Why is algae dying?

[Keekee]

Have some algae which is growing healthy and it branches out to much so that I split them into the second rock which I tie it down with some fishing string. It was doing well until today, it turns into transparent and dying out. Attached are:

Photo 1: The mother algae doing well

Photo 2: The new branch algae which is dying

Any know why?

Water temp: 28 C
KH: 9
Salanity: 1.022
NO3: High (Still working on it)
CA: 380 ppm

[Keekee]

Photo 2: Good Mother Algae

[Mobious]

Well..... Take this with a grain of salt.. The reason that was given to me by the guy at the LFS was that once they used up all the iron in the water they died.. Be careful... Once mine died I got a bad case of red slime algea... How often do you do a water change and how much do you change?

[Keekee]

Mobious,

Thanks for the infor.

Water change 5% weekly, I thought that was the best recipe around.

Any suggestions are welcome.

Thanks a lot.

Keekee

[reefhead]

where is that cutting?

is it in another tank?

could have died from going sexual

[SPasse]

Keekee,

It does appear to be going sexual.

Why macro algae “goes sexual” is still a subject of much speculation.

Suspected contributing factors are:

1 Lack of pruning. In nature, this is taken care of quite nicely be herbivorous fish, etc.

2 Depletion of some critical nutrient or micro-nutrient. This might include nitrogen cycle products, phosphates, iron, iodine, etc.

24/7 lighting seems to be a stabilizing element.

Different species seem to have different proclivities towards crashing. This is another reason why using a “mixed species” bed in an algae filter is a good thing, because when one species crashes, you whole algae filter is not wiped out.

Your temperature is somewhat low, at 26c (78.8). 27.2c (81) to 28.9c (84) would be more appropriate.

Also, your specific gravity is low, natural seawater levels are around 1.025 or 1.026, some areas like the red sea, are even higher.

Check out this article:

http://www.animalnetwork.com/fish2/a.../1/default.asp

Finally, successive generations of “tank raised” caulerpa seem to be becoming less and less prone to sexual crashes, especially the notorious “Caulerpa Taxifolia”

Regards,

Scott

[David]

Keekee- great pics! I have same algae, I'm calling it C. racemose but I could be wrong . I have am a big fan of this stuff, great way to export nutrients and make a few bucks while your at it. The phenom. you are seeing is called "cellophane", it happens. Why? Sexual reproduction seems to be a common thought but this is not carved in stone. During the winter months it grew like crazy in four different tanks, I was taking 5 gal bucket full to lfs every five or six weeks. I was aslo dumping same bucketful of "cellophaned" weed with about the same frequency. All summer the stuff has been very slow to grow and I only had one small patch in one tank go cellophane. Another interesting thing was that it frequently went "sexual" in four diferent tanks in two diferent rooms all at the same time! Moon phases??? Who knows. Usualy only about 25% of the weed in any given tank dies off when it happens. Notice how it goes so quickly? Looks fine in AM and it's gone a few hours later. For what it's worth I would not leave it in tank to get like it is in your second pic, as soon as I see it turning I remove it. Caulerpin is a toxin and I have read that once the algae gets that "blotched" look it should be removed. I have also been told that some meds are primarily caulerpin but that is only "opinion", I really don't know. I take a "better safe than sorry" approach and remove it. Anyway I wouldn't worry about it, it's not your tank, it's just the weeds way. Oh, I don't believe all that hogwash about depleted nutrients and such, my tanks are healthy and beautiful, I think it's just normal captive aquarium behavior for that algae. I wonder if it does the same thing in the sea?

[Keekee]

David, Spasse, Reefhead, Mobious,

Thanks for all the information but that seems like there is no cure for it at the moment. Both algea are in the same tank. The dying is totally gone by now.

I will have to try the 24 x 7 method. I have split the mother algae again and let's see if it works this time. Please let me know if there is any way to prevent this besides the 24 x 7.

Temperature actually fluctuate around 26 to 28 C.

Once again, thanks.

KeeKee

[SPasse]

David,

“Oh, I don't believe all that hogwash about depleted nutrients and such, my tanks are healthy and beautiful, I think it's just normal captive aquarium behavior for that algae.”

It is very possible that in your case that the minimum required amounts of nutrients are being supplied by a combination of feeding and water top off. Also, this depletion can take months to occur, depending on input/uptake ratios.

But others, including myself have been able to link macro algae growth to depletion.

The 24/7 lighting is of course only practical for algae filter/refugiums.

This sexual reproduction “crash” is also an escape mechanism to allow the “spores” to migrate to areas that are more suitable for growth.

Here is my list of preferred macroalgae:

One of the best species of macro algae for this purpose, Caulerpa Taxifolia, is unfortunately the dreaded “Killer Caulerpa” that is supposedly doing such harm, off of the California cost. It is now federally banned, as a “Noxious Weed”

Other species that I have successfully used are:

1 C. sererrulata This is the dominant species in my algae filter.

2 C. mexicana

3 C. sertularioides. Rumored to be less stable, but this has not been my experiance.

4 C. racemosa (Grape). Stability often varies with variety. Some are very prone to crashing. Some tank-raised varieties appear to be very stable.

5 C. prolifera.

Regards,

Scott