Is this true and is it worth getting? It looks cool, does anyone have experience with it or should I stay away from it?

[OrionGirl]

There are several varieties of macro algae--'caulerpa' is frequently a general name for several species. It will suck up nitrates, and help clean the water. Many people pack their refugiums with it for that purpose, as well as to provide a great breeding ground for copopods. It can be fast growing (or hardly grow at all, depending on!), in whcih case it should be cut back regularly to prevent it from overtaking the tank, and to remove the nitrates from the system.

Some hints: Make sure it's shipped with some water. It dries out easily, IME, and this will kill it off. Adapt it to your water, just like you would a fish or invert. Make sure to anchor it in your tank, to encourage it to put in rhizomes (little hariy structures that keep it in place, instead of blowing around). If you have tangs, or other herbivores, get lots, since they will browse on it daily.

[kbaker721]

I was reading a lot on another forum about calupera algea, adn it sounds like it is not a good idea to put in the main tank (I don't have a refugium). They said it will release toxins in the tank. Is this true? I just wanted to add some green "plants" to the aquarium to give it some life (not into corals yet). But I don't want to mess up what I have now......

[OrionGirl]

Toxins? Nope. Macro algaes will release ammonia, in addition to the calcium and other nutrients they've absorbed, if they die and rot in your tank. However--this is not normal. They don't have anything toxic to release, like some fish might. They won't mess anything up.

[kbaker721]

Some of the other things I read was that it is bad when it goes "sexual" - not sure what this means but everyone made it sound like it is a bad thing for your tank....

[OrionGirl]

Razor algae can change to reproduce sexually, which means it spews gametes out. These can cause a clouding of the water. A skimmer will pull it out, and it's not a reason to completely avoid algae. I think you could stick with something like the grape caulerpa without worrying, or talk to a hobbyist that's getting rid of theirs to see if they have a strain that's ever gone sexual on them.

[kbaker721]

What about the algea that looks like ferns. I really don't know what it is called, but the guy said it was a strain of calupera - he had many different kinds in his tanks. The ones I liked looked like soft ferns, with long feathery looking leaves. I am not sure how else to describe it - I know a picture would help. I saw some of the grape and they were cool too but I like this one strain. Sorry I can't be more specific....

[FishBait]

Actually Caulerpa does release "toxins." One specie, Caulerpa racemosa, is notorious for this. Basically if you prune it back by ripping or cutting it, it realeases caulerpin into the water wich can have negative effects on some corals. That is the only real danger it posses though.

[Kara]

I have also heard that Caulerpa will release a substance into the water if ripped or cut..

I definitely want to introduce some caulerpa into my tank. In the event that it grows rapidly, how should I handle pruning it? Make sure that the rock it is living on can be removed from the tank, so I can prune it and let it sit for a few hours in a bucket of salt water?

Will caulerpa anchor well in sand?

[OrionGirl]

Rather than argue about toxins, I'm just going to ask you to DOCUMENT a case where the use of caulerpa in a home aquarium released toxins--not went sexual--but actually released toxins. I've read the data and the cases of problems where the algae was introduced as a non-native exotic nuisance species, but that hardly applies to the conditions in most of our tanks.

There is much anecdotal information identifying the benefits of all species of algae, and while I could find plenty of "I've heard" stories on toxins and sexual, I couldn't find anything from someone who actually had it happen to them.

Sometimes, we need to stop, look at what we've heard, and see if there's any support for it or if it's an aquatic myth. This one get my vote as a myth.

[FishBait]

Well, honestly I cannot document any such case myself, but there are some resources listed on the final post of this thread that might be worth checking out just to see how true it is.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=146330&highlight=caulerpin

I've heard too many people complain about nearby corals dying after a large amount of Caulerpa was harvested w/out running carbon from the output of their fuges to believe this is not true. Maybe I should not have said it they way I did, but rather there's a strong possibility this is true ;)

[RTR]

But then there are many Caulerpa-loaded refugia which get pruned regularly, and these do not report that problem.

Has anyone discussed change in light on the coral after mass prunings in the display tank?

[FishBait]

That's a good point too. No one has said anything about lighting levels to my knowledge either. My assumption is that is something that is only dangerous if large amounts are released close enough to a coral that the toxin cannot dilute much. Many people I know run carbon in their tanks in the outflow of their fuges for this reason though.