Thick strand Chaeto vs thin strand?

Ignitros · Apr 11, 2019

I have a question about Chaeto. I have had some in my refugium for awhile now but I have noticed that others in videos have a type that has very thick strands vs mine which is very thin almost hair like in appearance. The chaeto I have tends to break into smaller pieces which clogs things fairly quickly. Are there different strains? Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Kvnsu · Apr 11, 2019

I don't believe there is different strains, and it depends on lighting and flow for thickness I believe..

Ignitros · Apr 11, 2019

hmmm... well hell! It's nice and green it just seems really thin to me compared to what I've seen in other tanks. Maybe I will try and snag a clump next time I come across a thicker strand compared to mine and see if it stays that way or goes thin like mine?

Silver14SS · Apr 11, 2019

AlgaeBase shows 70 accepted species of chaeto http://www.algaebase.org/search/genus/detail/?genus_id=35&-session=abv4:AC1F11E20a10305352HWXL33F1BA

The online vendors that state the species have linum, spiralis, crassa, looks like there's a variety available.

Hermie · Apr 11, 2019

Kvnsu said:
I don't believe there is different strains, and it depends on lighting and flow for thickness I believe..

There are

as Silver14SS posted, there are many species of it

Hermie · Apr 11, 2019

Ignitros said:
hmmm... well hell! It's nice and green it just seems really thin to me compared to what I've seen in other tanks. Maybe I will try and snag a clump next time I come across a thicker strand compared to mine and see if it stays that way or goes thin like mine?

I have thick strain chaeto in my QT tank and I bought thin strain from someone online.

IMO Thin strain is better at harboring copepods and small organisms and thicker strain is less prone to microalgae (hair algae)
advantages/disadvantages to both though I cannot distinguish their growth rates, they both grow very fast for me