Caulerpa removal ???

[sandman450f]

Does anyone have any decent methods to remove caulerpa from the display? I am getting pretty tired of trying to remove this stuff manually as I have found that it turns into a compound problem.

[graveyardworm]

Some fish will eat it in small amounts, and may help. Some Tangs, and some Rabbitfish do eat it. I think most urchins avoid it. Not sure if emeralds or hermits would touch it, probably not and I wouldnt recommend them anyway.

[sandman450f]

Thanks for the info. My hippo does peck at it some but not nearly enough to keep it in check. i've read somwhere that there was some success with a sea hare nudi. Ive ot plenty of hermits, they dont touch it, and i wont put any emeralds back into my tank.

[honeybee]

I have a Foxface and I can not keep caulerpa in my reef.

Honeybee

[sandman450f]

Thanks honeybee; do you have any problems w/ it nipping at sps or lps ?

[Sk8r]

Tripneustes gracillis, 'hairy colored pincushion urchin'...loves caulerpa and is good with corals.

[honeybee]

Sandman,

I have used three different Foxface rabbit fish over the past seven or eight years to combat macroalage problems and never had any that were interested in “meat” The one I have now will not eat fresh shrimp or fish, only flake food and plant material. I am having trouble with Dictyota and have tried to introduce different macros to compete for nutrients but no luck. My present Foxface rabbit fish eats Botryocladia, Caulerpa peltata, racemosa, taxifolia like forms, Codium, and of course Dictyota.

The only negative I have with this fish is that it can quickly eat itself out of house and home while rapidly growing quite large and then it wants to be the only big fish in the tank. I am getting ready to take this one back to Inland Aquatics and trade for something else.

Honeybee

[graveyardworm]

My foxface loves mysis, actually seems to prefer it over algae.

[sandman450f]

Thanks for all the input, it seems I may have a few options.

[pjf]

Has anyone had good results with invertebrate caulerpa eaters, such as sea slugs? I understand that Lobiger souverbii is found in the wild feasting on caulerpa racemosa. Does anyone know who stocks them?

[sandman450f]

I had read some posts indicating success with the use of what is commonly called a Sea Hare, being a nudibranch or more generally a sea slug. As far as the exact specie, I couldnt tell you. I have seen them for sale from some online vendors and I have seen them in lfs