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Help! Caulerpa gone asexual! |
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Help! Caulerpa gone asexual! |
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05-30-2001, 06:05 AM
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#1 |
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Just Moved In
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Posts: 37
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Help! Caulerpa gone asexual!
Hey all,
What do I do now? already yanked out all the transparent ones, hope wats left will grow back? Also how does this affect the reef tank (1yr old)? I use it as a nutrient export, lights on 24/7... thought i read somewhere it wont go asexual if lit 24/7? so, will the NO3 spike up? or worse NH4 or NO2? Please advise me... Thanks a million. |
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05-30-2001, 06:24 AM
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#2 |
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Moderator
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Wichita, Kansas
Posts: 5,315
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I let mine get good and stable on 24/7 at first month or two but then after the calerpa was rooted good I went to reverse daylight which will stabilize your PH too [img]/ubb/biggrin.gif[/img] You will have to trim it regularly and maybe more depending on your feeding habits HTH
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05-30-2001, 07:04 PM
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#3 |
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Council
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Arlington, TX,
Posts: 491
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Is your water cloudy? When my calerpa went sex. it made my fish look like they were swimming through coconut juice. Anyways i cleared it up with some kents clarifier 2 days later very clear and i ran some carbon just in case.
JMM ------------------ Remember Fish are alive when we get them, lets keep it that way!!! |
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05-31-2001, 12:22 AM
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#4 |
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Just Moved In
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Posts: 37
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Nop... my water was not cloudy... im guessing i pulled it out b4 tat final stage... wat i did notice was only just one stalk of the grape caulerpa went asexual... it was one heckuva long stalk with runners everywhere... the other varieties r still good...
So im thinking the reason it went asex was bcoz it wasnt trimmed... it grew too old n just died-off... mayb tis is why calerpa has to b regularly trimmed... just a theory... Well... everything looks normal so far... will check on the NO3 later today... Thanks for all your help guys... |
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05-31-2001, 08:07 AM
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#5 |
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Moderator
Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: Forney Texas USA
Posts: 2,304
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CnT,
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” algae filter is a good thing, because when one species crashes, your whole algae filter is not wiped out. 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 ------------------ The definition of an expert is a washed-up drip under pressure. You can see my reeftank at http://www.homestead.com/spasse/ |
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05-31-2001, 10:30 AM
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#6 |
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Council
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: US, MI
Posts: 289
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Why is it called “going sexual”?
------------------ -BigLar |
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05-31-2001, 12:46 PM
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#7 |
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Moderator
Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: Forney Texas USA
Posts: 2,304
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BigLar,
It is called “going sexual” or a “sexual crash” because the algae is going into a sexual reproduction phase. It is thought to be a “escape mechanism”. The free-floating spores can attach themselves and start growing in different locations. The same phenomenon often occurs when Xenia crashes. Regards, Scott ------------------ The definition of an expert is a washed-up drip under pressure. You can see my reeftank at http://www.homestead.com/spasse/ |
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05-31-2001, 07:31 PM
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#8 |
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Just Moved In
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Posts: 37
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Thanks for your input, Scott... ur the man with the answers...
Sad to say the die-off is still continuing... but only on the grape kind... the rest r still doin fine... so far... hope they dont go sexual too... The sexual episode continues... |
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06-03-2001, 04:32 AM
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#9 |
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Moderator
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina
Posts: 1,574
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IME grape caulerpa is one of the most prone to go sexual, and not actually the best caulerpa type to use as algae filtration.
I agree 100% with the mixed type macroalgae filter type as Spasse said above, I'm having the best results with feather caulerpa (C. sertularoides) and scalpel caulerpa (C. scalpeliformis) I run lights 24/7 but IME that won't prevent caulerpa from going sexual. Joaco |
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06-04-2001, 11:48 PM
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#10 |
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Just Moved In
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Posts: 37
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Thanks all...
nice hearing from u, Joaco...
__________________
----------------------------------------------- Theres always something new to learn. |
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06-05-2001, 12:02 AM
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#11 |
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Mayor
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: Pittsburgh,PA, USA
Posts: 992
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I, too, have had little luck keeping grape caulerpa from going sexual. So far the other types listed here I've had much more success with.
 Joanne
__________________
"Life savings? Sure, it's that brightly lit object sitting in the livingroom." |
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06-05-2001, 10:22 AM
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#12 |
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Mayor
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Douglas, Ma
Posts: 775
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After I set up my 155 all my grape caulerpa went sexual (man,that sounds wierd) It looked like it was melting.It was cloudy for a couple of hours,cleared up fast. I removed all of it out of fear of polution.To bad...my hippotang was starting to snack on it once in a while.
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In matters of principle, stand like a rock; in matters of taste, swim with the current. -- Thomas Jefferson |
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01-08-2006, 08:36 PM
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#13 | |
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Just Moved In
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Miami, Florida
Posts: 17
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Quote:
My question is.. Should I leave the lighting on 24/7 as Ecosystem recommends or it is okay to do reverse lighting, etc.?? |
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01-08-2006, 09:16 PM
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#14 |
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Governor
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Clearwater, FL
Posts: 1,234
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All of my older caulerpa strands go clear after a few months (grape, feather, and the long band-like type)... I just thought they got old and died. I thought that the sexual stage was when the whole clump went clear and let out the cloudy stuff. Anyway, keeping it trimmed back helps.
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Bubba Hmmm... now that the tank is full, I could convert the pool to saltwater... Bubba's Aquarium Log |
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