Money Plant

Halimeda

Also known as Cactus Algae, Money Plant Algae

SaltwaterMacroalgaeCuttings

Money Plant (Halimeda) — Alberto [email protected]://www.romeofotosub.it · CC BY 3.0

Care at a glance

Light: Medium light
CO2: No CO₂ needed
Temperature: 73–81°F; 23–27°C
Max height: 5.9 in; 15 cm

Growth rate: Slow
Placement: Midground
Type: Macroalgae
pH: 8.0–8.4
Spread: 7.9 in (20 cm)
Nutrient uptake: Water column
Growth region: Submersed
Difficulty: Medium
Family: Halimedaceae
Origin: Tropical oceans worldwide, including the Caribbean and Indo-Pacific reefs

Overview

Money Plant is a decorative reef macroalga, grown for its chains of coin-shaped segments rather than as a heavy nutrient exporter. It is rated medium in difficulty and suits a well-maintained display more than a nutrient-abused refugium.

Did you know

Money Plant gets its nickname from its stacked round segments, which look like little green coins glued end to end. When the plant dies, those calcified segments break down into the white carbonate sand that builds tropical beaches.

Caring for Money Plant

Set Money Plant with its base in the sand, where it roots and adds habitat for pods. Keep it at 73 to 81°F (23 to 27°C) and pH 8 to 8.4.

Give it medium light and a stable calcium level of roughly 350 to 450 ppm, with good alkalinity. It must build a calcium carbonate skeleton to grow, which also makes its growth slow. It needs no added CO2 and takes its other nutrients from the water.

Unlike Caulerpa it is not invasive and will not overrun a tank. It is less tolerant of high nitrate and phosphate, though, and it dislikes heavy pruning. Propagate it by cuttings, but keep any pruning light.

Good to know

Money Plant is the genus Halimeda, a green macroalga in the family Halimedaceae. It deposits aragonite crystals within its tissues, which makes it a major calcifying alga and a globally important producer of carbonate sediment. Each plant is coenocytic, and its calcification is tied to photosynthesis. As it consumes CO2 it raises the local pH, which favors carbonate precipitation between its filaments. Its armored segments and deterrent metabolites mean most herbivorous fish leave it alone.

In the wild

Money Plant grows on tropical reefs worldwide, including the Caribbean and the Indo-Pacific. It roots into sand and rubble around reef bases and in lagoons. Stable calcium and alkalinity there let it lay down its hard skeleton.