Caulerpa brachypus

[DrCooper]

HELP ME get rid of this stuff please in my tank!

I pick it off as much as I can but it just keeps growing and is impossible to remove it seems

Any ideas

Caulerpa brachypus = a pain!

thanks

 

[cowfish]

"Scientists first detected Caulerpa brachypus in the southern IRL in 2003. Initial concerns that the alga would gain a foothold and quickly spread through the IRL have been partially allayed with the finding that it is largely intolerant of the high-light conditions characteristic of the shallow IRL system (Brian LaPointe, personal communication).

Salinity tolerance limits for Caulerpa brachypus appear as yet undetermined, although C. racemosa has been demonstrated to cease growing if salinity is reduced to 20 ppt and C. taxifolia is killed outright when salinity is reduced below 10 ppt (Carruthers et al. 1993, ANSTF 2004).

In Florida there are few if any herbivores that readily consume this alga, though the reasons for this are not entirely clear. Preliminary evidence from studies on the coast of Florida suggests that the defensive compound caulerpenyne may not be present in sufficient quantities in Caulerpa brachypus to deter grazing by generalist herbivores (e.g., parrotfish), but that the chemical may still be important as an activated defense compound (Lapointe and Yentsch 2003)."

Not sure what kind of tank you have, but depending on your live-stock, you may want to, temporarily, greatly increase the lighting and/or use hyposalinity. Decreasing feedings, using GFO and continued manual removal are all sure to help.

 

[mandown123]

If you highly increase your lighting, you'll grow the other algaes like wildfire and MAYBE kill that one, but doubtfully unless you changed your fixture to something substantially bigger. I doubt what this guy means is simply leaving your lights on for a few more hours.

Manual removal. Get it all lol.

 

[DHaut]

Did you talk to John M. at reefcleaners?

 

[Marteen]

It contains toxins that most herbivores find unpleasant so there aren't many fish that will eat it. Although, urchins tend to eat anything green so maybe try one. In the meantime cut down your feedings and try to get your excess nutrients down as well. This stuff is literally taking over Florida your tank may just be a small step in it's conquest of the east coast.

 

[flipit13]

hey dr
i had that when i had my jbj what a pain in the a$$ cut your feedings in half and pluck it out you can usually get it under control, but you will never get rid of it... also there are no creatures that will eat it either..

good luck
rick

 

[DrCooper]

hey dr
i had that when i had my jbj what a pain in the a$$ cut your feedings in half and pluck it out you can usually get it under control, but you will never get rid of it... also there are no creatures that will eat it either..

good luck
rick

This is actually more in my 9 gallon nano wave.
I emailed john malloney and he said emerald crab should help so we shall see!

Thanks all for the help