Algae Identification

[Anchor2012]

I have this algae in my 200 Gal. saltwater aquarium. I think it was on a piece of rock that I purchased at a local store and it has spread throughout my entire tank. I remove it from the tank pretty often, but when I do the small pieces that float around just cause it to spread and re-grow. I would like to know what it is and if there is anything that I can do to keep this from returning again. I attached some photos of what it looks like in the tank and after I pulled some out.

Thanks for any help!

[Bloodydecks]

looks like Caulerpa serrulata. It can VERY invasive. Most consider it a pest, especially in a reef system....I personally have kept in my display tanks....

Grows great in a refug. Most tangs won't eat it, but I have tanks where they mow it down, and tanks where they won't touch it.

this one of my tanks that I keep it in. I trim it and toss in the refug.

[Anchor2012]

are there any shrimp that eat the stuff or any safe chemicals that will control it from spreading so fast?

[Bloodydecks]

I don't know about the shrimp...but I personally would never use a chemical to kill off a macro algae, and honestly don't know of any.

Physical removal is your best method. Also, it can spread via fragments, so make sure you remove the small pieces that may break off and "drift away".

[Bloodydecks]

You know, I have been looking at your pics closer..I think I have miss ID'ed it. It definitely in the Caulerpa family.....but I don't think it's serrulata. If it is what I have seen in a tank i worked on, it is a pain..I will see if i can find it in one of my books.


EDIT: Well, the closest I could find, and I wouldn't bet the house on it LOL... possibly a C.brachypus

Its hard to tell from your pics. Can you post a larger pic?

I'm sure there is someone here that can positively ID it.

EDIT EDIT:: What type of herbivores do you have in the tank. Just curious, as it appears they are not eating it. Do you have any urchins? If not, that may be a idea to get in check, and then remove the urchins once it is under control.

EDIT EDIT EDIT:
http://www.dep.state.fl.us/southeast...ulerpamain.htm
http://www.sccat.net/#nine-banned-sp...lifornia-f45a4 I did some searching on the web. Does this look like it?

[Anchor2012]

that looks like the exact same thing! Is there a specific type of urchin that prefers this plant?

[Bloodydecks]

Honestly I don't know if there is a specific species..but long spiny or pin cushions should work.

Is said that this particular weed is from the south china sea...so if you can find a urchin that is indigenous to that area...that may be a good one to go with, other wise try a common tropical pin cushion

[lori]

pull out as much as you can and catch the floaters with a net.turn off power heads before you do so it dont blow all around.its going to take a lot of time and a few times a week.i had this same problem except it was hair algae.a huge night mare.worked on it for hours at least every other day for 2 weeks.took out rocks and scrubed them in a bucket of saltwater from tank.one after another.HUGE pain but worth it.after i got 75% of it out then i got a good cleaning crew.what kind of fish do you have?if its a peacful tank a sailfin tang is good but dont count on it to do the whole job.got to get the hands wet....clean handsgood luck..i know you were talking about urchins but i thought it could maybe help if you heard what i did to get rid of my algae problem

[Anchor2012]

it is a peaceful tank with a few fish and a couple of shrimp. I think the urchins will work best and individually cleaning each rock and using a net with the water may help, but eliminating every single piece seems like such a struggle because it only takes a very small piece of the algae the spread again and just take over

[Ninong]

Hi Anchor2012,




You definitely have a problem there. My eyesight is messed up right now so I'm asking for help from a couple of other guys. Hang on!

[lori]

i know its a lot of work i have been there.not just saying it.my algae was 4" long on all the walls,powerheads,etc.and could not teel i had any rock.hair algae is a lot harder to get out also,so if i can do it you can.a tool i used was a sonic scrubber pro detailer,they are ausome best investment i made.oh and i already have an urchin in my tank,beleave me.....it cant keep up with the growth.i did not want to do it either it was to much work.you dont have to get all of it out,just a good 75-85% of it.the fish i got for my algae is a red crown algae blenny.best algae eater i have ever seen.will only eat my algae,not the mysis shrimp or brine shrimp at all,just algaebut make sure you have no other blennys in tank already......HAVE FUN

[zhenya]

it is a peaceful tank with a few fish and a couple of shrimp. I think the urchins will work best and individually cleaning each rock and using a net with the water may help, but eliminating every single piece seems like such a struggle because it only takes a very small piece of the algae the spread again and just take over

I'm afraid that there is little you can do in terms of battle plan. Sea urchins may eat it but they won't eat all of it, and neither will surgeonfishes. Problem with surgeonfishes is that you never know which one will eat what caulerpa, if at all. Caulerpin within the tissue of caulerpa is produced just for that reason- make it taste terrible so that fish won't eat it. I;m pretty sure there are some that do but you'll need to do research to find which one you need, and if it is possible to keep it in a 200g tank.

I fought with C.serrulata for years in my 110g tank until I took most of the rock out and scrubbed it all. It went sexual on me inside the tank once.., what a mess.
Trying to starve it out may reduce it;s growth but it won't get rid of it for you, so you need to do it manually.

i know its a lot of work i have been there.not just saying it.my algae was 4" long on all the walls,powerheads,etc.and could not teel i had any rock.hair algae is a lot harder to get out also

Hair algae is difficult to fight but it is not as bad as caulerpas, in my opinion. Lots of grazers eat it, and most of the time you can defeat it by reducing nutrient input and providing better nutrient export mechanism.
You won't win against caulerpa with water changes and great skimming, you may slow it;s growth some but it will continue. Plus it's toxic to fishes so not all will eat it.
Anyway, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, of course, but I would never intentionally try to keep any of the caulerpa species in the display tank.

[Bloodydecks]

zhenya...I also had serrulata go sexual in my tank, several times, once it was huge mess, and once in my refug....and yes that was also a mess. I am a glutton for punishment, because i still keep in that tank, but I keep it much thinner...I love the color. LOL I think what i was doing wrong was allowing to get really thick, then i would thin it out, which caused it to go "sexual". When i only removed small portions, i had no issues.

I would never introduce it into a SPS tank.

I think urchins is his best bet. Along with some turbo snails to keep any new sprouts mowed down.

Also, you have a really nice website. i have enjoyed exploring, and learning from it.

[kevinpo]

Hello,
It is most likely a species of Caulerpa. I would recommend an S. doliatus Rabbitfish. They are peaceful (as a rule), inexpensive ($25), and can easily clean up a 200 gallon tank of all algae (except Halimeda sp.). I would purchase one in the 3-4" size. They will not eliminate every bit but it will be hard to see any. The algae will return if you remove the fish but as long as it is in the tank you will have to look hard to see any.

HTH,
Kevin

[Ninong]

Thanks, zhenya and kevinpo.

Anchor, here is what a Siganus doliatus looks like. It would look very nice in your tank.

Kevin, do you think that a Siganus vulpinus would be just as good or nearly as good? Of those two species, which would be safer in a reef tank or would they be about the same?

My S. vulpinus ate just about any algae. Of course, he was my first fish, added only five weeks after I set up my aquarium, so maybe that's why I never had any nuisance hair algae or any other nasty algae except for that mysterious red turf algae. At least he kept the red turf algae mowed down to about 1/8" high. It took me about 10 months to finally get rid of that stuff and I'm still not sure exacly what did it. All I know is that it disappeared within three or four months after I added a few large Mexican turbo snails (Turbo fluctuosus).

[kevinpo]

Kevin, do you think that a Siganus vulpinus would be just as good or nearly as good? Of those two species, which would be safer in a reef tank or would they be about the same?

Hello,
The S. vulpinus also does a good job but doesn't eat as many species of algae and is reported to nip corals (soft & LPS) more often. That being said I currently have an S. doliatus that eats Xenia elongata Note really a bad thing in my case At one time the S. doliatus was rather uncommon in the hobby and looks nicer IMO. I would avoid the S. virgatus which looks almost identical as a juvenile to the S. doliatus but it gets about 12" and is more prone to eating other things besides algae especially if hungry.

Regards,
Kevin

[zhenya]

Hello,
I would avoid the S. virgatus which looks almost identical as a juvenile to the S. doliatus but it gets about 12" and is more prone to eating other things besides algae especially if hungry.

Regards,
Kevin

This is funny, Kevin, I was just about to post about S.virgatus(because I have one since 04) and say that it is pretty safe around corals and such.
Mine haven't done anything really bad but it did sample some of the zoanthids. As far as algae goes it leaves it pretty much alone and concentrate solely on the food that I provide. Not particularly good grazer as grazers go, that I can say with sertainty. They rather skim water surface for bacterial films than graze on the algae..

[kevinpo]

I've had more than 20 S. doliatus and this is the first one that has eaten any type of coral. It just goes to show that there aren't many absolutes regarding fish species behavior.
I have heard of several Rabbitfish species eating certain types of Zoanthids. One customer reported his Rabbit ate only a couple of colonies of Zoanthids out of many and of course they were his favorite/most colorful ones. Go figure

Regards,
Kevin

[Ninong]

This is my theory on why feeding behaviors in captivity are unpredictable. In their natural environment, the various species of fish will look for, and usually find, their preferred food. They will ignore other possibilities as long as they can get their regular food. In captivity, they may find themselves hungry but their preferred food is not immediately available. They might be tempted to sample something else that just happens to be staring them in the face. They might say to themselves, "Gee, I wonder what this tastes like." It may not even taste as good as their regular food but if it's available and if they're hungry, then it might be eaten.

Most fish eat all day long. They don't eat only once, or even twice, a day. That's true for herbivores as well as planktivores. It's not true of the fish that ambush other fish. They don't have to eat as often because they eat a large chunk of food at one time.

This is why fish like fairy wrasses or anthias, etc., should be fed as often as possible instead of simply once a day. They aren't equipped to take in a large bunch of food in a single feeding. They're used to eating just tiny, tiny amounts of food all day long.

Anyway, that's what I think is going on. And I think it applies to just about everything, not just fishes. I think that's why some people manage to keep Atlantic green brittle stars for years without a problem and then all of a sudden one of their fish turns up missing in action. If the green brittle star is large enough and hungry enough, it will eat just about anything it can catch. If it's kept well fed, it may not bother trying to ambush an unsuspecting fish.

P.S. -- In their natural environment, flame angels are not known to eat coral polyps or harass tridacnids, yet in the confines of a tiny glass box their feeding behavior can be unpredictable. If they can't find their regular food, they may be tempted to sample other items on the buffet. They may be surprised to find that some of those items are quite tasty.

[kevinpo]

That is my belief also. One added observation/comment. Once a fish begins to eat something it is impossible to get it to stop even if has its natural food available in large quantities. It may reduce its feeding on the new food but it will not stop.
Humans are the same in this regard. Consider some of the foods that are eaten around the world.

Regards,
Kevin

This is my theory on why feeding behaviors in captivity are unpredictable. In their natural environment, the various species of fish will look for, and usually find, their preferred food. They will ignore other possibilities as long as they can get their regular food. In captivity, they may find themselves hungry but their preferred food is not immediately available. They might be tempted to sample something else that just happens to be staring them in the face. They might say to themselves, "Gee, I wonder what this tastes like." It may not even taste as good as their regular food but if it's available and if they're hungry, then it might be eaten.

Most fish eat all day long. They don't eat only once, or even twice, a day. That's true for herbivores as well as planktivores. It's not true of the fish that ambush other fish. They don't have to eat as often because they eat a large chunk of food at one time.

This is why fish like fairy wrasses or anthias, etc., should be fed as often as possible instead of simply once a day. They aren't equipped to take in a large bunch of food in a single feeding. They're used to eating just tiny, tiny amounts of food all day long.

Anyway, that's what I think is going on. And I think it applies to just about everything, not just fishes. I think that's why some people manage to keep Atlantic green brittle stars for years without a problem and then all of a sudden one of their fish turns up missing in action. If the green brittle star is large enough and hungry enough, it will eat just about anything it can catch. If it's kept well fed, it may not bother trying to ambush an unsuspecting fish.

P.S. -- In their natural environment, flame angels are not known to eat coral polyps or harass tridacnids, yet in the confines of a tiny glass box their feeding behavior can be unpredictable. If they can't find their regular food, they may be tempted to sample other items on the buffet. They may be surprised to find that some of those items are quite tasty.