Useful post FF. I just had some moss in a 2.5 that had bad hair algae. I think I also used a pen and my fingers to pick the worst of it off. It clings pretty good I felt like I was going to tear all the moss out, a few strings of moss came out but wasn't as bad as I expected. I just moved it all to a 10g. Am wondering if anyone has experience with RCS and hair algae? The article didn't mention any specific shrimp. Are they worth getting? (Hopefully I'm not hijacking, I figured the answer would be on topic and useful to OP)
VERY Bad Hair Algae Problem. Any tips?
- Thread starter FishCrazyBenBOMB
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FishCrazyBenBOMB
Aquarium Advice Addict
I have a 10G and a 20G full of RCS and Yellow Shrimp. They have had no affect on my hair algae. Both tanks are full of it.
missileman
Aquarium Advice FINatic
I don't know about shrimp. I have RCS and whisker shrimp and they wont touch it.
As I have heard true SAE are the only thing that will eat it, NOT flying foxes they are a different species. Although they are listed as common I have not been able to find any. (I now have 2 chinese algae eaters and 3 flying foxes but no SAE)
I soaked my large Amazon Sword in a chlorine solution and it did kill the BBA but you have to be really carefull not to use too much.
OP
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FishCrazyBenBOMB
Aquarium Advice Addict
If you really want some sae's you can order them from liveaquaria. Here is a link.
Tropical Fish for Freshwater Aquariums:Siamese Algae Eater
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FishCrazyBenBOMB
Aquarium Advice Addict
Lol, I ordered some christmas moss from Malaysia aswell, said it would take 2 weeks to get here, took 4 months. Also the christmas moss is kind of suckish. Nothing like I expected it to me. Rather of bought something liek tiwan moss or flame moss.
OP
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FishCrazyBenBOMB
Aquarium Advice Addict
Also that christmas moss is one of the mosses I have that is the worst with hair algae 
Ben you don't have a nitrate test kit? I am still curious what your N is reading.
BTW, my xmas moss is no more. It didn't last long in my tank for some reason. It is the only plant I haven't been able to grow in my tank. I think it just never really recovered from it's trip around the world.
Also, SAE's are the bomb (albeit not for a 5G tank...) I was fortunate enough to get 3 of them from my LFS (they haven't had any since) and they really do a great job. No hair algae. I think that they are at least partially responsible for that. I guess the reason they are so hard to find is they are all wild caught -- there has been little success in breeding them.
BTW, my xmas moss is no more. It didn't last long in my tank for some reason. It is the only plant I haven't been able to grow in my tank. I think it just never really recovered from it's trip around the world.
Also, SAE's are the bomb (albeit not for a 5G tank...) I was fortunate enough to get 3 of them from my LFS (they haven't had any since) and they really do a great job. No hair algae. I think that they are at least partially responsible for that. I guess the reason they are so hard to find is they are all wild caught -- there has been little success in breeding them.
eja206
Aquarium Advice Activist
another option is to get an american flag fish (sometimes called florida flag fish). their favourite food is hair algae! they apparently clean up even quicker that SAEs, although it depends what else you have in your tank, as they are fin nippers. maybe try and get one for a couple of days,let it do your dirty work, then take it back and trade it for something else...
good luck
good luck
Floyd R Turbo
Aquarium Advice Addict
Check your phospate levels!!!!
Ben, have you tested your phosphate level in your tank and tap water? In West DM here one day the phos levels exceeded 10ppm. Artesian wells around here are high in Phos. My tank routinely test over 5 (that's all my Hagen kit goes to), it's never anything less than dark blue. I think you are supposed to let tap water sit for 2 days before testing to get an accurate result, which sucks because levels can change daily.
I had huge diatom brown blooms that started to turn into green hair and maybe even blue-green. I was told to either use RO/DI or Phos Zorb or products like it. No easy way to fix it unfortunately. I have swords that are completely covered. My back glass was so bad I had to set up my Magnum 330 with the diatom filter cartridge, charged with diatomacious earth, and scrape it, then vaccuum the gravel and let the mag run until it pretty much clogged up, which only took a few hours. It was na-a-a-a-sty.
Even my SAE, 3 mollies, 3 swords, 5 platies, and rainbow shark couldn't keep it at bay. They took prety good care of the brown diatom, but didn't seem to keep up with the green stuff, and it looked pretty gross so off it came (except for about 1 sq ft I couldn't get to - tank too close to wall OOPS).
Ben, have you tested your phosphate level in your tank and tap water? In West DM here one day the phos levels exceeded 10ppm. Artesian wells around here are high in Phos. My tank routinely test over 5 (that's all my Hagen kit goes to), it's never anything less than dark blue. I think you are supposed to let tap water sit for 2 days before testing to get an accurate result, which sucks because levels can change daily.
I had huge diatom brown blooms that started to turn into green hair and maybe even blue-green. I was told to either use RO/DI or Phos Zorb or products like it. No easy way to fix it unfortunately. I have swords that are completely covered. My back glass was so bad I had to set up my Magnum 330 with the diatom filter cartridge, charged with diatomacious earth, and scrape it, then vaccuum the gravel and let the mag run until it pretty much clogged up, which only took a few hours. It was na-a-a-a-sty.
Even my SAE, 3 mollies, 3 swords, 5 platies, and rainbow shark couldn't keep it at bay. They took prety good care of the brown diatom, but didn't seem to keep up with the green stuff, and it looked pretty gross so off it came (except for about 1 sq ft I couldn't get to - tank too close to wall OOPS).
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FishCrazyBenBOMB
Aquarium Advice Addict
I actually might look into those, even though they suggest a minimum of a 10G tank for them, they only grow up to 2in, so I might be able to get one or two of those. Never thought of those really, never knew they liked hair algae, thanks for the find.
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FishCrazyBenBOMB
Aquarium Advice Addict
Yeah I do have that master test kit, i'll try to test tonight then post the results up.
Yeah my x-mas moss is really failing to grow, like seriously it's angrying me. I was expecting to be able to do the famous moss wall and i'm not going to be able to now.
Yeah if I had like a 29G+ tank I would for sure get some true SAE, my lfs don't carry them, but I would end up ordering them just to be able to say I got true SAEs. I have a true CAE, but those are pretty common
I think the reason for the tank size recommendation on flag fish has more to do with aggression than living space, for what it's worth.
I've had good luck with spot treatment of hydrogen peroxide for algae removal. Just get the 3% solution from the drug store/grocery store/mom's medicine cabinet and apply in small amounts with a syringe or eye dropper to problem areas. Make sure lights are on during application, as it is interaction with light that breaks down the peroxide into destructive compounds. This also ensures that the chemical is rapidly removed so as to minimize exposure to animals in the tank. Since it breaks down into oxygen and water, you don't have to worry about overdosing as long as you don't apply too large an acute dose.
I've had good luck with spot treatment of hydrogen peroxide for algae removal. Just get the 3% solution from the drug store/grocery store/mom's medicine cabinet and apply in small amounts with a syringe or eye dropper to problem areas. Make sure lights are on during application, as it is interaction with light that breaks down the peroxide into destructive compounds. This also ensures that the chemical is rapidly removed so as to minimize exposure to animals in the tank. Since it breaks down into oxygen and water, you don't have to worry about overdosing as long as you don't apply too large an acute dose.
OP
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FishCrazyBenBOMB
Aquarium Advice Addict
Well I tested my water and here are the outcomes:
pH: 8.4 (Hmmm kind of high for some reason, my water usually test at 7.6)
Nitrate: 5.0
Nitrite: 0
Amonia: 0
That help at all?
pH: 8.4 (Hmmm kind of high for some reason, my water usually test at 7.6)
Nitrate: 5.0
Nitrite: 0
Amonia: 0
That help at all?
Floyd R Turbo
Aquarium Advice Addict
Got a phosphate test result by any chance?
OP
OP
FishCrazyBenBOMB
Aquarium Advice Addict
Only have my master test kit avalible to me, which isn't very mastery since it can't test everything, just the basics.
Floyd R Turbo
Aquarium Advice Addict
Bring a sample to your LFS, they should be able to test for free.
OP
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FishCrazyBenBOMB
Aquarium Advice Addict
Well I got some ferts today, so hopefully that will help.
Floyd R Turbo
Aquarium Advice Addict
What brand did you get?
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