Attack of the Green Blob

[deepbluesea]

Can anyone tell me how to keep green hair algae under control? I bought some blue legged crabs to keep it under control and I read a lawnmower benny can help. Any other suggestions?

Cindy

 

[Guest]

Yes tangs will eat you dry, I was trying to keep the algae but my tangs pick it clean with in a day or two
Get a few hardy tangs that don't egt ick easy like a sail fin tang-unicorn tang or a nasa tang

 

[nodoubt471]

or a yellow tang if it is more of a community tank, they tend to be a little less agressive, and hardly ever get ich.

 

[Guest]

To be honest any yellow or blue hipo tang I ever had was the first to get sick and cause an out break in my tank, most fish stores agree yellow and blue hipo don't do as well plus the unicorn and sail fin are very mellow
the yellow is nastyer then a nasa plus I have had them for over a year with out any problems ,also a yellow is the last fish you want to add in as they tend to run the tank

 

[deepbluesea]

Green Algae Bloom

Hi there. I only have a 30 gallon tank and the first time I tried a blue tang it got ich and died. I even got a skunk cleaner shrimp, but I guess it didn't help. Next I got a yellow tang and it died from ich. Then I got a latticed butterfly fish for a present. It died on me when I was in the hospital most likely from ich. The only fish that has survived my tank the longest is the skunk cleaner and the false clown.

I read about the tangs you suggested and they recommend a 180 gal for the Unicorn and 125 gal for the Naso and Sailfin. I also noticed that the Sailfin is semi-aggressive which worries me a little. How do you think one of those fish would do in my 30 gallon tank with only 60 watts of florescent lighting? Good idea or bad idea?

Cindy

 

[Guest]

Keep in mind it depends on the size, when I got my tangs they were med. size ,after about a year they doubled so the 55 gal was no longer big enough
plus I have a panther grouper that trippled it size
my unicorn tang and my sail fin given you an idea how big they are now are about 3.5 top to bottom and about 6 inch from head to tail and they do fine in the 125
when I had them in the 55 they were about 2in top to bottom and 4 inch head to tail
I know they recomend a bigger tank but Ive been doing tangs for years and I never had a problem, I even had tangs in a 40 gal tank

 

[deepbluesea]

Definition of Ich

Can you help me? I wanted to know if a fish has had ich, does ich stay in your tank? I'm a little confused about how that works.

I will give one of those tangs a try. Have you ever tried the Sailfin/Algae Blenny also referred to as Jewelled Rockskipper or the Lawnmower, Jeweled Blenny, or Rock Blenny? That's a lot of names for one fish.

 

[Guest]

Just keep in mind they like to swim and need room to do so, the smaller your tank the less fish you can add also keep in mind try to go with small tangs as they will grow

 

[Guest]

Well heres my thoughts ,if you have a fish that has ick, by the time you figure this out its to late to think about taking the fish out because its in your tank so weather you take the fish out or not at this time will not matter unless the fish is like close to death which I hate to say other then that you need to add medication in your water to kill it, also I found of you keep you salinity (salt level) a little lower then the ocean it helps not to get ick and other things ,I keep mine between 1.020 and 1.023, I say in the middle around 1.021

 

[Atari]

Please don't buy any tangs if you have a 30 gal.

Stick with the little blue legged hermits for the substrate and rock.. once they get going they'll clean it up in no time.

If it's on the glass too then try some astrea snails.

 

[Guest]

Why would you say that ,I've been doing tangs forever, in fact the first tank I had was a 30 ,then a 40 then a 55 then a 250 then back to a 55 now a 125
I statrted out with a small tank and a nasa tang ,never had a problem and Ive kept fish for years and watched them grow five times there size ,they can go with a small tang ,no reason not to

 

[Atari]

So you're suggesting that someone with a 30 gal tank should get a tang just because they have an algae problem?

That's wrong on so many accounts.

Since when is a tang considered part of the cleanup crew? What if this person doesn't want to upgrade to a larger tank within a year? Do you realise lack of swimming space causes deformities of the internal organs due to stunted development?

 

[Guest]

Well heres a thought for you, most people that have a tank with fish hope there fish will not dye as they want to keep them a while ,do you know of any fish that don't grow over time?
if you do I would like the name of this fish because im sure its worth millions

 

[Atari]

Here's an example..

A typical clownfish will reach 3-4 inches when fully grown.

A typical naso tang will reach 12-18 inches when fully grown.

Would you consider both equally suitable for a 30 gal tank?

 

[deepbluesea]

medication

Do you not have to be careful when adding ich medicine to the tank if you have shrimp? Could it not kill the shrimp?

Cindy

 

[phases99]

Astrea snails are the best hair algae eaters for a small tank. If you add 6 or so your algae will be gone in a week. They cleaned my rock as well as the walls. Make sure you acclimate them well and flip them over if they fall on their backs.

 

[lando]

Hi Cindy...Yes, you do need to becareful of your inverts when treating for ich. The best thing you can do is let your tank go "fallow" for about six weeks to rid it of ich. This means keep it running without fish for that time. Your shrimp will be fine in there during the fallow period. I would avoid meds in the main display tank and let the ich die off naturally. Good luck...Lando

 

[Guest]

that my be true but it will take a long long time for them to reach that size

 

[Fluff]

I agree with Atari. A tang is not your answer. I have a yellow tang and he ignored my hair algae. I've also tried blue legged hermits, emerald crabs, lawnmower blenny, lettuce nudibraches and several types of snails. All of which are supposed to eat hair algae and nothing worked. I made a few changes with my tank and got rid of mine. Started using RO/DI water, reduced feeding and replaced light bulbs. Within two weeks the hair was gone. Lando is right that the tank needs to be fallow for a period for the ich to die off. You don't want to use copper meds in your tank. I've used KickIch and had some success with it without killing my shrimp or other inverts. Although it didn't completely rid my tank of ich, I only see a spot here and there now and the shrimp keep it under control. I think your best bet though would be to quaranteen your fish for treatment and leave your main tank empty of fish as suggested.HTH

 

[deepbluesea]

New at this

Hi there. Sorry about a late reply. I'm still getting use to this. besides my 30 gallon tank I only have a little 25 gallon tank with a spotted cardinal. I'm worried if I put my 2 clowns, lawnmower, and crabs in that tank someone is bond to get hurt. Previously my clowns had picked away at the fins of my spotted cardinals until I moved him into my 25 gallon tank. What kind of medicine could you suggest that would not harm my cleaner shrimp and blue legged crabs?

Cindy