Clean Chaeto Infused with Live Copepods & Amphipods

Each "softball sized" portion of chaeto weighs about 1/4 pound and is packaged in a jar containing about 8 ounces of our Reef Snacklebox live copepod blend. On average, a single portion of chaeto will contain 20+ amphipods.

Chaetomorpha is a green, spaghetti-like macroalgae intended both for nutrient export and as a host for beneficial copepods and amphipods. Chaeto is great for removing nitrates and phosphates from your water naturally. Pods of all types also love to make their home in the fine, tangled strands.

Unlike most sellers who ship their chaeto merely damp in bags, we ship ours in rigid plastic jars. Each jar is filled with a generous portion of our Reef Snacklebox three species copepod blend. This keeps your chaeto wet and healthy during transport and provides a significant boost to your refugium's biodiversity.

Our chaeto is kept in fishless systems to keep it pest-free. These isolated systems contain only chaeto, fresh saltwater, copepods and amphipods. This minimizes the risk of any unwelcome hitchhikers and the beneficial pods help jump-start your refugium.

Can't Grow Chaeto? You Had the Wrong Strain

There are over 70 different species of Chaetomorpha macroalgae, and they all grow differently. The late Jake Adams of Reefbuilders refers to the two primary species available in the hobby as "brillo" and "fine."*

Most people are familiar with the more difficult-to-grow "brillo" variety which forms extremely curly strands that tend to grow more densely interwoven with time. It grows more slowly and is quite a bit more finicky and particular of its growing conditions. When we tried growing this variety - the one that many vendors sell - we didn't have much luck either. If you've tried to grow chaeto and failed, there's a good chance that you had the "brillo" variety. It works well, but you have to hit its needs very specifically for it to thrive.

We sell the much more forgiving and more rapidly-growing "fine" variety. It tends to produce longer strands that are less curly and creates a mass that is less dense, so water flows through it better and prevents it from becoming a detritus trap. Our "fine" variety is also much more forgiving of light PAR, flow rates, and the like. If you haven't been able to grow chaeto in the past, give us a try. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised!

Simply put the chaeto in an area of your sump with moderate flow and light it as brightly as possible - you can use simple shop lights from the hardware store or can go high tech with specially-designed refugium lighting. As the chaeto grows, it's helpful to dose it with additional trace elements like Brightwell Aquatics' ChaetoGro. Once your chaeto starts to overgrow your refugium, you'll want to remove and discard about half to make room for future growth.

*Reference https://reefbuilders.com/2021/03/23/chaetomorpha-strains-are-much-more-different-than-we-thought/

Buy With Confidence

Shopping for live goods online can be stressful, but we use best-in-industry shipping practices such as biodegradable styrofoam boxes, checking your weather and including heat/ice packs as needed, and sending all orders with UPS two day shipping. If anything goes wrong, we have your back with our completely hassle-free, no-questions-asked Dinkins Delivery Guarantee.

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