EverydayAquarist
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- Aug 27, 2019
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Hello, I hope you can help me a little bit. I am having issues with botryocladia losing it's bubbles wherever I grow it. Just to clarify first, I am very experienced macro algae grower and have around 20 different species growing nicely at the moment on a 800 litre system with 3 separate growth tank all joined via a sump. I am running two systems with 4 x 54w mixed reef white and reef blue T5 and another system with Fluval marine and reef 3.0, on a 10\14hrs light schedule. All tanks have power heads and water quality is monitored closely. Additives and nutrients added as necessary using EI dosing and powder mag/calc/alk and micros.
So I hope you might see I'm doing this properly HOWEVER whenever I import a large piece/s of Botryocladia they always seem to lose the grapes and end up like red spaghetti. New growth emerges with grapes but not at the density it was originally and also sometimes the mother colony rots at the base rock and the stems unattach. As normally there is some new growth from the base rock from the holdfast my theory is that the transport "shock" is causing this just like planting a terrestrial plant causes shock in that, however just a theory.
I have seen many examples of Botryocladia growing really well in other tanks on forums etc but I just cannot replicate it. I have tried to grow it in off system tanks as well but it always follows the same path of losingg grapes and rotting.
I am looking for input from someone who is growing botryocladia successful and asking for how you are doing it. Hopefully I can spot what I'm doing wrong here. Pic is one of my mother colonies.
So I hope you might see I'm doing this properly HOWEVER whenever I import a large piece/s of Botryocladia they always seem to lose the grapes and end up like red spaghetti. New growth emerges with grapes but not at the density it was originally and also sometimes the mother colony rots at the base rock and the stems unattach. As normally there is some new growth from the base rock from the holdfast my theory is that the transport "shock" is causing this just like planting a terrestrial plant causes shock in that, however just a theory.
I have seen many examples of Botryocladia growing really well in other tanks on forums etc but I just cannot replicate it. I have tried to grow it in off system tanks as well but it always follows the same path of losingg grapes and rotting.
I am looking for input from someone who is growing botryocladia successful and asking for how you are doing it. Hopefully I can spot what I'm doing wrong here. Pic is one of my mother colonies.
