Will lights out kill caulerpa???

[nicolebrzu]

I really want to get rid of this stuff!!!! I pull out handfuls a week and it just comes right back. It's on every single rock. It looks hideous.

I've been thinking about maybe moving one rock at a time into a closed 5 gallon bucket of saltwater with heater and powerhead. If I leave it for a week or so, will this plant die off? Anyone try this before?

Or any other methods (besides pulling off or tweezing)??

 

[DesertOrchid]

Get a Toimini tang if your tank can support it. They stay small ( for a tang) and will eliminate the caulerpa. They eat Everything green!!

 

[nicolebrzu]

Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately my tank is only 40 gallons. I feel like that's way too small for a tang even if its just temporary to get rid of this plant!!!! There doesn't seem to be any herbivore fish that can handle a 40 gallon (more reason why I need a BIGGER tank!!!!

 

[PIMPALA]

Tomini tangs are not just usually purchased small... they stay small.

 

[DesertOrchid]

Maybe you could find a fellow reefer to trade the tomini out to when it has finished the job of erradicating the caulerpa......or when it gets a little bigger...... Get that bigger tank! You'd then have the perfect excuse!!

 

[DesertOrchid]

As for lights out for a week..... probably won't get rid of the caulerpa. I've had that stuff come back from a totally bleached out looking stem that was hidden under some rocks for weeks until I got the tomini.........now there is no more caulerpa. The lights out just might upset the balance of the good algae and coraline algae. Then you'd have another issue to deal with.

 

[Mperkins92]

Try a lawnmower blenny. I've heard they love the stuff. Really cool fish as well.

 

[sasquatch]

lol, why not treat it as the pest it is and treat it like any other algae??? yes you can reduce it with lights out but not in a week or two, it eats...it grows, remove food it stops, out compete it with another macro algae, adding another fish for control is only adding more fuel to your nutrient issue. nutrient issue ie. you have rampant algae

 

[tektite]

100% no, unfortunately. I've kept rock dark for months, only to have caulerpa come back under lights again. It is also very difficult to combat even with low nutrients. A tang would keep it in check, but not eradicate it either. It'll grow back as soon as the tang is removed.

 

[DesertOrchid]

My tomini tang ate every bit of caulerpa in my 72.... there was ALOT and it never came back even after the tang died.

 

[dmatt88]

I can second that! Same with nasos, bariene, n purple.

........welcome to my mind

 

[tektite]

I guess it depends on how porous your liverock is and how far into it the caulerpa's grown. In my liverock the caulerpa's too far in the holes all over for my tangs to get to it. They can only get it when it grows out.

 

[nicolebrzu]

I'm about to give up on this tank. I bought a decorator crab from Reefcleaners a while ago and he actually was eating the stuff and making a dent in it!!! But now I've noticed he is eating asteria stars instead and caulerpa has grown more than ever. I'm really tempted to just take all the rocks out and lay them in the sun for a few days. Which would be really unfortunate because there is all sorts of other cool stuff growing on them that I want to keep!!! I'm really frustrated and don't know what to do. I spent over an hour with my hands in the tank today pulling out a grocery bag full of caulerpa and STILL it doesn't look any better. If only I hadn't been so naive in the beginning and let an invasive plant into my tank!

I'm afraid of trying the tomini tang, as someone else said this would just add to my apparent nutrient issue and give caulerpa something to feed off of. But maybe I should try it as one last attempt before baking my rocks. Anyone know if a tomini would be okay with 2 ocellaris in a 40 gallon?

 

[sasquatch]

how to say this all delicate like??? hmmm? oh well here goes, algae needs food to grow, if its growing beyond control its because you have a nutrient problem and the algae is secondary, Im willing to walk you through this if you have the patience, if not go bake your rock and watch it come right back, a bandaid will not fix a severed carotid artery, ie crab and fish

 

[Luukosian]

Once it gets established like that it can live in a pretty low nutrient environment. What I found worked the best was taking each rock out, pulling all the caulerpa out, then picking as many tiny pieces you can from the rock. After that I scrubbed the rock with a toothbrush and then rinsed it in fresh saltwater. After I did that I got a foxface rabbitfish and he ate any little pieces that popped up.

In my experience nutrient removal/reduction is an important step in keeping the caulerpa from regrowing after manual removal....but that alone isn't going to eradicate it. I swear you could get 0ppm ro/di and mix it up to .025 with salt and put it in a jar in a closet and that stuff would grow(exaggeration but you get the point.)

ps. my experience is with grape caulerpa and some caulerpa serrulata....not sure what kind you have here.

 

[nicolebrzu]

I've got two different kinds, grape caulerpa and I think the other is brachypus? The grape is contained to one spot, no issues there. But the other is RAMPANT! I grab handfuls of it and then pick with tweezers but I would have to tweeze for days to get it all.

I know there is an obvious nutrient problem that I can't test for because the caulerpa is using the available nutrients as food and masking the real problem. But how do I fix it permanently!!!?!?!? So frustrated.

I would like to increase water changes but am having some issues there... I have another thread regarding my source water.
Would increased skimming make a difference in nutrient load? Maybe I should buy a bigger unit there