Gracilaria hayi, better known as Pom pom gracilaria, is often mistakenly called Dragon’s breath. That title actually belongs to
Halymenia durvillei.
Gracilaria hayi is very lightly calcified, and has paddle-shaped fronds that do not fluoresce:
Halymenia durvillei is not calcified and has flame-like fronds that do fluoresce under intense lighting. Intense lighting also makes the fronds more serrated:
Here is
Halymenia durvillei without the fluorescence and less serration:
…how do you plant it, will my Magnificent and Conchs eat it? Any help much appreciated
Conchs should not be a problem, they eat less complex algae. I have not kept Foxfaces and other Rabbitfishes, but I have heard that they will happily consume most macroalgae. If you have a refugium, you could keep the Dragon’s breath there.
I’ve been reading up on this place a couple of folks have talked positively here about them.
Gulf Coast Ecosystems (GCE), founded in 2003, is a trusted source for live marine macroalgae, gorgonians, sponges and invertebrates. From our Florida Keys and Tampa Bay stations, we hand-collect and culture high-quality specimens for hobbyists, reef tanks, public aquariums, universities, and...
www.live-plants.com
Definitely an awesome place! That is where I got my Dragon’s breath and loads of other healthy macroalgae!
What would you recommend besides Chaeto for nutrient export
As
@shootingstar_reef mentioned earlier, Dragon’s breath is more of a decorative macroalgae than one practical for nutrient export (it just grows too slowly). Personally, my number one macroalgae for nutrient export is
Ulva (Sea lettuce), commonly seen in coastal waters worldwide. Unlike
Chaetomorpha, it does not fall apart, since it grows in flat sheets as opposed to a clump of filaments. Some also say that
Ulva grows faster than
Chaetomorpha. However, both would be readily consumed by a Rabbitfish (though
Ulva is known for being highly nutritious for marine herbivores as well as humans, so that might be a good thing if you can harvest said macroalgae in a refugium). All macroalgae (especially the ones suitable for nutrient export) can deplete trace elements in aquariums, which can be reintroduced through additives like
Chaeto GRO.
Ulva from
@AlgaeBarn
