Macro algae : Caulerpa webbiana

Caulerpa webbianna ("Bottle brush algae")

CARE : Easy

GROWTH : Fast once settled.

INVASIVE? : Not invasive due to ease of removal, but fast growing and 'sprawling'. Holdfasts are capable of growing a few cm a day and will grow through sand and onto rockwork. requires maintenance to keep in one area. looks lovely growing as a dense bed in the sand though.

LIGHTING : Most lighting

FLOW: Most flow, will look best under moderate to high flow as fronds trap detritus and can become coated in cyano/diatoms under lower flow.

VARIATION : Higher light results in the algae tips becoming MUCH lighter in colour, due to a lower chloroplast density, the algae can almost appear white at the tips in high light.

HOLDFAST ATTACHMENT TIME : Extremely fast (days)

NUTRIENT UPTAKE : Very Good

SPECIES INFORMATION:

Localised but common in areas around Western Australia, also found in isolated beds in most tropical regions of Hawaii and the Pacific Islands.

A small unassuming species at first glance. Long hair like runners give rise to small 'fluffy' 'bottle brush' like fronds at regular intervals, often quite densly packed together.  On close examination whilst these runners do not possess the large verticle holdfast growth of other larger Caulerpa species you will notice they are adorded in thousands of hair like growths that help the species anchor to rockwork and sand grains.

The fronds rarely reach more than 4 or 5cm in length but are great for providing a niche for microfauna to inhabit close to the substrate.

This species looks great in aquaria, when grown in the substrate to provide a short carpet of waving fronds, without distracting too much from the rest of the aquaria, by being too high.

The dainty whisp like nature of the species defy its strengh and hardiness!

CUTTING INFORMATION:

Cuttings consist of a main runner with at least 10 defined adult fronds attached. As we grow on these cuttings in a micracle mud sandbed the main runner may have particulates from the substrate attached to its holdfast hairs.

This species often gives the appearance of been very fragile after shipping. This is not the case, simply lay the clump, holfast down on your substrate and gently move some substrate over the main runner, it will attach, settle and begin to grow very quickly.