[randymon]

When I purchased what I thought was chaetomorpha it looked like a clump of spaghetti but as it grows it looks more like vines with little green grapes on them. Is this normal or do I have something else. Sorry but I cant send pictures. If anyone has pics of chaeto growing and other macros mabey I can compare. I am concerned for lighting & asexual reasons.

[Ninong]

Chaetomorpha is supposed to look like spaghetti, not like vines with little grapes on them. That sounds more like Caulerpa racemosa.

[randymon]

Thats what I figured it was. Funny tho as it originally was a ball of spaghetti. would it be ok to replace it or should I leave my lights on 24-7. ?

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by randymon

Thats what I figured it was. Funny tho as it originally was a ball of spaghetti. would it be ok to replace it or should I leave my lights on 24-7. ?

I don't know. That's up to you. I don't have a refugium at present, but if I did, I wouldn't keep any species of Caulerpa. It's too toxic.

[Poseidon]

Ageed, I had TONS of calurpa at one point, then noticed all this red lacey type stuff at the tips... Then Boom! NO more calurpa, it all died off in a matter of days. I did not suffer any losses in the display, I attribute that to LUCK!

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by Poseidon

Ageed, I had TONS of calurpa at one point, then noticed all this red lacey type stuff at the tips... Then Boom! NO more calurpa, it all died off in a matter of days. I did not suffer any losses in the display, I attribute that to LUCK!

Mike,

What randymon is talking about is the reported observation by many aquarists that sexual reproduction in Caulerpa spp. can be inhibited by 24/7 illumination. If I ever set up a refugium, I would prefer to run it on reverse daylight so as to more evenly balance out the pH swings in the main display tank. Therefore, I would want to avoid keeping any Caulerpa spp. If someone intends keeping Caulerpa in a refugium, it is probably a good idea to light it 24/7 instead of reverse daylight.

Because Caulerpa is a single celled alga, it expires when it completes sexual reproduction. That's because all of its insides are used up in the production of gametes. Each separate piece of Caulerpa is a single cell because it has no internal cell walls. It is multi-nucleic but single-celled. When it dies off like this, it releases all of its toxins. And, as we all know, Caulerpa has lots of toxins.

[randymon]

So would it be ok to take out & replace???

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by randymon

So would it be ok to take out & replace???

That would probably be what I would do.