why cheato?

[jasutton]

Why cheto vs. anyother macroalgea? I always hear about cheato but never anything else regarding all the other macro species.

Any thoughts?

jamie

[greenbean36191]

Chaeto doesn't reproduce sexually, it isn't invasive and hard to remove, and it isn't highly toxic. It also grows quickly.

Most other macros grow to slowly to be really effective at export or they have one or several of the other problems I mentioned.

[jasutton]

ok: my questions: which ones are toxic? grape calaeurpa is given as food for tangs. And most people use cheato in fuges, so how can it be invasive? Oh and why is it bad to reproduce sexually?


thanks for your help
jamie

[charlie]

They are only really toxic if they go sexual, turn white, on you. The plant realeases toxins that can be harmful to your critters. I know someone else could probably explain it alot better!!!! Do a search on caulerpas, and you can probably find alot off good info.

[jasutton]

Well, here is the reason for all the questions: i went away for four days and when i came back i had an algea bloom (i suspect overfeeding from my roommate).
I cant find cheato anywhere that isnt a 1hour drive and i have a fuge set up and waiting. A friend offered me some caluerpa, and i figured it would eat up the nitrates and extra nutrients. But i dont want to nuke my corals, they are really starting to look good! should i pass on the caleurpa?

Thanks everyone
jamie

[greenbean36191]

which ones are toxic?

Almost all algae to some extent since that's one of the few ways they have to protect themselves from herbivores. Brown algaes tend to be the most toxic, followed by red algaes, and then green. Caulerpa is an exception to the rule though since it's one of the most toxic green algaes. It has a pretty nasty antiherbivory toxin (among many) called caulerpenyne that is released any time it is broken. It can affect coral growth if you prune the Caulerpa often. To get around that the best thing to do is to try to remove whole "runners" of the stuff without breaking them.

Fish are affected by the toxin too, so while feeding them some Caulerpa shouldn't cause a problem, feeding them large amounts or making it a staple in their diet isn't a great idea. Of course there is also the toxicity associated with it going sexual.

While the invasiveness isn't such a problem when you keep it in a sump (which not all people do), sometimes even a small bit of Caulerpa or other macro that makes it through the pump or is added into the main tank as food can become established and cause problems. Chaetomorpha doesn't attach like most other algae though, so if it becomes established it's still easy to remove.

I wouldn't necessarily pass on Caulerpa, but I would take some precautions when using it. 1. Don't put any rocks you don't want permanently covered with Caulerpa into the sump. 2. Prune it regularly to keep it from going sexual, but try to break as little of it as possible. 3. If you add it as food in the main tank only feed small amounts and make sure all of it gets eaten.

[jasutton]

Very helpful and i appreciate it. I have never heard this before and have had LFS tell me they are completely harmless, but while parusing through the myriad of threads these questions occured to me; and i am glad that they have.

Unfortunately, one more question...is there any way to know just the right amount before it "goes sexual"? That is my main worry. i am not worried about invasiveness, nor toxicity from destruction. i am worried about gamete polution...and how to prevent it. Its a shame, i think grape caluerpa is a very attractive species. Ironic that i would worry about an attractive species' sexual behaviors!

[BubbaWPB]

Jaime, my suggestions on caulerpa:

1. NEVER grow it in a show tank! (it's little rootlet thingies invade your hard corals and kill them)
2. If you have it in a refugium, trim it regularly (no less than every two weeks) and keep the light on 24/7. Allegedly, disruption of the day/night cycle, and keeping it from maturing fully inhibits it going sexual.

There are plenty of people that grow caulerpa in the refugium. As most marine organisms, you just have to understand what you're dealing with and minimize the risk. After all, soft corals put out toxins, some polyps pack some very serious toxins, puffers have neurotoxins, etc. etc. etc.

IMHO caulerpa in a refugium is better than none.