Caulerpa Prolifera Placement

ThePurple12 · Mar 24, 2019

I'm thinking about buying some caulerpa prolifera from Ebay for my display. What is the best way to "plant" these? My sandbed is about 1-2 inches. Also, can prolifera be fragged like corals?

EmdeReef · Mar 25, 2019

Caulerpa in DT is usually trouble. You won’t have to worry about fragging it as it grows like mad and can/will overtake the tank.

I would not intentionally plant it in a display tank unless you have lots of specialized grazers. Some fish will eat it but usually not fast enough and you’ll have to prune it often.

sixty_reefer · Mar 25, 2019

You can literally plant it anywhere, it will grab hold of the rockwork too, is this for a seahorse tank?

ThePurple12 · Mar 25, 2019

sixty_reefer said:
is this for a seahorse tank?

No, it's a mixed reef. I plan to have macro covering the sandbed and corals up higher in the tank.

EmdeReef said:
I would not intentionally plant it in a display tank unless you have lots of specialized grazers. Some fish will eat it but usually not fast enough and you’ll have to prune it often.

My herbivorous fish are a yellow tang, a bicolor blenny, and a coral beauty angel. I'm perfectly fine with pruning them, but do you think these will help keep it in check?

ThePurple12 · Mar 25, 2019

[QUOTE="sixty_reefer, post: 5870959, member: 111216"is this for a seahorse tank?[/QUOTE]
I have a pair of bluestripe pipes, and I'm hoping that the prolifera will raise my pod population.

sixty_reefer · Mar 25, 2019

ThePurple12 said:
[QUOTE="sixty_reefer, post: 5870959, member: 111216"is this for a seahorse tank?

I have a pair of bluestripe pipes, and I'm hoping that the prolifera will raise my pod population.[/QUOTE]

Am taking you won’t have a sump? Probably best to just glue it to a piece of live rock. Post some pics wend all sorted as it looks interesting

EmdeReef · Mar 25, 2019

ThePurple12 said:
No, it's a mixed reef. I plan to have macro covering the sandbed and corals up higher in the tank.

My herbivorous fish are a yellow tang, a bicolor blenny, and a coral beauty angel. I'm perfectly fine with pruning them, but do you think these will help keep it in check?

The yellow tang is a hit or miss, doubt that the blenny or the angel will eat caulerpa. I wouldn’t bet on 1 tang keeping it in check.

I would get some of the slower growing macroalgae for the display tank and keep caulerpa in the sump if possible.

ThePurple12 · Mar 25, 2019

sixty_reefer said:
I have a pair of bluestripe pipes, and I'm hoping that the prolifera will raise my pod population.

Am taking you won’t have a sump? Probably best to just glue it to a piece of live rock. Post some pics wend all sorted as it looks interesting[/QUOTE]

I do have a sump with a fuge, but the main reason I want prolifera is for decoration and extra pods. Will it grow if I simply stick it in the sand?

ThePurple12 · Mar 25, 2019

That's weird... my quote completely failed.

sixty_reefer · Mar 25, 2019

ThePurple12 said:
Am taking you won’t have a sump? Probably best to just glue it to a piece of live rock. Post some pics wend all sorted as it looks interesting

I do have a sump with a fuge, but the main reason I want prolifera is for decoration and extra pods. Will it grow if I simply stick it in the sand?[/QUOTE]

It probably would be fine.