Is caulerpa actually toxic in our tanks

[E46Twist]

So I was recently reading about a safe way to feed grape caulerpa to my PBT and Foxface. In threads I kept seeing it come up that the stuff is toxic to fish and corals. I know it can go sexual, but this was saying that pruning will also release this toxin. Therefore it is a bad idea to feed fish. Is this just another old over reaction or is this true? If so I am getting rid of it.

[Donkeykong]

Never heard it was toxin, but one of the main reasons we grow macro algae in our fuges is so that they can absorb excess nutrients out of our water. If you then take that algae and feed it to the fish that then release it back into the water as poop, you never are getting rid of nutrients just have them cycling around and around. With that being said I know many reefers who feed there tangs a bit of macro algae from there sumps as a bit of a treat, the amount they feed is so small compared to what they take out of the sump and throw out that it doesnt make much of a difference.

[E46Twist]

Yeah I was only feeding a strand or so but the first time it came off the clip I frantically netted it out to avoid it growing in my dt. I wondered if anyone froze it or baked it to kill it but save it as a treat. These articles have me worried though with talk about it being bad for sps and I cant find any solid evidence one way or the other.

[Hzuiel]

It's not the nutrients they can release that is being mentioned when they say toxic. Many species of marine plants release phycotoxins. I was recently made aware of this myself, it is a form of allelopathy, just like when corals fight with eachother. Algae competes with other algae and corals for space, and they wage war for that space. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phycotoxin As for how much of a negative effect it has, i have no clue. Not all species create such toxins. There are clearly many tank of the month winners who are running refugiums with macro algae. I would say if nothing else, the added toxins just force you to run more carbon for the health of your corals.

Mangroves and sponges could be good alternatives for a refugium.

[snorvich]

You might research using Google or RC search what happens when Caulerpa goes sexual.

[snorklr]

i think it takes over the mediterranean

[E46Twist]

I know about it going sexual, I think I mentioned that in my OP. It has to be really ****ed to do that though is my understanding. I only run carbon once a month usually.