Algal genus Spotlight: Bryopsis "hair algae"
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Paul B
Premium Member
Since my last post here in January I found out that the lettuce slugs that keep multiplying in my reef eat nothing but bryopsis. Who would have thought. Of course I have no bryopsis so the things do not get very large. I sent some to a researcher who studys these slugs and she sent me some bryopsis. In a seperate tank (I am not crazy) I put some slugs and they sucked all the juice out of the bryopsis and it turned into slime. A few slugs will not do it but if you can get a large one and get it to spawn you will have hundreds. They only get about 1/2" long without bryopsis then I think they die. With bryopsis they get about three inches. They sell them here in NY in "Fish Town " for about $7.00. The only problem with them is as babies you have to screen intakes for powerheads. Here is a picture of one of my babies.
Paul B
Premium Member
Joe I wish I had enough slugs for everyone that wants them but unfortunately that is not the case. I have no bryopsis so they do not grow. I used to have over 100 but I gave many away and sold a bunch to stores, I just counted twenty left. I would like to keep these but I think they will disappear soon. When all of them are gone I can unscreen my powerheads which I have to clean every two days. I guess they do not sell them in California.
staticfishmonger
New member
this stuff all of a sudden appeared. it was pretty small so i didnt think much of it. then with in a week or so i took off covering my entire ricordia rock, and then began showing up else where. also other more typical hair algaes showed up as well. i have been removing it via toothbrush and syphon but it comes back with in a few weeks. i am going to try to aquire a few fish to help me. i was thinking a kole tang, and rabbit fish, then later a sailfin tang.
wharfrat48
Premium Member
My cycle has been finished for about a month now and I have a terrible hair algae outbreak. I was under the assumption that this was to be expected and it should resolve itself. It definitly looks like Bryopsis (getting my camera tommorow, I'll post pics then). I haven't done too much to combat the problem because I figured it was just a phase--now two weeks into it, it's getting quite annoying. I do have a fuge with Chaeto in it, and I have shortened the photoperiod in the main tank and increased it in the fuge. Should I be doing anything else, or just let it run it's course. (Yes, it is the devil)
Rich
Rich
staticfishmonger
New member
well i have just read some horror stories of foxfaces terrorizing tanks. picking at corals eating polyps and so forth, not to mention some of the people who were stuck with there venomus spines. i think ill stick with the tangs. kole and a sailfin, or purple and a sailfin. have'nt decided yet.
i also just adjusted my photoperiod to help with the killing of unwanted algae. it may be winning the battle for now, but i intend to win the war. little does it now how persistant i can be.
hahahahaha :lol:
i also just adjusted my photoperiod to help with the killing of unwanted algae. it may be winning the battle for now, but i intend to win the war. little does it now how persistant i can be.
hahahahaha :lol:
staticfishmonger said:
I can assure you that the tangs you've mentioned will NOT eat Bryopsis algae. Even Siganus uspi is hit or miss. If you can remove the rock with the algae, I would, even if it means getting rid of the coral. Nothing short of a nuclear bomb will permanently kill that stuff, and I'm not even sure about that.
Greg
staticfishmonger
New member
i know they wont eat the bryopsis in the picture i posted, but i have heard alot of reports saying they will graze on the more common hair algae. im not an expert on the subject, but i have had tangs before and in my FO they wiped all the algae out of my tank including the cyno. i think like you said its hit or miss.
prezioso73
New member
Kole tang will not touch it. Lawnmower Blenny will not touch it.
I hear that Bali Slime Monster eats it.
But for me,Phosban is the key!
I hear that Bali Slime Monster eats it.
But for me,Phosban is the key!
DNA
New member
Managed to clean out a few nasty patches recently. What I did was to pick some seashells on a local beach and placing them over the patch for 2 weeks. Some of the shells slipped from their position after about a week exposing the remains of the Bryopsis and I cought the tangs eating the remains. This also happens if you squint it with boiling water. I guess it's because the algea is actually dead or perhaps it tastes better.
I no longer have bryopsis in my tank. Went from a plague to nothing pretty quickly.
Month of heavy skimming and no feeding. Only fish was a lawnmower blenny. My pod population grew to monster proportions. Even during the day, you could see hundreds of amphipods in the bryopsis.
They ate every last scrap. And now you can't find any bryopsis or any pods in the tank at all.
Month of heavy skimming and no feeding. Only fish was a lawnmower blenny. My pod population grew to monster proportions. Even during the day, you could see hundreds of amphipods in the bryopsis.
They ate every last scrap. And now you can't find any bryopsis or any pods in the tank at all.
Thought I would throw in my current Bryopsis pics and plan for elimination...for what it is worth
. I figure a three pronged approach at first is best, scrubbing the rocks outside the tank/kalk paste/rinse and return to tank, then try and find some of those lettuce sea slugs that may or may not eat it, and finally small water changes every 2-3 days for the foreseeable future, maybe 8-10 gallons at a time with a larger weekend amount of 12-15 gallons. Since I know the nutrient load is high and that I have neglected my tank to some degree, very few water changes and I got away from keeping things balanced, since March 2003. only to get back to caring better for the system this February. The outbreak is my fault and I figure I need to right the ship in some ways. This is just a start and I will chronicle my failures or success with pictures and updates on my website. Who knows, maybe I'll have some luck in the next few months with this approach. Here are a few pics for your viewing.
. I figure a three pronged approach at first is best, scrubbing the rocks outside the tank/kalk paste/rinse and return to tank, then try and find some of those lettuce sea slugs that may or may not eat it, and finally small water changes every 2-3 days for the foreseeable future, maybe 8-10 gallons at a time with a larger weekend amount of 12-15 gallons. Since I know the nutrient load is high and that I have neglected my tank to some degree, very few water changes and I got away from keeping things balanced, since March 2003. only to get back to caring better for the system this February. The outbreak is my fault and I figure I need to right the ship in some ways. This is just a start and I will chronicle my failures or success with pictures and updates on my website. Who knows, maybe I'll have some luck in the next few months with this approach. Here are a few pics for your viewing.
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