ORA Chaeto from BRS, GROSS!

[coreytrv]

Just got some Chaeto from BRS. Algae Barn has nothing in stock, so I went with ORA.

The bag had bugs, eggs, worms, and who knows what stuck to the sides. Poured it into a specimen container, and I couldn't believe how many critters were scurrying about.

So much for clean chaeto. I rinsed it in the sink multiple times and picked as much as I could out of it....is this normal? See the video below for better view.

Do I need to adjust my expectations, or do these vendors need to get with the program?

Here's the link to the video:

 

[smitten with ocean life]

wow! would be interesting to know if they were good critters

 

[BeanAnimal]

Looks like what comes in any ball of macro I have looked at in 20 years.

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

To me clean means nothing but Chato, not even parasites such as ich and velvet. You can ask them what their definition of clean is. But if it was me I would request a complete refund and ask BRS why they would sell such garbage.

 

[Gregg @ ADP]

Looks good to me

 

[Reef By Steele Verified Sponsor]

From the pictures it is hard to tell, video tiny on my phone. But first picture appears to have some brown stuff in the bag. IMO Cheato seems to grow something like that that I see in my refugiums, but when we started producing it I found it does it in a “clean” environment as well. When we harvest and ship we rinse that away for appearance sake, but then @Ocean_Queenie and I have a vested interest in our products appearance.

In the second photo the critter in the corner is an amphipod. Not uncommon to culture macros with pods and amphipods as they help eliminate nuisance algae.

As for clean, this is to say, grown in a fishless system such that ich and velvet would not be present. We run any new additions at least 90 days in fishless systems before offering it for sale.

If there were worms, although bristle worms and many others are not “bad” we take care to avoid worm of any type in any of our cultures. I would say the Chaeto is safe and useable, just not harvested and prepped to the highest standard.

 

[BeanAnimal]

When I used to give macro away, I shook most of that stuff out and back into the fuge, because I didn’t want to give it away. My baby brittles and worms, stay in my system :)

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

I haven’t ordered chaeto from Algae Barn but I recently ordered 3 other macro algae and they arrived immaculate.

 

[coreytrv]

Thanks for the replies, the bulk of the responses are:

This is a sales disconnect re: description v. product appearance, but overall, fairly normal in the macro algae trade.

 

[-XENOMORPH-]

I'll take the bugs and worms. But To each his own. I get it . I do. U ordered "clean". Sorry

 

[Sdbuehler1]

I ordered chaeto from someone on Etsy when I couldn’t find it anywhere else. I soaked it in RO/DI water over night to kill off any unwanted pests and there were no ill effects.

 

[Holmes Grown Coral]

If it bothers you that much stick it in a bag of rodi water for an hour then rinse in rodi water before adding, that should get rid of most everything!

 

[exnisstech]

I was selling chaeto cheap then eventually giving it away for the cost of shipping but stopped because people wanted clean chaeto and mine has all the critters that my tanks do which many people are scared of. I toss it over the hill now. It's looks cool hanging from the trees, kind of like the moss that hangs on cypress tree in the swamps lol.

 

[Doctorgori]

I got a bag exactly like that a few weeks back. looking back I wonder if what I wanted was even realistic now that I think about it: I wonder how they could even raise chaeto and keep the pods out…might just be impossible …
Erh uh, maybe its possible for the larger stuff, but run-o-mill pods? …probably not

 

[coreytrv]

I was selling chaeto cheap then eventually giving it away for the cost of shipping but stopped because people wanted clean chaeto and mine has all the critters that my tanks do which many people are scared of. I toss it over the hill now. It's looks cool hanging from the trees, kind of like the moss that hangs on cypress tree in the swamps lol.

Are the 'critters' typically helpful or a nuisance? What's the benefit or issue if they are present?

 

[exnisstech]

Are the 'critters' typically helpful or a nuisance? What's the benefit or issue if they are present?

Mostly bristle worms and different types pods but I've seen aiptasia so I get it. Aiptasia is the devil and many people are scared of bristle worms .Any life form that finds it's way into one my refugium is welcome and I leave them be. I've found chaeto to be poor to useless at nutrient reduction in my tanks. The main reason I run a fuge is for all the life forms that live there.