What is this called???

[IraqVeteran]

What is this stuff? I have lots of it in my sump along with chaeto. It grows like crazy and I trim it every week and my nitrates are hardly detectable so is it something to worry about? I thought maybe it was some form of bubbly algae, but I dont have any bubble algae bubbles anywhere I can see. I do however have a huge problem with Mojano anemones (but that is a topic for a different forum thread).

 

[Bifferwine]

That's grape caulerpa.

 

[Ted]

That isnt considered a bad algae however it can go asexual and that can be a bad thing for your tank. If it does that it releases all the bad stuff that it has eaten back into your tank. If it was me i would continue to prune it back when ever you can and keep the cheeto going. Really nothing to be to worried about.

 

[IraqVeteran]

Thanks folks. Can that stuff be a hitchiker? I never bought any of it before. I just bought a handfull of Chaeto and I dont remember seeing any of this grape caulerpa in with it. Also, does Chaeto just not grow worth a damn because mine doesnt seem to.....only this Caulerpa stuff grows like a weed.

 

[Ted]

Yes it can hitch hike in. I got some in the cheeto I bought and got some more on a mushroom rock I bought. Cheeto is kinda a funny macro it seems like the cheaper the light on the fuge the better it does. Right now on my fuges i have cfl bulbs they are very yellow and the cheeto is neon green now.

 

[yote]

The caulerpa will probably out compete the cheato for nutrients.But thats not really a bad thang.If you keep it,just pinch it off when you cull it back.As long as you keep it pinched back,it shouldnt go asexual.

 

[IraqVeteran]

It has been in my sump for a while now and I have never had any grow in the tank.

 

[yote]

Its not bad about spreading to the display.But it'll foul up the water if it goes asexual.

 

[Hiker4twenty]

I agree with Ted. I have cheapo 40w CFL bulb over my chaeto and its much greener than when I first got it and its doubled in size in the past month. I too have the grape caulerpa and it grows like crazy. What will cause it to go asexual? I'm really not worried about having it since its grown great and eating a lot while growing.

 

[Ted]

I dont think anyone really knows why it goes asexual it just does. If you see it start to turn white pull it out.

 

[Hiker4twenty]

Well, after looking around in my fuge last night I saw quite a bit of it growing all in the chaeto. I got nervous about it going sexual and pulled most of it out. There is still some in there, but only about 10% of what was there.

 

[Ted]

dont worry about it, when you trim your cheeto just pull the other out if you want. Some people swear by the stuff. I just have heard to many horror stories of it crashing tanks. If I see it when I am doing maintenance I pull what I can.

 

[Tristan]

it can crash tanks?

 

[Ted]

it can crash tanks?

If it goes asexual it releases massive amount of nutrients back into the water. That can kill corals. I think it has happened to Yote if I remember correctly.

 

[Tristan]

what kind of nutrients? Special K?

jk

but what exactly does it release into the water?

 

[dcantucson]

What does it mean to go asexual exactly?

 

[Ted]

Heres a link to a site that can explain it better then me. Caulerpa

 

[dcantucson]

Thanks Ted. It does explain that it happens but not really why or how. I guess it's a scientific mystery.