Caulerpa Dying

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Jurupari Man

The Masked Tortilla
May 29, 2001
83
3
8
New York, NY
I returned from a few days out of town to find that the large grove of lettuce caulerpa in my 20g FOWLR is dying off. It had been growing and looking very good, and then all of a sudden, it's dying off extremely rapidly. At this rate it will be completely decimated by morning.

The tank is 20g, with a 5" DSB, and 25 lbs. of live rock. It has been running for about 2 months. No ammonia or nitrite detectable. Nitrates are around 15, pH = 8.2, SG = 1.025. Lighting is a single 15W fluorescent Coralife 10,000K bulb. The only parameter that stood out as being a little off - the temp had dropped to around 73 degrees while I was away. Could this have been the cause for this rapid die-off? Any other ideas?

There is also quite a bit of red grape caulerpa and some other red macro algae that is still fine.
 

Boogiechillin

It's ok, I confuse my students too.
Oct 26, 2000
381
0
0
Akron, OH, USA
www.trocadero.com
Could be a number of things. I'd say that the lighting is a little low to expect much caulerpa growth to begin with. As for the sudden die-off, the temperature drop is likely the cause. Cooler water can trigger reproduction and death, so keep an eye on the tank - if the water suddenly turns cloudy white, it has reproduced and you will need to do some water changes.

FWIW, another common cause of sudden crashes with caulerpa is iron depletion. Heavy skimming or infrequent water changes can cause this problem as the iron is gradually consumed by the plant. This isn't something that you can dose (would be quite dangerous to do so), but you might want to try a minor water change and see what happens.
 

Jurupari Man

The Masked Tortilla
May 29, 2001
83
3
8
New York, NY
Thanks, Boogie. It's all gone - completely. I'm nudging the temp back into the mid to upper 70's. All other macro algae doing fine. I'll keep an eye out for white cloudy water...
 

fmuakkassa

AC Members
Dec 6, 2002
18
0
0
Akron, OH
Visit site
Iron deficiency is a problem and need to be addressed if you are to grow Caulerpa.
Read folowing article

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/aug2002/chem.htm

I don't know why Boogiechillin is against that. I had Caulerpa growing like mad in a sump and it slowed down to a halt. I measured iron and it was zero. I am now adding Kent Iron supplement (just started few days ago) and I hope my Caulerpa grow wild again.
 
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