Getting rid of Caluerpa Racemosa - HowTo

[Mihai]

Hi, I have a small patch of Caluerpa Racemosa in the display tank, but
it's getting bigger; I don't have any in the refugium, just this small
patch. It started as small as a a nail and now is about 4-5 square
inches. I tried to pull it out 3-4 times but each time came back stronger.

My (relatively new - 1 month) yellow tang doesn't know it is supposed
to go nuts for it (it doesn't eat fresh Ulva either!). I even tried to
put some nori next to it to make it look like a salad bar: he ate the
nori but didn't touch the Caluerpa...

So... how do I get rid of it now, before it takes over and fills my
tank with "plant life" (I don't have any kalk).

Thanks,
Mihai

 

[Oceans Ferevh]

Yeh my yellow tang never ate it either. Is it on sand or rock?

 

[Mihai]

Rock, and a huge one at the base of my right half of the tank, so getting it out is something I don't want to do...

M.

 

[danmhippo]

Yeah, yellow doesn't touch racemosa, actually not many do.

The only way I've tried is to hand pick them off repeatedly. Or, you could try not feeding the tang for a week, and force him to try racemosa.

 

[Anonymous]

As most already know I would rather pull out some caulerpa each week then other means of maintaining a system.

that said, my first efforts to establish a caulerpa only last three weeks because my anamone crabs ate the caulerpa. So you might try something like that.

I hope you have a tank you like and can find some form of plant life acceptable to complete, balance out, and stabilize the system.

 

[Mihai]

The only way I've tried is to hand pick them off repeatedly.

I tried that and failed miserably: it came back stronger than before. I guess that the holdfast stayed on the rock and it was all that it took.

Or, you could try not feeding the tang for a week, and force him to try racemosa.

Unfortunately the tang has in the main tank only for two weeks or so and still has ample algae that it can munch for the next 2-3 months at least before it will be forced to eat something it doesn't like :-(

M.

 

[Mihai]

As most already know I would rather pull out some caulerpa each week then other means of maintaining a system.

I'd rather use cheato in my refugium for export if I can help it.

that said, my first efforts to establish a caulerpa only last three weeks because my anamone crabs ate the caulerpa. So you might try something like that.

Sorry, but what's an "anamone crab"? I only know of anemone fish and that some crabs use anemone for defense, I assume you don't talk about them...? I have some hermits (just a few blue leggs and a few red leggs) and about 3-4 emeralds, but none touch it.

I hope you have a tank you like and can find some form of plant life acceptable to complete, balance out, and stabilize the system.

I have a refugium full of algae (non-caluerpa), I'm only against rampant growth of algae in the display tank.

M.

 

[Anonymous]

2 Anemone crabs were part of the cleaner crew i ordered to make the minimum shipping amount. They hang around anemones at the base. Actually had their back legs back legs wrapped around the stalk.

They would hold a strand of caulerpa in one claw and pull off sections with the other. I also don't know how reef safe they are either.

I agree the chaeto is easier to control and my tang likes grazing it all day.

If your refug is large enough to keep things under control, then I would just keep pulling out the unwanted until the unwanted dies off and the refug is consuming the nutrients. An old trick is to simply put the grape you harvest in the refug.

IME grape also require higher lighting then chaeto. So with a thriving refug you might try a couple of days of light off followed by dimmer lights to get the grape to die off or at least not come back after removal.


Or you could just say ooooooo the green grapes look cool. And let them expand. The will slow their growth when nutrients go down. And just do some arranging every month or so.

 

[Mihai]

I'm not talking about the refugium here: the grape is in the display tank where the light is really intense. If I turn the lights down a bit all my SPS will die before the grape do, so it's out of question.
I do think that they look cool, but I also though that bubble algae look good the first month or so . I want to stop this before it's too late.

M.

 

[Anonymous]

Hmm, so you really really really can't take the rock out huh? Because that would be my suggestion. Seems once it gets the holdfasts in the rock, it will be there forever unless it "goes asexual".

Hand pruning on a regular basis to keep it from taking over any more area is certainly a good plan. You don't want it to get any worse. It sounds like it is at the bottom of the tank, you can pick up a pair of these http://www.widgetsupply.com/page/WS/PRO ... rcep/BBC25 to make it easier. I love my 18 inch hemostats!!

I don't know how much extra room you have for another big fish, but this guy eats every kind of caulerpa I have offered him over the years, even the nasty stuff my tangs won't touch.

 

[Anonymous]

I'm not talking about the refugium here: the grape is in the display tank where the light is really intense. If I turn the lights down a bit all my SPS will die before the grape do, so it's out of question.
I do think that they look cool, but I also though that bubble algae look good the first month or so . I want to stop this before it's too late.

M.

Yes i understood completely.

halimeda (money plant) could be another option. I understand they grow more slowly, are easier to contain, and require the high lighting and calcium of reef tanks. Or even the more orientmental shaving brushes or fans.

No experience but I have also heard about a "rabbit fish".

Actually it sounds like you have an excellent tank.

 

[Mihai]

Hmm, so you really really really can't take the rock out huh? Because that would be my suggestion. Seems once it gets the holdfasts in the rock, it will be there forever unless it "goes asexual".

It's really big and it has two smaller ones on it... lots of SPS frags on them... I was really looking for an easy way out . How about if I shade it, or I plant something else on top of it (e.g. cheato, or ulva), or put something else on it to smother it?

Hand pruning on a regular basis to keep it from taking over any more area is certainly a good plan. You don't want it to get any worse. It sounds like it is at the bottom of the tank, you can pick up a pair of these http://www.widgetsupply.com/page/WS/PRO ... rcep/BBC25 to make it easier. I love my 18 inch hemostats!!

It's not too low, I can reach it. I'll try to keep going at it.

I don't know how much extra room you have for another big fish, but this guy eats every kind of caulerpa I have offered him over the years, even the nasty stuff my tangs won't touch.

Nope - I have a fairly large yellow tang in a 90 gal and I would not want any competition for the tang. He looks fat and happy for now, and I don't want to change that.

M.

 

[Mihai]

halimeda (money plant) could be another option. I understand they grow more slowly, are easier to contain, and require the high lighting and calcium of reef tanks. Or even the more orientmental shaving brushes or fans.

I have lots of halimeda in the main tank, it does not outcompete the caluerpa. Just slows it down.

No experience but I have also heard about a "rabbit fish".

I don't want any competition for my yellow tang, so a rabbit fish is not in the books.

M.

 

[Anonymous]

What if you ripped out all you could get by hand, and then mushed reef epoxy all over where is was growing? You know, kind of seal it all in. The epoxy will look odd for a bit, but eventally will get coraline growth. You could even get creative and give it a "live rock" texture.

Not that I have tried that, just brainstorming!

 

[Mihai]

I'll try to mush something in there, but not expoxy: it's UGLY .

M.

 

[Anonymous]

kill it now while you can.

 

[Mihai]

I picked up 30 minutes at it last night, then applied a patch of Ulva. I hope that will do.

M.

 

[coastal]

I had a simmilar problem and tried all kinds of things the only thing that really worked was to break down that big bastard of a tank (275) and put all the live rock in my 150 gal sump and let it die back , it seem to have worked for now

 

[Mihai]

See, this is what I want to avoid, and I try to get it now when it's really only a small patch. The Ulva pack is still on top of what was the patch of Caluerpa, I don't dare to peek for another week or so.

M.

 

[Anonymous]

I had to tear down a tank to get rid of that crap. Its reef kudzu I tell you!