Hair Algae Eaters?

[Icthyological Person]

What kind of fishis good to eat hair algae? I have a bad outbreak in my tank.

 

[mfdrookie516]

your best bet is to find the cause. is this a planted tank? hair algae can be the result of a few different things, but typically it has to do with excess nutrients and/or excess lighting

 

[Icthyological Person]

It is a planted tank, and has 12 hours of light a day with a two hour break in the middle.

 

[mfdrookie516]

are you dosing any ferts? 10 hours is a bit much IMO. I run all mine for 7.5-8. But, 10 hours shouldn't cause a big algae problem, its just not needed.

 

[Icthyological Person]

Back to the original question, what kinds of fish eat hair algae?

 

[Justin83]

what there trying to say is that adding a fish or 2 that eats this hair algae is not necessarily the answer to the problem your having there is usually an underlying problem as for what fish i would say maybe black mollies or a few otos at least 3 or 4 (otos are best kept in a school due to there small size)
or a pleco or 2 or a SAE ..

ive been told that Amano or cherry Shrimp like hair algae..

 

[eco23]

I'm pretty sure Otos don't eat hair algae, though I'd assume Amanos do...mine seem to eat anything they see. I've gotta back up rookie and say that finding the cause is the solution, adding fish to handle it is just putting on a band-aid.

 

[krap101]

I believe mollies and the like tend to just eat the new sprouts, and the older hair algae is left untouched.

Few links:
Freshwater Algae Types: An Illustrated Guide - Article at The Age of Aquariums - Tropical Fish

Algae control in the aquarium