Hair algae outbreak

[Adron]

Hi! I've got a 29 gallon planted freshwater aquarium going strong right now, housing 4 congo tetras, 1 krib, 2 swordtails, 2 platies, and 1 oto. I recently switched from the standard one-bulb light that comes with the Aqueon deluxe kit to a canopy LED system, which has a much higher output. The plants love it.

Unfortunately a colony of hair algae has started to grow and spread rapidly in the tank, on my plants and driftwood, and I'm worried about it starting to choke a few of the plants and restrict their access to the light.

I don't believe that otocinclus eats hair algae. Is there any fish or invertebrate I could keep in this set up that would eat the stuff, without being eaten by any other fish or being a hazard to them? And if not, what other solutions are there for hair algae outbreaks that don't involve hazardous chemicals or anything like that?

I'd love some advice, thanks!

 

[rmiller]

Not sure about any fish or such that eat it, someone else may chime in with help there, but start with cutting your lighting back to 6 hours a day and cut back on your feeding a bit. Extra food breaks down into ammonia which helps the algae grow.

Hope that helps a bit.