Macroalgae: What species to order?

[Chrysus]

Wondering if any of the more experienced algae keepers can take a look at this list and let me know which species you think are worth bringing in. I’ve been trying to look them all up and I believe many of these are not commonly kept in aquariums/probably won’t survive.

Any help is appreciated!

 

[Jo P White]

Cheato is the type I use and it’s been pretty successful in my tank. A think lot of those in that list are just general types, but not ones you’d want like bubble algae. That’s a nuisance type.

 

[Tired]

Well, some bubble algaes are fine. Red branching bubble algae is generally OK in an aquarium because its branching shape makes it fairly easy to prune, while red encrusting bubble algae is a pest because you can't really prune it.

I /think/ the Sailor's Eyeball bubble algae is one of the ones that produces small numbers of big, slow-growing bubbles, rather than one of the ones that gets tiny, fast-growing bubbles everywhere. Some species of green bubble algae will only ever produce a few bubbles, so they don't hurt anything.

Halimeda species require calcium, but should mostly do well. I know that much.

 

[Chrysus]

Cheato is the type I use and it’s been pretty successful in my tank. A think lot of those in that list are just general types, but not ones you’d want like bubble algae. That’s a nuisance type.

I guess I should add this will be a macroalgae specific tank, so I’m looking for a wide variety of species and don’t mind those that are considered invasive (within reason). I will not, however, be ordering that true bubble algae lol. I’ve got plenty in my other tank!

 

[WheatToast]

Wondering if any of the more experienced algae keepers can take a look at this list and let me know which species you think are worth bringing in. I’ve been trying to look them all up and I believe many of these are not commonly kept in aquariums/probably won’t survive.

Any help is appreciated!

I haven't heard of that store and searching for it online hasn't yielded any results. Could you link their website if they have one?

Here's what I could find off the internet/from personal experience. Algae I have kept are starred:

Rare decorative macroalgae:
Actinotrichia sp. - requires calcium, high light and high flow
Amansia glumerata - high light and flow
Amphiroa foliacea - requires calcium, high light and high flow
Boergesenia forbesi - not much information, similar to Valonia
Bornetella sp. - grows in environments suitable for soft corals, new growth is red while old growth is green, moderate light and low flow
Halimeda copiosa (not capiosa) - requires calcium
Halimeda macroloba - probably requires calcium
Kappaphycus sp. - large and easy to grow, moderate-high light and low-moderate flow
Mastophora rosea - plating coralline algae, I would assume care is similar to other coralline algae, so it should be provided with calcium
Padina gymnospora - grows slowly, Padina species are known to be difficult to care for, requires calcium, moderate-high light and moderate-high flow
Turbinaria sp. - difficult to care for, should be placed near top of aquarium, can be relatively easily to grow if provided with high light and flow

Popular(ish) decorative macroalgae:
Codium sp.* - prefers water temperatures below 80° Fahrenheit, very slow grower, moderate-high light and high flow, I have found it very hard to destroy
Dictyota sp.* - larger species are more desirable while smaller ones are known to go invasive, quite delicate, some have a nice blue iridescence, moderate-high light and moderate-high flow
Eucheuma spinosum - now known as Eucheuma denticulatum, very difficult to keep, prefers lower water temperatures, highly variable, moderate light and unknown flow
Galaxaura sp. - requires calcium, high light and moderate-high flow, there is conflicting evidence that this algae is very easy and very difficult to care for
Halimeda incrassata - plant in substrate, requires calcium, grows in clumps or branches, moderate-high light and moderate flow
Neomeris annulata - rarer these days, can be difficult to grow but has the chance to go invasive, requires calcium, moderate light and low flow, looks awesome in my opinion
Peyssonnelia sp.* - often misidentified as "red coralline," plates or encrusts, I think it benefits from calcium, low light and moderate flow
Udotea sp.* - plant in substrate, provide calcium, older growth will eventually die and send up new shoots that will grow up to repeat this cycle, moderate-high light and moderate flow
Valonia sp.* - Ventricaria is a synonym of Valonia

Utilitarian macroalgae:
Caulerpa lentillifera* - popular outside the U.S., fast grower, high light and moderate flow, humans can eat this algae so I would assume it could be fed to herbivorous livestock as well
Caulerpa racemosa - must be carefully monitored because it grows fast and more easily goes sexual than others in its genus, moderate-high light and moderate-high flow
Caulerpa serrulata - not very common these days, a small species of Caulerpa, moderate light and low-moderate flow
Chaetomorpha spiralis* - probably the second most popular Chaetomorpha species after C. linum but is thicker, great choice for refugiums and grows quickly, high light and moderate flow
Ulva lactuca* - has recently been gaining popularity, highly nutritious for herbivores, great choice for refugiums and grows quickly, prefers higher nutrient environments, moderate-high light and moderate flow

Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_marine_aquarium_plant_species
https://www.livealgae.co.uk/
https://www.unter-wasser-freiburg.de/Makroalgen
https://www.shopping-charm.jp/category/2c2c2c2c-2c2c-3236-3838-303030303030
http://www.saltcorner.com/
https://www.marineplantbook.com/
https://www.reefcleaners.org/aquarium-store/plants-macroalgae

 

[Moray_SC17]

I love dragons breath

 

[Chrysus]

I haven't heard of that store and searching for it online hasn't yielded any results. Could you link their website if they have one?

This is a wholesalers list so unfortunately they don’t have a website.

Thank you so much for the help! That pretty much falls in line with what I had marked down when I went through them all.

 

[reddevilant]

This is a wholesalers list so unfortunately they don’t have a website.

Thank you so much for the help! That pretty much falls in line with what I had marked down when I went through them all.

That's an amazing list of macros! Are you ordering these for a home aquarium?

 

[Chrysus]

That's an amazing list of macros! Are you ordering these for a home aquarium?

We’ll order them into the store I work at and then yes, any that ship well/arrive healthy will be going into the 65g I’m setting up!

 

[reddevilant]

We’ll order them into the store I work at and then yes, any that ship well/arrive healthy will be going into the 65g I’m setting up!

That's awesome! Are you located in the U.S.? I like collecting different types of macros so I was wondering if there was any possibility to order some.

 

[Chrysus]

That's awesome! Are you located in the U.S.? I like collecting different types of macros so I was wondering if there was any possibility to order some.

I am in Canada unfortunately. It’s super hard to get macro’s here so it’s nice to have an order that has at least some interesting varieties.

 

[reddevilant]

I am in Canada unfortunately. It’s super hard to get macro’s here so it’s nice to have an order that has at least some interesting varieties.

Ah ok. Darn, some of those rarer macros look so cool!

 

[WheatToast]

Update?

 

[Chrysus]

Update?

This order isn’t available yet unfortunately. It will probably be in early to mid September.