I have a bit of a problem with hair algae. I already have a lawnmower blenny, but he doesn't seem to do that great of a job on the stuff.
Any inverts that are good at eating this stuff up?
Any inverts that are good at eating this stuff up?
Hair algae problem.
- Thread starter kittyhazelton
- Start date
None in my experience. I've always had the same problem...the advice I get, and pass along to you, is to keep good water quality, clean your tank, have good water circulation (without dead spots) and wait until the tank matures more...the nutrients the algae is living off in the LR will exhaust at some time.
I have an urchin and an emerald crab, neither of which touch it. No snail I've ever tried does any harm to it either. Never tried the blennie because of the size of my tank and the fact that my fish is a damsel and probably would not like the blennie too much. I always thought that the lawnmower blennie would be the answer, though. Sorry to hear it's not!
I have an urchin and an emerald crab, neither of which touch it. No snail I've ever tried does any harm to it either. Never tried the blennie because of the size of my tank and the fact that my fish is a damsel and probably would not like the blennie too much. I always thought that the lawnmower blennie would be the answer, though. Sorry to hear it's not!
One of my 20g's has recently exploded with hair algae and cyano. I added a protein skimmer and new light (probably the problem) about a month ago. I used to have 2 18 watt lights, now I have a 65 watt PC. This must be the reason for the intrusion, as my water parameters are the same as they have been for months.
Anyways, I have about 1/2 dozen hermits and 2 astraea snails which aren't doing anything to fight the algae. Recently I added an emerald crab and 2 Mexican turbo/ grazers. The large snails are doing all they can, and have made a dent in the algae. I think that with time, water changes, and a good cleanup crew that the algae will go away. My LFS has had Rainfordi Gobies for the last few weeks and I am thinking about getting one of them to help with the hair algae, but I am scared that the Fridmani pseudo may bully it.
In another attempt to combat the algae I converted my Aquaclear 20 power filter into a mini fuge with a ball of chaetomorpha and light. I'm hoping that the macroalgae will outcompete the nuisance algae, along with the help of my inverts.
Good luck, and let me know if you find something that works well and I will do the same.
Anyways, I have about 1/2 dozen hermits and 2 astraea snails which aren't doing anything to fight the algae. Recently I added an emerald crab and 2 Mexican turbo/ grazers. The large snails are doing all they can, and have made a dent in the algae. I think that with time, water changes, and a good cleanup crew that the algae will go away. My LFS has had Rainfordi Gobies for the last few weeks and I am thinking about getting one of them to help with the hair algae, but I am scared that the Fridmani pseudo may bully it.
In another attempt to combat the algae I converted my Aquaclear 20 power filter into a mini fuge with a ball of chaetomorpha and light. I'm hoping that the macroalgae will outcompete the nuisance algae, along with the help of my inverts.
Good luck, and let me know if you find something that works well and I will do the same.
Mine started about 6 months ago and it appears to be slowly disappearing. I have to pull clumps out of the receiving end of the powerheads every few days. I think it goes away in time.
hair algae
I have a hair algae problem as well. I have a 12Ga. nano cube I bought set up from a lfs that was remodeling. It came with live rock that was absolutely covered in the stuff. They had a lawnmower blenny stocked in the tank but it was too much. It is fun to watch him eat it though. He strikes it hard. Astrea snails work great, but I had to constantly move them. They would crawl down into cracks in the LR and get stuck. In their wake was nice clean rock though. Even with the snails and the lawnmower my tank was still overrun. I finally got a bucket of saltwater and scrubbed my rock with a toothbrush. Add some phosphate remover to starve out what was left of the algae and my problem hasn't came back yet. However its only been about two weeks. I'll try to keep an update going. Might not have been the best thing to do, but the tank looks much better now.
I have a hair algae problem as well. I have a 12Ga. nano cube I bought set up from a lfs that was remodeling. It came with live rock that was absolutely covered in the stuff. They had a lawnmower blenny stocked in the tank but it was too much. It is fun to watch him eat it though. He strikes it hard. Astrea snails work great, but I had to constantly move them. They would crawl down into cracks in the LR and get stuck. In their wake was nice clean rock though. Even with the snails and the lawnmower my tank was still overrun. I finally got a bucket of saltwater and scrubbed my rock with a toothbrush. Add some phosphate remover to starve out what was left of the algae and my problem hasn't came back yet. However its only been about two weeks. I'll try to keep an update going. Might not have been the best thing to do, but the tank looks much better now.