Dragons Breath

[TMC]

Gracilaria hayi, better known as Pom pom gracilaria, is often mistakenly called Dragon’s breath. That title actually belongs to Halymenia durvillei.

Gracilaria hayi is very lightly calcified, and has paddle-shaped fronds that do not fluoresce:

Halymenia durvillei is not calcified and has flame-like fronds that do fluoresce under intense lighting. Intense lighting also makes the fronds more serrated:

Here is Halymenia durvillei without the fluorescence and less serration:

Conchs should not be a problem, they eat less complex algae. I have not kept Foxfaces and other Rabbitfishes, but I have heard that they will happily consume most macroalgae. If you have a refugium, you could keep the Dragon’s breath there.


Definitely an awesome place! That is where I got my Dragon’s breath and loads of other healthy macroalgae!


As @shootingstar_reef mentioned earlier, Dragon’s breath is more of a decorative macroalgae than one practical for nutrient export (it just grows too slowly). Personally, my number one macroalgae for nutrient export is Ulva (Sea lettuce), commonly seen in coastal waters worldwide. Unlike Chaetomorpha, it does not fall apart, since it grows in flat sheets as opposed to a clump of filaments. Some also say that Ulva grows faster than Chaetomorpha. However, both would be readily consumed by a Rabbitfish (though Ulva is known for being highly nutritious for marine herbivores as well as humans, so that might be a good thing if you can harvest said macroalgae in a refugium). All macroalgae (especially the ones suitable for nutrient export) can deplete trace elements in aquariums, which can be reintroduced through additives like Chaeto GRO.

Ulva from @AlgaeBarn

Thanks helps a bunch

 

[TMC]

mine chops it right down

will not graze on rock algae though

LOL mine eats the heck out of the GHA

 

[PokeFish]

I got mine from gulfcoastecosystems.com . The way i attach most macroalgae to rock is by first rubberbanding it to a small piece of rubble, and then glueing that rubble onto the rock. no your conch will not touch it

 

[JoJosReef]

I got mine from gulfcoastecosystems.com . The way i attach most macroalgae to rock is by first rubberbanding it to a small piece of rubble, and then glueing that rubble onto the rock. no your conch will not touch it

How long does the rubber band need to stay in?

 

[PokeFish]

How long does the rubber band need to stay in?

til it attaches to the rock or forever
but eventually it'll not be seen cuz it'll be covered

 

[bnord]

Wanna trade?

LOL mine eats the heck out of the GHA

?

 

[TMC]

Wanna trade?

?

LOL I take it yours won't eat much algae

 

[bnord]

LOL I take it yours won't eat much algae

Only the pieces from my frozen herbivore blend. At least Rod is happy

 

[TMC]

Well my algae arrived yesterday from Gulf Coast Ecosystems after being exceptioned by UPS 2 additional days I was very concerned about it surviving since we haven't had a day above 30 all week but it arrived surprisingly very healthy there are a few spots that are curled just a bit but nothing too bad. I put the Ulva in the sump and the Gracilaria in the DT so far the Foxface has no interest I will need to rearrange the Ulva a little bit to keep it away from the heaters but wanted to get it warmed up and under the light.
I do have a question, is it supposed to make bubbles?

 

[seasand23]

Top Shelf Aquatics aquacultures it. I just bought some in store but their website has it too.

 

[TMC]

Top Shelf Aquatics aquacultures it. I just bought some in store but their website has it too.

Thanks

 

[Subsea]

I like Gracilaria Hayi. Because it is lightly calcified, herbivores don’t consume it. In 75G 25yr mature tank, Both Hippo Tang and Algae Blennie leave it alone and prefer grazing on utilitarian fast growing feather Caulerpa.

Note the color change from burgundy to orange yellow as light intensity increases closer to surface.

 

[shootingstar_reef]

I do have a question, is it supposed to make bubbles?

Yes, my understanding is that is normal

 

[Fishfreak2009]

Great choice ordering macroalgae from live-plants.com. All my macros have come from there that have done well. My stuff from reefcleaners shipped the same day all melted within 48 hrs...

 

[TMC]

Great choice ordering macroalgae from live-plants.com. All my macros have come from there that have done well. My stuff from reefcleaners shipped the same day all melted within 48 hrs...

It's growing like crazy I had to build another sump with a separate refugium compartment because the one I have now only has two compartments and that just isn't going to work.
These were taken 3 days ago twice as much now

That's just SOME of the new growth it is all over and what I got from live-plants.com has doubled