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View Full Version : Is This Caulerpa?


ducatimikep
08/30/2008, 09:21 AM
It hasn't been there & wasn't
put there. I found it today during
a water change in the fuge.
It looks like a green strand of
featherdusters.

http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii240/mr16valve/P8300497.jpg

http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii240/mr16valve/P8300496.jpg

http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii240/mr16valve/P8300495.jpg

Thanks

Sk8r
08/30/2008, 10:20 AM
No. It's not, but it's not a good thing. It has roots. Anything with roots is bad in a reef display OR a fuge.

Mache62
08/30/2008, 10:36 AM
[QUOTE]<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13258402#post13258402 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Sk8r
No. It's not, but it's not a good thing. It has roots. Anything with roots is bad in a reef display OR a fuge. [/QUOTE
why do you say that? just curious. I have mangrove plants in my fuge and some sea grass, both have roots.

Sk8r
08/30/2008, 10:39 AM
Those, I'd say, are fine: neither is going to get through your system, through your pump and into your display tank. Caulerpa can---any part of it can grow a new plant, and once it gets roots into rock, it can survive rock cooking---and I'd bet that stuff can, just by how small and fine it is. Sorry for the overgeneralization: you have 2 safe rooted fuge plants.

Mache62
08/30/2008, 10:41 AM
I totally agree with that. Anything that looks the least bit feathery is out as far as I'm concerned.

Sk8r
08/30/2008, 10:45 AM
I'm wondering about bryopsis. Never really focused on it, so can't be sure, but just maybe worth asking around. This is the only photo I've found of bryopsis.
http://www.oceanarium.com.au/articles/troublesome_critters.htm

heller792
08/30/2008, 11:33 AM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13258526#post13258526 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Mache62
I totally agree with that. Anything that looks the least bit feathery is out as far as I'm concerned.

I take it that tiny feather dusters are ok?

fatdaddy
08/30/2008, 03:58 PM
I've seen that occasionally in one of my tanks that I just can't seem to get cleaned up. It usually attaches to the glass and then has a long thread branches out.

I usually just harvest it and throw it away. If I keep the nutrients under control, it stops growing.

I'm not sure what it is, but it's not caulerpa.

btw, keep in mind that one man's garbage is another man's treasure. Caulerpa is good tang and angel food, but it get's unsightly if there is nothing to keep it trimmed back. You can buy it on ebay for refugium's etc. I've started growing it to give the tangs fresh food occasionally, and it certainly does grow fast.

fatdaddy
08/30/2008, 04:01 PM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13258818#post13258818 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by heller792
I take it that tiny feather dusters are ok?

feather dusters are worms and not an algae or plant. They are usually considered good. I certainly have plenty of worms that build calciferous tubes to grow in. They are harmless and probably clean detritous from the water column.

ducatimikep
08/30/2008, 04:38 PM
So lets say if it makes
it into my display tank,
the tangs will eat it?
Yellow & Sailfin??

Mache62
08/30/2008, 05:56 PM
but what if they don't eat it.....you risk the chance of it growing out of control.

I had a small little spot of dictyota once, I thought it looked pretty.....I fought that stuff for at least a year before getting rid of it.

It's not worth the headache in my book, just get rid of it.

toothman
08/30/2008, 06:25 PM
Looks like bryopsis to me. Bryopsis is a very tenacious algae, just about the only way to totally remove it is to take the object out. I would. Some say raise mg to 1500 to 1600 ppm. I have not found this to be the case and just finally removed the rock in my tank that has it.

sassafrass
08/30/2008, 07:42 PM
2nd on bryopsis it is very difficult to get rid of ,I had some rock with it (really cheap) put it in the dark with circulation only no heat for 3 months in the winter ,it still lived finally dried the rock out for a month that killed it.

fatdaddy
08/30/2008, 10:04 PM
My tangs won't touch it. You definitely need to control nutrients, so I would harvest it and throw it in the trash.

You could try selling it on ebay. People sell hair balls there. Why not PITA algae? :)

ducatimikep
08/31/2008, 07:06 AM
OK, it all "appears" to be out. It was localized
On 2 smaller pieces of live rock.
When I pulled it off, it was a 10" main strand
With branches off of both sides.
I have been dozing iodine weekly
(very small amounts).
How long should my fuge light run for?
Should I increase my flow to the fuge?
I am trying to understand why it started
There. But that's a good thing.