jason@CS.UCLA.EDU (05/04/88)
There has been some discussion about caulerpa on the net. What is it exactly,
is it microscopic like the familiar brown, red and green algaes, or is it a
more macroscopic beast. What does it look like, where does it come from, etc..
Jason Rosenberg Mira Hershey Hall
801 Hilgard Avenue
jason@cs.ucla.edu Los Angeles, CA 90024
{ihnp4,ucbvax}!ucla-cs!jason (213) 209-1806gringort@decwrl.dec.com (Joel Gringorten) (05/05/88)
In article <11904@shemp.CS.UCLA.EDU> jason@CS.UCLA.EDU () writes: >There has been some discussion about caulerpa on the net. What is it exactly, >is it microscopic like the familiar brown, red and green algaes, or is it a >more macroscopic beast. What does it look like, where does it come from, etc.. > Caulerpa is technically a macro-algae. However, it bears no resemblance to any of the fuzzy, slimey, or hairy stuff that grows on your glass and rocks. It looks like a plant. I've seen two categories of caulerpa, both are green, and both live in marine environments. One grows like an ivy, for example. It has runners that grow along the bottom of the tank, or on rocks. Leaves, shaped like fern leaves or pine needles are attached to the runner. These types of caulerpa seem to grow quite rapidly in the right conditions. The fern type leaves will grow at around 2" per day. So do the runners. This is real prolific stuff! The other kind of caulerpa I've seen looks like little bushes. One has little pods on it and is commonly called "grape" caulerpa. I've tried to raise a type of caulerpa that looked like a little evergreen tree. However, it never did much, so I yanked it out. Most marine aquariasts seem to agree that caulerpa requires strong lighting and good water quality. It's an excellent food source for herbaceous fish. My angels love it. I've been told that most tangs consume it so voraciously, that they will totally decimate it from your tank. I don't care to test that theory. Caulerpa is usually hard to locate at fish stores, at least for me. Caulerpa is very pretty! My "ivy" caulerpas are bright green and look so nice, most people think they are fake plants. Supposedly caulerpa thrives on nitrates and C02. By harvesting the caulerpa reguarly, which you must, or it takes over the tank, you reduce the overall nitrates in the tank (at least that's what they say). I've traded my havested caulerpas for fish at my local fish store! For all of it's prolificness (is that a word?) you'd think it'd be hardy stuff. It's actually very delicate. More often than not, it doesn't take when you "plant" it. Infact, transplanting strands of it from one side of the tank to the other is only 50% successfull for me. On the negative side, caulerpa, at least the ivy stuff, seems to have a tendancy to die-off in huge sections for no apparent reason. These decay at an alarming rate and can poison a tank in a day. I have seen in several marine books with the caveat that caulerpas should only be maintained by "advanced" aquariasts. Hogwash, I say. Just don't let it get out of hand, and watch it closely. If it looks sick, get it out of there. One book went as far to suggest having a "standby" tank for emergency situations with caulerpa. -- -joel