What is this?

Discussion in 'ID This!' started by Camkha1234, Jan 24, 2013.

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  1. Camkha1234

    Camkha1234 Great Blue Whale

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    So besides manual removal, what else will work? I was told that Sea Hares would eat it. Is that true? My LFS rents them out, so I could definitely do that.
     
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  3. Camkha1234

    Camkha1234 Great Blue Whale

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  4. Servillius

    Servillius Montipora Digitata

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    My wife borrowed a sailfin tang that demolished the stuff, but those have stringent size requirements and there is never any guarantee.
     
  5. 55gfowlr

    55gfowlr Zoanthid

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    Is it just on your rock? I know that diferent types of calerpa need to have sand to root into, and being the photo appears to just be rock mounted, take the rock out.
     
  6. Greg@LionfishLair

    Greg@LionfishLair 3reef Sponsor

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    Actually, there's no species of Caulerpa that requires being planted in the substrate, as being an algae as opposed to a vascular plant, they don't have a root system. They do, however have rhizomes/rhizopods that grip onto surfaces, and can serve to anchor the macro in the sandbed, but again, it's not a necessity.

    The OP can remove and scrub the rock, however, any small piece of the macro can cause regrowth. If the rock is removed, the surest/easiest way to kill the stuff off is to freeze it for 24 hours, then scrub the dead stuff off the rock.

    HTH
     
  7. Camkha1234

    Camkha1234 Great Blue Whale

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    The thing is, its on basically all of the rocks :-/ And I can't get a Sailfin Tang, as my tank is way too small for one.
     
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  9. Greg@LionfishLair

    Greg@LionfishLair 3reef Sponsor

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    If you have a sump, try running some Cheatomorpha in it to out compete the stuff in your DT, keep your 'trates low, and control any uneaten food relentlessly. If you can back down on your photoperiod, that may help as well.

    You could try getting a small small-species urchin such as a pincushion or a tuxedo, but they will also eat your coralline. All of the fish I know of that would eat the stuff won't fit in a 29 gal, altho you could get a small foxface/rabbitfish and trade/sell it after the macro is gone.
     
  10. Camkha1234

    Camkha1234 Great Blue Whale

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    I don't have a sump, but I do have Chaeto in the back corner of my DT. Would it be better to borrow a Foxface/Rabbitfish or to get an Urchin?
     
  11. Greg@LionfishLair

    Greg@LionfishLair 3reef Sponsor

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    Your call. I do like urchins (they're easy to deal with), but they do denude your rockwork (they leave white "trails" where they've been chewing). However, in your case, maybe that isn't such a bad thing, as it would insure that the macro is gone.

    That being said, I do know that foxfaces eat the stuff and won't bulldoze your tank.
     
  12. Camkha1234

    Camkha1234 Great Blue Whale

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    I may just go for a Tuxedo Urchin, as I don't that it would be right (in my opinion) to put a Foxface or Rabbitfish in my tank.

    Will the Urchin need any special feeding after the Caulerpa is gone?