red hairy looking algae?

[bunbury22]

Hello aquarium freaks I need ur opinion on this red/pinkish algae its also kind of hairy looking? Is it good or bad? At least it looks nice lol!

[joy13]

You might want to check out cyanobacteria. To me it looks more slimy than hairy.

[Mpfaff77]

I would say that is definitely cyano. I dealt with it for months.

Check lights. Do for bulb change?
Phosphates
Nitrates

Test your water going into tank. Siphon out as much as you can each change. I did this every water change for 6 or 8 months. Was so discusted with it. Frequent water changes good too. It is tough to rid. Get rdy for a fight. I still have few small patches on rocks. But not growing anymore.



You can see small patch to the right of fish.

[bunbury22]

Woul you recomend any algae eater fish?

[Mpfaff77]

There are very few that will eat cyano. If any. I did buy the fish pictured above because he is a sand sifter. But it grows back very fast. Like daily. I also purchased Cerith snails which are rumored to eat cyano. The fish stayed clear of it. Wouldn't even sift the sand that had cyano on it. As far as the snails they didn't eat it but they do stir the sanded which made it look better. Nassarius snails also stirred the sand.

[bunbury22]

Would this cyanobacteria kill my fishes or harm them in any way?

[Mpfaff77]

No. My tank was never really effected at all other that looks. Even all my parameters stayed good. Including nitrate and phosphate. I understand that is be because it consumes the nutrients faster than the test can register them.

It can hurt your corals tho. Make sure it doesn't grow on coral. My zoanthids were effected the most. Had to siphon them often to get cyano off.

[joy13]

To help clean it up just siphon it off it will take some time you can use chemiclean and it does a good job. My friend used it and his come back but nothing like it was. I let mine burn out with water changes and haven't had a problem since. Chemiclean Red Slime Algae Remover
I try not to use chemicals in my tanks and do battle with water changes.

[Mpfaff77]

Yeah I wouldn't use chemicals either. Upto you. I do not trust chemicals with such delicate animals. I also used chemi pure elite in my canister filter. I say use algea remover chemical very very very last resort. It won't rid the problem. You need to find the source of excess nutrients.

[bighabeeb]

I had a massive cyano problem shortly after cycling my tank - did water changes like a maniac, siphoning what I could, and that eventually got driven into remission - and was immediately replaced by a nasty green hair algae outbreak - which I continued to battle.

Now here I am, a member of algae anonymous with my "3 year algae outbreak free" pin

[joy13]

Originally Posted by bighabeeb

I had a massive cyano problem shortly after cycling my tank - did water changes like a maniac, siphoning what I could, and that eventually got driven into remission - and was immediately replaced by a nasty green hair algae outbreak - which I continued to battle.

Now here I am, a member of algae anonymous with my "3 year algae outbreak free" pin

Those are the basic stages of a new tank. It seems like one algae will take another ones place for the first few months of a tanks life.

[BallinCrew10]

Nothing eats the cyano. The sand sifting fish might turn it over while sifting but they're definitely not eating it. If you don't want to go the chemical route, water changes, less feeding, and more flow will work. I did all of the above and used this red slime remover. Worked great and didn't have any negative effects on my fish, inverts, or coral.

[bunbury22]

Ill try every option see which one works first, thanks for everything guys

[bunbury22]

I tried chemiclean and 24 hrs later 80% of it has been removed, I do need to change 20% of the water today according to the lfs and the instructions on the product lol let's see what happens!

[Sqasnatch]

No fish will ever take care of an algea problem they can help but it's up to you to get rid of it

[bunbury22]

Yup but that chemiclean is the real deal

[Elitehunter1]

Just cycled chemi through both of my tanks. Had a bad cyano outbreak. IT KICKS (unapproved aquarium advice word)

[bunbury22]

Just make sure you do a 20% water change after 48 hrs, I used chemiclean 4 days ago and now my tank looks super clean

[Elitehunter1]

Very true, it didn't clear all of it out until about a day after the water change.