Hairy back

[Death Shrimp99]

Hey guys i havent been at reef central for a while but im back. Well the problemb is my mantis (O.S.) has hair algea growing on his back! It is starting to look pretty ugly and i have no idea how i could get it off. My tank isint really dirty either and theres not algea all over it just paches and hair on the rocks. Can you guys give me some ideas on how to get the algea off?

 

[grampus]

this is the cuticular disease so prevalent in O.S.
the problem will be solved when it sheds.
to my knoledge antibiotics will not prevent the spreading of the disease, but killing the lights might limit the alae growth
-Tim

 

[Gonodactylus]

The animal will be happy in the dark, the algae won't. Also, a dark, tight-fitting burrow will mechanically abrade the algae. Finally, check your phosphate and nitrate levels.

Filamentous algae (as well as a nasty red) are occasional problems for stomatopods that live in dim light and are kept in bright light wiithout a good cavity. Usually in the field they can clean themselves well enough to keep ahead of it, but occasionally in an aquarium things start to get out of hand. If they molt soon enough before the algae penetrate the cuticle, they can sometimes recover. The problem can occur on a number of species including Neogonodactylids, Pseudosquilla, Hemisquilla, some Odontodactylids and even Squilla.

Roy

 

[word]

i keep my hairy back seems to thrive in a low light environment