A Warning Sign of Impending Caulerpa Sporulation

[Foster]

Nice write up - I have a question:

If you notice the caulerpa is about to go sexual, can you remove it to a quaritine tank, let is release its spores, them put it back in the fuge? wor does it need to be tossed?

[zenya]

Hi platapus,

When Caulerpa realeases it spores/sporulates, it dies. So,yes, you'll need to toss all of it.
Caulerpa is a multi-nucleic unicellular alga. That means that it has many nuclei but no cell walls. Therefore, it is technically a single cell. When it "decides" to sporulate (go sexual), all of the protoplast of the thallus is converted into biflagellate gametes, which are discharged through papillae.
I just like to add as well that it always happens after dark but the gametangia form before dark and are a clue that the alga is about to "go sexual."

[Foster]

Thanks Gene...

I just added a fuge to my system and dove head first into the world of macro algae, so please excuse my illiteracy on the subject......

Does this apply to all species of caulerpa (Feathery Caulerpa (C. sertularioides))

Or for that matter all macro algae that is in the trade?

[zenya]

Does this apply to all species of caulerpa (Feathery Caulerpa (C. sertularioides))

Hi.., yes, I believe it applies to all species of Caulerpa. However, I must add that "sexual" reproduction is not the "only way"...:D
Caulerpa is capable of both asexual and sexual reproduction. Asexual vegetative reproduction by fragmentation is the most common means of proliferation. In fact, in the case of the infamous strain of Caulerpa taxifolia that was released by the Monaco Aquarium it is the ONLY mode of reproduction because the original mutant alga from Stuttgart was male and ALL of its clones are male. It is spreading quite successfully by fragmentation. ;)

[desi04]

Hi! to everyone:


I have a 65 watt PC light on my refugium 24/7, does this stop the macroalgae (razor caleurpa) from go asexual?

thanks

Dan

[zenya]

Originally posted by desi04
Hi! to everyone:


I have a 65 watt PC light on my refugium 24/7, does this stop the macroalgae (razor caleurpa) from go asexual?

thanks

Dan

Hi Dan,

Did you mean to ask if your 24/7 lighting schedule will stop Caulerpa serrulata from going "sexual" ? I personally don't believe that it will, I think removing about 50% of new growth bi-weekly would be more effective way. That is just from my observations of this algae since I have exact same one ;)

[Kirbster]

I would agree with Gene that regular harvesting the best method of preventing sporulation in Caulerpas - and Halimedas for that matter.

And, yes, that method of reproduction is common to nearly all members of the Caulerpales order, which includes the Halimedaceae and (obviously) Caulerpaceae families.

-Kirby

[MarineFiend]

Nice write up Gene. I have some grape cal, and now wonder - if I use a smal light 18 watts and a 14 hour photo period will this increase my chances of the cal going sexual or will this decrease the chances.

I also wonder if the 24 hours photo period is the cause of it doing just just that?
What color temps suite these plants better? 5K,6K,10K,20K

Is there any one that is doing research out there that can give us more info into this. I for one would hate to see my tank look like a dust storm in the morning.

Another question "going sexual" is this a means of reproduction and could this be a good or bad thing - foods for corals verses poisoning

[zenya]

Hi MarineFiend,

Nice write up Gene.

Actually, it was Dr.Ron's idea and his editorial skills that made it readable ;)

As far as lighting is concern, I think Caulerpa needs strong enough light to grow well(that would be the purpose of keeping it if used in refugium). I also think that normal day light spectrum would do just fine, there is no need to get exotical with 20K or 14K or whatever.
I'm not sure if there is active research going on as far as it pertains to keeping Caulerpa species in aquarium.At least I don't know about it personally.

Another question "going sexual" is this a means of reproduction and could this be a good or bad thing - foods for corals verses poisoning

It is definately a means of reproduction.Good or bad? Hard to tell if it is any good,in three times that it happened in my tank it went pretty much uneventfull. I run some carbon and Plyfilter pads and did some water changes to remove nutrients if they were released. I did not run any tests(I was too busy running around doing water change and changing carbon socks :)) but I'm pretty certain that some nutrients were released into the system.
Anyway, I don't think the gamets were utilized by anything in my tank nor I noticed any negative effect on anything.

Here's a short article (http://www.com.univ-mrs.fr/IRD/atollpol/ecorecat/ukalgfor.htm) on algae and forms of reproduction.

[billpa]

hello there...

I was going to buy some razor caulerpa because the guy who I am buying it off of said it would not go "sexual". Is this true? I am guessing not after reading this thread...I guess it is true with regular prunings? I am trying to figure out the best macro to grow in my tank...I like the look of plants in tank...any suggestions?

thanks
billpa

[zenya]

Hi billpa,

C.serrulata is fine to have in a refugium and it grows really well,however, you definatelly have to stay on top of it and prune it back regularly.
I've heard that Chaetomorpha sp. is very highly regarded by many people as one of the best species of algae for refugium but I never kept it myself,so, I cannot comment on it. ;)
I'd check the algae forum for this http://reefcentral.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=176
and do some searches there.

[billpa]

yeah I have Chaeto in my fuge...I want to grow some macro in my tank...chaeto is pretty ugly...I don't have the best luck with halimedia (sp.) so I was looking for some other alternatives...will search around some more.

billpa

[t.trezona]

Gene- What species of Caulerpa do you have? Has anyone documented what C. racemosa looks like when it is about to go sexual? Also what is the time frame from the changes you demonstrated to when diffuse sporulation actually takes place-minutes,hours or days? Is there anything known about what the actual stimulus is for sporulation? It seems most like it occurs when the available space to grow is used up-assuming growth conditions are otherwise adequate. Any ideas?

[zenya]

Hi t.trezona,

I have a Caulerpa serrulata and I had taken pictures of the formed papillae on the thallus. They appear the day before and the very next morning it sporulated. In all three times it had happened in my tank, the sporulation occured after dark.I'm assuming that the conversion of protoplasts to gametes took place during the day and then after darkness,when the lights came on, they were released through the papillae.

About C.racemosa, there is some reading material available via Google searches using those keywords about its reproduction methods and life cycles. I just don't have those linkes handy at the moment.If you can't find anything, let me know and I'll dig through my HD ;)

As far as why it is happening...I also think that it has something to do with reaching a certain mass but, it is only my opinion and I'm sure there are few other reasons involved.
I had read that sexual reproduction in Caulerpa is not all that common in the wild,vegetative method is being the method of choice it seems.Why it is happening in aquariums so often I have no idea :D

[FloridaPets]

Hi,
I would like to hear from people who have Caulerpa prolifera. I know there are a lot of people on Seahorse.org that have and love prolifera. My personal experience with it is outstanding. In the past four years of collecting, keeping and holding, Caulerpa prolifera, I have seen it "go sexual" only twice. One time was in a display aquarium in my LFS. The other time was in the wild, which was quite amazing to witness. Acres and acres of Caulerpa prolifera were there one day and totally gone the next. Within two weeks, it was ALL back! There seemed to be no ill effects from the sexual reproduction of the macro(no dead fish or bad smells).
I know from frequenting the ReefCentral boards that sometimes topics get painted with some pretty broad brushes. I feel that all Caulerpas are not equal. Some who are noted authers and speakers tend to get a little carried away when dispensing advice. Some Caulerpas can "go sexual" at the drop of a hat, while others can live in a multitude of conditions and continue reproducing just fine asexually.
I would really just like to hear from people who have had Caulerpa prolifera in their tanks, and hear what they have to say about it. Although, I'm sure there are probably some out there who had Caulerpa prolifera in the systems for a long time with no problems, until they heard about all this "going sexual" stuff. Then they probably took it all out of their tanks. Hopefully there are some people out there who have had good results with their prolifera. I would also be interested to hear some of the bad prolifera stories as well.