keeping lights off for a couple days

K

kpatrick

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Dec 8, 2002
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i have had a problem with hair algea for a while now and i just cant seem to get rid of it. I was told by the lfs to cover up my tank and keep it completely dark for 2 or 3 days and it would help get rid of the algea and not hurt the fish. does this work? and will it hurt the fish by not having any light for that length of time. any advise is welcome.

Thanks
 
your fish's health aside, you may be doing absolutely no good (harm) to the algae.. If your problem is Bryopsis, then a couple days with no light ain't gonna amount to a hill of beans.. I've been fighting it for months now, including solitary confinment for some rocks in a darkened 10 gallon tank. It takes approximately 23 days to kill that crap by simple light deprivation =\ The only thing that has helped are water changes, a rabbit fish and calc dosing.

Identify your algae exactly, then ask again.
 
is it byropsis? byropsis looks more plant like, and sort of looks like a fern.

I added alot of mexican turbo snails and they ate quite a bit normal hair algae, and the byropsis.
 
actually, bryopsis looks more like a field of prarie grass blowing in the wind than it does a fern...
 
Sorry to hijack the thread here but I need to know something. Does it start out as just one little blade, sometimes with prongs, and then goes from there?
 
VOODOO- I've seen something along those lines when it first starts out....then bang....it looks like a flowing lawn.


Got a 55g...check my stats...got two giant mexican turbo snails along with a lawnmower blenny and my problems have been solved. I use good 'ol Fall river tap water so i had a major problem, plus i don't clean the back of my tank.

I can't promise this will help you, but it sure helped a hell of alot for me.....

*EDIT*: Oh ya ... i almost forgot.... The mexican snails when they first were entered, went on an eating spree. You wouldn't believe the amount of shi...poop these guys can put out...WHOA!!
 
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I've got a small fleet of turbos (bout 20) and they never touch the bryopsis, infact they never leave the glass =\ Must be a union crew.... The only thing I've got that will touch it is my rabbitfish (foxface lo) and he is pretty voracious, especially when I go in and yank some loose... He's all OVER the fresh, tender stuff next to the rocks.. Thankfully it doesn't grow back where he eats it...
 
Huh. This stuff grows wherever it wants. I let one spot on the glass grow for two weeks until it was just about 1/2" long. I need some turbos anyways for green algae. I'll see what they do.
 
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