slight hair algae???

[h2joe]

how do i get rid of hair algae before it gets out of hand? what eats it is basically what i want to know. i just set up my tank which will hold my 55g inhabitants during the switch over to the 210 but there is some small bits of hair algae on the live rock and im looking to get rid of it before it gets out of hand. ive pulled most of it off and it keeps growing back.

thanks

Mark

 

[lifesworksataol]

yellow tang and a sea hare are the best eaters :-D will be gone in a day

 

[o2zen]

Yellow tank would not be happy with my Tomini tang would he. I have a small patch of hair algae I want to rid myself of before it becomes something nasty.

 

[zachstone13]

sea hares kick ***, just watch out mine dives over the overflow now and then

 

[h2joe]

where can i find sea hares? should most local shops have them? also ive read about emerald crabs eating hair algae but has anyone found this to be true or not?

thanks

Mark

 

[ladyfsu]

My emerald crab eats hair algae.

I wish you were closer. I have a 10-inch sea hare in a school tank I could have loaned you. He's a BEAST! Hair algae disappeared in several tanks in days, and now we have to feed him a sheet of nori every day. I was out at Clearwater beach Mon-Wed and there were several smaller ones, especially close to where currents were moving (fairly near some rocks).

g/l

 

[h2joe]

hmm i dont think ive ever seen one around here...like in local waters. i think i may get an emerald crab and see what he can do with it. theres a little bit of bubble algae to so hopefully he'll eat that too.

thanks

Mark

 

[o2zen]

Are Emerald crabs dangerous to the other reef critters? Fish and all?

 

[lifesworksataol]

emerald crabs are good for bubble but do nothing to a hair algae pop. atleast so i have found - they dont mess with anything as long as you get a female and only one - males tend to be jerks so i hear - you can tell by there shell on there belly - just to let you know - but i dont remember which is which now - just research - but like he said sea hares will eat everything but then keeping them fed is the hard part and the fact that i hear if they die they will destroy your tank = but that didnt happen to my tank when my anem. ate it. i would stick with a yellow tang - but make sure you dont get one with ich like my brother did - that destroyed his whole tank and he really tried hard to stop it from happening

 

[h2joe]

well i cant get a yellow tang because this is just a temporary tank for holding my fish and some of my livestock and it was just set up last week. so the tang is out for now, is there any other solutions besides a sea hare or emerald crab?
thanks

Mark

 

[lifesworksataol]

not a whole lot - just let it grow - its no big deal and in 6 months get a yellow tang and he will have everything gone in a week - hair algae isnt that bad - its just sort of a plant - some people like it - as long as you change your water and yank as much as you can out it wont take your tank over - you could always try some other fish but none that i have found are great eaters of it - i have heard if you can get the fresh water mollies and slowly turn them into salt water fish they eat the crap outta it - but that takes time as well- but dont just let me tell you what i know - come on people chime in on what you know and help him out

 

[h2joe]

thanks i think i might be able to get some mollies and see if they work but for now i think i may just try the emerald crab and hope for the best.

Mark

 

[mrferrit]

in my old bait tank i had hair algae and i tossed in a few live bait shrimp and they munched it all down to nothing .
not sure if there safe or want not but it was my experimental tank and worked for me
but they are also carnivorous
good luck

 

[boydx6]

I have an emerald crab and it has never looked twice at hair or bubble algae. He ate the heck out of my other macro algae though. It was all gone before I caught him in the act!

 

[o2zen]

Talking to FAOIS today they said just pick up some Astrea snails and hand place them on the hair algae every time you stick you hand in the tank.

So tonight I stuck a few on the algae and it was almost all gone within a few hours.

Something she said that I did not know - Snails cannot smell/sense where the hair algae is. So with that in mind I tried it and wow that did make a huge difference.

So I guess snails just wonder around looking for anything to eat and once they find a spot they stick there until there is nothing left then move on unil they find more food

 

[BankerJohn]

When I had a problem with Hair Algae, I did a few things to correct the problem. First, I changed how often I am changing my carbon and phosphoros remover (I use a SeaChem product). Second, I added a freshwater molly. The fish is not that pretty but it ONLY eats filamentous algae. Third, I added a few more snails and hermits (clean up crew). A combination of the 3 methods successfully took care of my HA problem.

Good luck with your tank and let us know what you do and how it works for you. I am sure there are other methods, besides what I did.

Banker John

 

[h2joe]

thanks guys. i will be getting some snails and a couple of hermits this weekend and ill let you know how it goes.

thanks

Mark