Feather Caulerpa

[Pookie]

Today I went to a friends home to view their reef and acquire a tridacna that is dulled from low light. I have MH and my clam is doing great. All my corals are doig great. I am a bit disturbed that her reef looks better than mine...because I gave the advice while she was building her softy reef.

My problem is an infestation of feather caulerpa that I introduce to fight an algae problem months ago. I added 5 emeralds and a yellow tang. This is not working. I don't have the means to cook the rock on a 24/7...what should I do?[/quote]

 

[RobertoVespucci]

My problem is an infestation of feather caulerpa that I introduce to fight an algae problem months ago. I added 5 emeralds and a yellow tang. This is not working. I don't have the means to cook the rock on a 24/7...what should I do?

Dude, I feel your pain. The only thing I've been exceptional at growing is caulerpa. At one point I traded some for corals (of which I am now ashamed). Without knowing your setup, I can only tell you how I won. I moved my lights so that they were over the front edge of the tank and therefore only lighting the front of the rocks. I mixed up a bucket of salt water and kept a heater in and left it next to the tank (and a towel). And then every time I saw the tiniest bit of green, I pulled the rock out and scrubbed that side of the rock really hard for a several minutes to get it all off. I was scrubbing something about every day at first. After a couple months it was just once a week. Eventually I didn't have to scrub anymore and I moved the lights back. Oh, and you'll want a flashlight to see the rock well under the water. The stuff is harder to see in the air for some reason.

 

[WRASSER]

It takes a while for nature to take its corse, try to be patient with the crabs and the tang. when they feel at home they will start to eat the natural things they normally eat.

 

[RobertoVespucci]

Wrasser, I totally respect you and your experience, but I don't think that's the best advice. When the animals are stressed/unsettled the first things they'll eat are their natural foods. Once they settle in, then you might get them to eat other things.

Pookie- Since you didn't say, I'm assuming you still have the 30 gallon from your first post? Three emeralds is too much. I think you'll find you'll only have one and a lot of caulerpa in short order. And the yellow tang should find a new home, too. Thirty is too small. Fwiw, I had an emerald and a yellow tang as well during my caulerpa battle. (Not coincidence, people seem to thing they eat that stuff with gusto.) I don't think they eat it at all. I did see the tang rip bits off, but s/he always spat them out, therefore helping it spread.

And if you live anywhere near the coast, as in you might make a day trip to the beach, don't flush it down the toilet/sink.

 

[WRASSER]

I guess caulerpa is natural food? The yellow tang and he crabs will eat it, It takes time, Not all at once, all in one day.dont over stock with the things you think will eat it. Keep tabs on the water quality too.

 

[Dewman]

Pookie,

I just wanted to give you my .02.

I have a 10 GALLON witha 150HQI over it, and I am the best Caulerpa grower on the face of the earth.

The way I battled it ( and won) is that I took the rock out piuece by piece and picked off all the visible growth. I was very careful to make sure I took all of the roots.
Then, after rearranging all the rock back, I decreased my photoperiod and bought 6 blue legged and 2 emerald mithrax crabs.
I now have no new growth. I took the emerald mithrax crabs back because they didn't seem to be doing anything.
The blues are keeping it down now.

I am happy.

 

[Minh Nguyen]

I second Dewman's recommendation. That was what I did to back in the 1990's. Nothing will eat them in any significant amount. Once your tank is infested with them, you just have to remove it by hand (tweezer).

 

[Anonymous]

Tangs don't naturally eat Caulerpa spp in any significant amount. It contains toxins that fish don't like. You may see them eating new growths of it, or when they are starving, but it typically won't be enough to eradicate it IME.

I've never tried mithrax crabs but from what I understand they will eat corals/snails/etc as well when they get big.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanx for reminding me Matt.. - I've got a chunky emerald that was lunging for my fat old lemon damnsel a few weeks back. - That crab is also due for another round of playing "flip Norms rockwork" too.. :x - That sucker needs to get fed to someones trigger or puffer soon. :twisted:


Sadly, the only thing that worked for me was to "cook" the rock..

Basically, I tore the tank down, pulled out all the rock, rooted through the sandbed and removed every last bit of caulerpa I could find then replaced with "fresh" rock.

Then I put all the "contaminated" rock in buckets, sealed 'em up and stored them for about a year in an outdoor (unheated/uncooled) garage.

I just pulled them out a handful of months back, rinsed them with some freshly mixed salt and dropped them in with the "new" rock.. - They've been mixed in with my "new" rock (in a larger tank) for about 4 months now and look / work great.

Whatever approach you decide to take with it, best of luck! - Its a pain but if you stick with it, you'll eventually win.

Norm

 

[Be11yDancer]

I can't keep caulerpa in my main tank, I guessed the water flow was too high. It grows just fine in my hospital tank were you can't even tell the water moves. . .

 

[cindre2000]

Don't rabbitfish and sea hares eat caulerpa?