Live plants

[Burray]

Hello - I have attached some pics of my 32 gal Fluval just for you to see the plants growing in my salt aquarium. The left side just has a small amount but the other side has grown quite a bit. Nothing is wrong, I just want to make sure that they’re good to have in the tank and if there can be too much. I will cut them back eventually cause I don’t want them any bigger that what they are. Also, does anyone know if you can use these in a fresh water aquarium. Thank you!

 

[thatmanMIKEson]

What are they and where did you get the sea grass?

 

[thatmanMIKEson]

Do they look like this?

 

[Tamberav]

Caulerpa mexicana is my guess and it can grow fast/be invasive and send runners. I would not say it is BAD but you should definitely be trimming it back. Removing it entirely is difficult as it can grow back from small bits and it tends to root to the rock pretty good.

They can not be used in fresh water.

 

[thatmanMIKEson]

Caulerpa mexicana is my guess and it can grow fast/be invasive and send runners. I would not say it is BAD but you should definitely be trimming it back.

I was thinking bryopsis actually

 

[Tamberav]

I was thinking bryopsis actually

It is definitely Caulerpa but there are a few that look alike.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Hello - I have attached some pics of my 32 gal Fluval just for you to see the plants growing in my salt aquarium. The left side just has a small amount but the other side has grown quite a bit. Nothing is wrong, I just want to make sure that they’re good to have in the tank and if there can be too much. I will cut them back eventually cause I don’t want them any bigger that what they are. Also, does anyone know if you can use these in a fresh water aquarium. Thank you!

Put simply, they’re not bad, but you will likely need to do some trimming to keep them in line. You won’t be able to use them in a freshwater tank, but you can find similar plants for freshwater tanks.

 

[thatmanMIKEson]

It is definitely Caulerpa but there are a few that look alike.

Google Image Result for https://live.staticflickr.com/1280/1023149394_767f7afe91_b.jpg

images.app.goo.gl

Is this what you were thinking? It's possible hard to tell from pictures, any other thoughts from the OP would help

 

[Tamberav]

Google Image Result for https://live.staticflickr.com/1280/1023149394_767f7afe91_b.jpg

images.app.goo.gl

Is this what you were thinking? It's possible hard to tell from pictures, any other thoughts from the OP would help

yes one of those

Plants/Macroalgae

Whether you want to setup a refugium, or add diversity to your display tank, plants and macroalgae are an excellent addition if you want to mimic nature at home. They are also a cost effective way to dress your tank with living organisms.

www.reefcleaners.org

 

[Burray]

Do they look like this?

I’m not sure what’s it called. My daughter picked up for me at Nolan’s Aquatics in Lakeland Florida, I don’t have much of anything here in Fort Valley Georgia. I hope this is a better picture.

 

[WheatToast]

Looks like Caulerpa taxifolia (killer algae/feather Caulerpa) on the right side and Caulerpa brachypus (sea mustard/mini Caulerpa) on the left side (though it is hard to tell under the blue light and it almost resembles a very small Caulerpa prolifera). These are both single-celled green macroalgae (it’s all one gigantic cell with multiple nuclei) that can grow very quickly and are good for nutrient export. Make sure to prune them regularly or they might go sexual, die, and cloud your water. Wikipedia says that both red (Rhodophyta) and green macroalgae (Chlorophyta) (but not brown macroalgae (Phaeophyceae)) are “plants” though they are not the vascular plants we are familiar with.

Edit: Caulerpa mexicana also looks pretty similar to the first algae.

I believe these algae will survive in brackish tanks but not in freshwater.

I was thinking bryopsis actually

The algae looks too tall to be Bryopsis, though both Bryopsis and Caulerpa are green macroalgae in the Bryopsidales order.

 

[thatmanMIKEson]

Looks like Caulerpa taxifolia (killer algae/feather Caulerpa) on the right side and Caulerpa brachypus (sea mustard/mini Caulerpa) on the left side (though it is hard to tell under the blue light and it almost resembles a very small Caulerpa prolifera) these are both single-celled green macroalgae (it’s all one gigantic cell with multiple nuclei) that can grow very quickly and are good for nutrient export. Make sure to prune them regularly or they might go sexual, die, and cloud your water. Wikipedia says that both red and green macroalgae (but not brown macroalgae) are “plants” though they are not the vascular plants we are familiar with.

I believe these algae will survive in brackish tanks but not in freshwater.


The algae looks too tall to be Bryopsis, though both Bryopsis and Caulerpa are green macroalgae in the Bryopsidales order.

That all sounds right to me! Good write up thank you

 

[Burray]

That all sounds right to me! Good write up thank you

The smaller one is a piece of the bigger one. I will start trimming it. Thanks for the advise!

 

[Burray]

Caulerpa mexicana is my guess and it can grow fast/be invasive and send runners. I would not say it is BAD but you should definitely be trimming it back. Removing it entirely is difficult as it can grow back from small bits and it tends to root to the rock pretty good.

They can not be used in fresh water.

Thanks

 

[Burray]

Google Image Result for https://live.staticflickr.com/1280/1023149394_767f7afe91_b.jpg

images.app.goo.gl

Is this what you were thinking? It's possible hard to tell from pictures, any other thoughts from the OP would help

Yes that is it!

 

[thatmanMIKEson]

Yes that is it!

There are a few variations of that type of algae, im no expert on any algaes but im glad it's not Bryopsis!

 

[Burray]

There are a few variations of that type of algae, im no expert on any algaes but im glad it's not Bryopsis!

Thanks