Macro algae : Caulerpa cupressoides Var. Urvilleana

Caulerpa cupressoides (Var. Urevilleana)

CARE : Easy, undemanding under normal reef conditions, some CUC may find palatable.

GROWTH : Moderate once settled

INVASIVE? : Not invasive

LIGHTING : Medium to High

FLOW: Medium to High

VARIATION : Little variation shown.

HOLDFAST ATTACHMENT TIME : Moderate (months)

NUTRIENT UPTAKE : Medium

SPECIES INFORMATION:

Widely distributed locally in most tropical waters.

This species was all but lost from our catalogue in the UK. A silly mistake on our part with a rogue pincushion urchin decimated our mother colony 2 years back and resulted in a fat happy urchin!!

Luckily, whilst pruning our caulerpa beds last year we spotted a tiny holdfast of it clinging onto life on an old snail shell! This holdfast has since been cultured in its own aquarium, producing a colony, which has since undergone sexual reproduction and left us with enough juvenille F1 colonies to grow on and now begin to take cuttings (sparingly!) from.

A unique species from a structural stanpoint, lightly calcified with a rigid dichotenous branching form.

CUTTING INFORMATION:

You will receive a main thallus stem cutting,  approximately 4cm in length, with at least one dichotenous branch.

Cuttings are taken from old growth from the main thallus near the holdfast and as such are able to differentate new holdfasts from their cut end. 

Cuttings will show at least one dichotenous branch before actively diveringing into fresh growth tips.

These cuttings are rested longer than our usual 2 weeks, as the tip growth is slow to show and we do not like to move cuttings on until we see signs of this.