Grape Caulerpa

[lcstorc]

HELP!
I just cannot get rid of the stuff. I know all of the standard eliminate algae rules and preach them every day, but I can just not get rid of the stuff. I have to feed several times a day because I have a harem of anthias and I know that is part of the problem but I am looking for what I tell everybody doesn't exist. A magic answer.
I pull the stuff out every day but my tank has a brace over a foot wide so there are many places I just cannot reach. I do large water changes weekly. I bought a yellow eyed kole tang (well I love the fish, the algae was just the excuse), I have bought 2 lettuce nudis and countless snails and nothing seems to even touch it.
Right now I have a crab free tank and would hate to add crabs but at this point if they are likely to eat it, I am willing to even go that route but want to know what kind of crabs are most likely to eat it.
Of course just to complicate things I have a 6-line wrasse and a red corris wrasse in this tank so I either need something big enough that they can't eat or I need to get a lot of something small so it can have enough time to do the job before becoming lunch.

[johnmaloney]

the racemosa can be really problematic and with anthias reducing food isn't an option. cool fish though... anyway what are the intakes in your tank like? Strong powerheads? Reef?

[lcstorc]

125g reef with a 29g fuge with DSB, LR, and cheato. 29g sump with ASM G4+ skimmer. Livestock is a small yellow eyed cole, a pretty big maroon clown and her RBTA, an engineer goby that is about 8-9 inches, the 2 wrasses, the 4 anthias, a citron clown goby, and two midas blenneys. It is primarily a softie reef with a Solaris I-5 light. I run a carbon and Phosban reactor and rinse all food with RO/DI as well as use that for all top off and changes. Flow is 4 Koralia K-3s on the Koralia wavemaker. I am not sure about the flow of the return, Hubby would know that one.
Parameters are within normal limits but I am sure nitrates and phosphates would not be if not for the algae. I have a bit of other algae but not enough to be a major issue. I siphon detrius off of the rocks etc with ever water change. We do about 35g a week so we can suck out a lot of the junk.
That is all I can think of. I will run my usual Saturday tests before and after water change tomorrow and get actual numbers but alk, mag, calc etc are rarely if ever a problem in this tank.
I do also have a cucumber if that matters. It is not a normal donkey dung or whatever. This guy is a filter feeder who hasn't moved in years.
Oh and the tank is 4 years old but was torn down and re-built about 9 months ago when we removed 3 large tangs and added the new lights. This is when the algae started appearing and hubby is convinced the tangs were eating it before.

[johnmaloney]

a flying sea hare would tear it up, but that isn't an option with that much flow, it would be a matter of days before it got caught in an intake, probably the koralias. Hmmm... emerald crabs. You have to get some that will eat caulerpa and haven't been spoiled on meat. Get one per every golf ball size bit of caulerpa you have to get it out of the tank for good. What do you feed the anthias?

[lcstorc]

The tank is horribly spoiled. I think variety is my middle name. I make homemade mush or Rod's for most of the time but they could get mysis, krill, squid, and who knows what else I have in the freezer for them. Except for the Rod's and Cyclopeeze (forgot that) I rinse it all before feeding. Then there are some tiny pellets that I occasionally put in when I am running late. I try to limit the pellets and mostly feed the frozen.
Of course I also have nori that is supposed to be for the tang but everybody else eats it.
With the wide intakes on the koralias do you think the sea hare would get caught? I thought they only liked HA. I was hoping maybe the lettuce nudis would like it but they seem more interrested in the glass than the rocks now and when they were on the rocks I watched one go right over a patch. I could/would certain re-aim the power heads or even slow them via the controller.
What is the difference between a flying sea hare and a regular sea hare? I have seen both at my LFS on occasion but I thought the only difference was appearance.
I was afraid you were going to say emerald crabs but if they are really likely to eat it, I can certainly go that route. I can try to catch them an put them in the fuge once they have done their job or get really big. I guess they are good general cleaners.
I guess I am convincing myself more and more.

[BigJay]

Is a flying sea hare the same as a carribean sea hare? I just picked up a 10 inch carribean hare 2 days ago. It would have taken care of your tank in a day or two. I would have sent him to you but unfortunatly I decided I didn't want to set up a tank for him so I released him back. If you want to try one come down to Naples and I can show you where theres a good chance of finding one.

guess i should clarify that they have been showing up in good numbers on one beach here.

[lcstorc]

No fair. You don't have any emeralds on the site.

[BigJay]

is this it John? A pic of one I found not too long ago.

sea hare?

[johnmaloney]

With the wide intakes on the koralias do you think the sea hare would get caught?

--they are basically made of mush, and anything with a strong intake gets them sucked in and pins them. If you are by the tank a lot you may be able to free them...

I thought they only liked HA. I was hoping maybe the lettuce nudis would like it but they seem more interrested in the glass than the rocks now and when they were on the rocks I watched one go right over a patch.

- flying sea hares will eat caulerpa. So will some spotted. Lettuce nudis aren't going to do it for you. Flying sea hares have pretty advanced care, not that you couldn't do it but I feel like it should be mentioned in case anyone else is reading.

I could/would certain re-aim the power heads or even slow them via the controller.
What is the difference between a flying sea hare and a regular sea hare? I have seen both at my LFS on occasion but I thought the only difference was appearance.

Not sure which one would be the regular sea hare. Appetite is the difference. A flying sea hare will eat lots of caulerpa and gracilaria and ulva for example, but a hairy sea hare won't touch caulerpa, but will eat tons of film algae. Hares like snails have a good bit of variety to them.

I was afraid you were going to say emerald crabs but if they are really likely to eat it, I can certainly go that route.

It depends ont he emeralds. With all the meaty foods you feed they are going to be able to get a fish snack at some point and will become increasingly less effective. Maybe if you could cut back on sinking foods and use more foods that will stay in suspension they will have a harder time. Get them small and young as possible if you can't be sure if they are still eating algae. If you get them locally see if there is macro algae in the tank for them to eat, or if they are fed rommaine. If they are fed flake and pellets you may want to pass on them and wait for more model citizens to arrive.

I can try to catch them an put them in the fuge once they have done their job or get really big. I guess they are good general cleaners.
I guess I am convincing myself more and more.

At some point even if they clipped and killed say $20 in coral, which is unlikely, it is still better than a tank of racemosa. Now if you have some rare Tyree super zoas or something maybe move them. They don't harm coral on purpose, they can just be clumsy in their cleaning. They can't take a fish or anything like that.

[johnmaloney]

Originally Posted by BigJay

Is a flying sea hare the same as a carribean sea hare? I just picked up a 10 inch carribean hare 2 days ago. It would have taken care of your tank in a day or two. I would have sent him to you but unfortunatly I decided I didn't want to set up a tank for him so I released him back. If you want to try one come down to Naples and I can show you where theres a good chance of finding one.

guess i should clarify that they have been showing up in good numbers on one beach here.

I guess they could get that big if they were swollen with lower salinity water. (One of the fun things about hares is how they can dramatically change size because of salinity). There is a standard set of common names for hares and Caribbean isn't one of them that I know. Tell your supplier that if we don't all agree on names we will be stuck with Latin. Is it a spotted sea hare? Yellow with brown spots, no noticeable wings? If it is a flying sea hare then it swims around the tank flapping its wings all the time. My flying sea hare never sits still unless eating..

[BigJay]

lol I didn't buy it. They've been all over a beach near an estuary lately. And yes they are excellent swimmers!

[johnmaloney]

hard to tell from that picture, you really have to seem them in the water to tell if their is a split in that wing, or if the appendage just stays curled at the top towards the "exhaust"

[lcstorc]

I guess I will spend my weekend in a search for baby emerald.
It will make hubby happy anyway. He has wanted some for a while, and I wouldn't let him get them.
Any change of you getting them in soon or should I just look locally? I have has such good service from you in the past that I would prefer to order from you if you think you will have them soon.

[johnmaloney]

estuary...so it could be, they are probably inflated. Could just be another sea hare though, they tend to inflate. Definitely not a spotted, they can get that size in full salt. Temperate range? Or could this be a product of the recent storm activity in the SE?

[BigJay]

Originally Posted by johnmaloney

hard to tell from that picture, you really have to seem them in the water to tell if their is a split in that wing, or if the appendage just stays curled at the top towards the "exhaust"

its winged. They have an undulation to the wings when they swim. I assume its at least closely related to what your talking about.