Some kind of hairy algae

[Big C]

Hello all,

My anubia and some of the other plants are growing hair. It's not really awful but it would be nice if I can get rid of it. I got two AE shrimp but the guys don't really do much for the algae.

Any suggestions to get rid of them without stressing my eco-fishy-system?

Thank you.

 

[Billsgate]

Pull it of with ur hands!!
That's what I do......but pro-advice would be: Test for every possible thing, see what is not in balance, and correct it!

I think American Flagfish eat hair algae.

 

[krap101]

im not sure its exactly hair algae though. i have that and my flagfish isnt touching it. it alot shorter

anyway how long is it?

 

[malkore]

hair algae is long, typically 4" or longer...often called thread algae.

brush algae is short, usually no more than a 1/4 inch, and often appears black or charcoal gray (hence, black beard algae BBA). I find it's usually from phosphate being too high for the nitrate level, and thus un-balanced like Billsgate mentions.

I like this page for identifying the most common algae types: http://www.plantgeek.net/article_viewer.php?id=9

 

[krap101]

oh i guess i had "fuzz algae" im sure theres another name for it because ive never heard of it in that name

 

[travis simonson]

Fuzz algae, IME, is usually caused by excessive nitrates in the water column and/or dirty/algae-clogged mechanical filter media. Algae eaters such as SAEs and Flag Fish will help, but balancing your nutrients and keeping your filters clean is the real key to getting rid of it.

If you've got strong lighting and no CO2 you can also run into real fuzz algae problems. If this is the case either drop the lighting or consider implementing CO2. CO2 will help even if the lighting is not overly strong. It works wonders in the fight against algae

 

[czcz]

Travis, how did fuzz algae react to your Excel experiment (in addition to pressurized)? I can't beat it and I'm up to +40ppm DIY CO2 and my NO3/PO4 is within yours and malkore's and Tom Barr's recommended ranges and ratios Thanks.

 

[travis simonson]

I can't say whether Excel helped with fuzz algae or not. My main problem with fuzz algae turned out to be a combination of inaccurate test kits and dirty mechanical filter media. Once I corrected the excessive NO3 (LaMotte test kits are simply incredible) and started doing monthly mechanical filter media cleaning the fuzz algae disappeared. A three day blackout will also work wonders against fuzz algae to get you started out on the right foot

Going back to Excel, I can attest that it will do wonders for BBA and might possibly also be effective against fuzz algae. In any case it can't hurt. Right now I'm working with another hobbyist on a possible alternative to Excel. More news on that later

 

[czcz]

I do well with keeping mechanical media clean but have cut down on the amount I use -- I'll try more floss with same maintenence, I think. I've also avoided LaMotte investment as Mr. Barr's dosing by meaurement for greater accuracy makes sense to me, and I only use my AP test to see changes. I think it may be time to mimic your techniques even more...

re: Excel alternative: sweet. Good luck! A LFS sells a Japanese liquid carbon product I'm thinking of trying, but wonder if it has Excel's capability of keeping Fe available to plants (according to Seachem site and forum on APC). All I remember is a yellow bottle with I think kanji. I'll try this and post back if you're interested, though I doubt my lack of expertise will be helpful

Thanks again, man.

 

[travis simonson]

No problem. I can tell you that the Excel alternative we're experimenting with "may" be the active ingredient in Excel And it is much less expensive than Excel - something that strongly appeals to me because it costs an arm and a leg to dose a 125G with Excel on a daily basis.

The mechanism Excel uses to keep Fe available basically works by preventing the iron from leaving the chelated state, thus preventing it from becoming unavailable (Fe stays in the chelated/available Fe2+ state rather than being allowed to spontaneously convert to the unavailable Fe3+ state). I'm no chemist so this is about as far as my understanding of the mechanism goes

 

[Big C]

Judging by the page Malkore sent I definitely have some fuzz algae and may be some brush algae.

SHould i go get some SAE or some otos?

Anything is a good excuse to buy more fish!!!!