Caulerpa - how to kill

[dvgyfresh]

So I have a pretty big infestation of caulerpa in my DT, the question is how do I get rid of it? It grows very fast and I prune weekly but to what end…

I have a sump / refugium that runs opposite of DT however it is still growing in DT. I have emerald crabs / urchin / lawn mower blenny and they do eat it but not fast enough.
I’m thinking of using algaefix for saltwater or vibrant to kill off the caulerpa and in the meantime turning off return pump to keep refugium alive. Any recommendations?

should I dose vibrant / algaefix and also do a blackout to make the algae die off?

 

[Uroplatus]

So I have a pretty big infestation of caulerpa in my DT, the question is how do I get rid of it? It grows very fast and I prune weekly but to what end…

I have a sump / refugium that runs opposite of DT however it is still growing in DT. I have emerald crabs / urchin / lawn mower blenny and they do eat it but not fast enough.
I’m thinking of using algaefix for saltwater or vibrant to kill off the caulerpa and in the meantime turning off return pump to keep refugium alive. Any recommendations?

should I dose vibrant / algaefix and also do a blackout to make the algae die off?

Do you to get rid of all of it?

 

[sixty_reefer]

So I have a pretty big infestation of caulerpa in my DT, the question is how do I get rid of it? It grows very fast and I prune weekly but to what end…

I have a sump / refugium that runs opposite of DT however it is still growing in DT. I have emerald crabs / urchin / lawn mower blenny and they do eat it but not fast enough.
I’m thinking of using algaefix for saltwater or vibrant to kill off the caulerpa and in the meantime turning off return pump to keep refugium alive. Any recommendations?

should I dose vibrant / algaefix and also do a blackout to make the algae die off?

I wouldn’t do a black out, you’ll kill the coral before you kill the algae. My suggestion would be to by aquascape tweezers and pull manually the major part, this algae in particular gets a bit easier to pull wend pulled by the rhizoid. For the harder bits a small syringe with hydrogen peroxide will melt any small left overs. I don’t think vibrant or other products would be effective against this specie.

 

[dvgyfresh]

Do you to get rid of all of it?

I don’t need to , but I have to trim it weekly and would prefer it not to be there. I don’t want as much maintenance as the algae makes me do haha

 

[dvgyfresh]

I wouldn’t do a black out, you’ll kill the coral before you kill the algae. My suggestion would be to by aquascape tweezers and pull manually the major part, this algae in particular gets a bit easier to pull wend pulled by the rhizoid. For the harder bits a small syringe with hydrogen peroxide will melt any small left overs. I don’t think vibrant or other products would be effective against this specie.

Do you think blue lights only would help combat it?

 

[F i s h y]

Do you think blue lights only would help combat it?

What size tank? My tangs and foxfaces would have it stripped clean in 2 days lol

 

[Uroplatus]

Very little will kill it what about a small foxface?

 

[Uroplatus]

What size tank? My tangs and foxfaces would have it stripped clean in 2 days lol

Looks like a 40 breeder

 

[sixty_reefer]

Do you think blue lights only would help combat it?

Would only weaken the algae it doesn’t kill it, could possibly help in making the rhizoids weaker and easier to pull.

 

[KimG]

I only found two ways to deal with mine. Turning up the algae turf scrubber kept it under control. However it strip the water of most nutrients so the corals were pretty unhappy. In the end I bought a fox face (my square tailed tang would not touch the thing) and in about a week it was all gone. Now I'm back to having nutrients up and happy corals.

 

[dvgyfresh]

What size tank? My tangs and foxfaces would have it stripped clean in 2 days lol

It’s a 40b and I have domino damsels that are happy but I’m not sure if would be ok with a new addition

 

[dvgyfresh]

Would only weaken the algae it doesn’t kill it, could possibly help in making the rhizoids weaker and easier to pull.

Ok I will probly run blue lights only for a week to help keep it at bay so to speak and try to trim - I would love a foxface / tang but with my current stocking I am not sure it would end well lol

 

[cocoReefer]

I would also run fuge 24/7 while having display blue only. Along with the physical removal. Neither can be permanent without affecting coral....
Good luck. It may always come back without a serious herbivore fish.
Get a small rabbitfish with intent to give to a friend or return after the algae is eaten.?
Im going to run into that same issue in a tank i recently setup.

 

[dvgyfresh]

I would also run fuge 24/7 while having display blue only. Along with the physical removal. Neither can be permanent without affecting coral....
Good luck. It may always come back without a serious herbivore fish.
Get a small rabbitfish with intent to give to a friend or return after the algae is eaten.?
Im going to run into that same issue in a tank i recently setup.

Sounds good, I am doing exactly that running blue and now fuge 24/7 to hopefully keep it Atleast stagnant in growth with removal but dam it is rooted in! Thinking of also buying like 10 emeralds and seeing if they help

 

[Subsea]

Blue light will not do much to slow it down.

when you say you pruned it, why didn’t you focus on the holdfast.

which one of the dozen Caulerpa do you have?

Marine Plants in the Aquarium

macroalgae, marine plants, caulerpa, refugium substrate, marine macroalgae for sale

www.marineplantbook.com

 

[Nemo&Friends]

I Wish I had Caulerpa, I would love it as I want to feed my foxface with it. But so far mine is not doing well. I am sure the foxface would take care of it in no time.

 

[Garia666]

Take an algeareactor to out compete the ones living in you’re display tank. If you run it counter to your light schedule it’s also good to keep an stable ph

 

[dvgyfresh]

I do run a fuge and I just threw away a big freezer bag full of chaeto lol so hopefully it now has room to grow again and outcompete. and the caulerpa is prolifera and it’s everywhere

 

[dvgyfresh]

Here’s some pic to highlight infestation ,

 

[najer]

I would also do the fox face, I think that is C brachypus and is more invasive than prolifera, my fox face and scopas tangs much prefer what you have.