Who eat's Green Hair Algae??

banditpowdercoat · #1 12-02-2009, 02:10 AM

No LFS here that deals salt. I have to take a trip, or have shipped. Anyone in Kamloops have one they wana share???

naesco · #2 12-02-2009, 03:52 AM

Either too much light or poor water quality which is the root of your problem

In the meantime order in a sea hare.
Make sure you acclimate it very carefully or it will not survive the stress of transfer.
Getting it from a fellow reefer is best.
Once you get it and it is down to 90% of the hair algae eaten you need to start feeding it spirulina sinking tablets or sink some nori to the bottom or it will die of starvation.
It is best to pass it on to another reefer who has an algae problem
The other fish solutions are hit and miss and not worth disturbing your existing fish for.

tgoeujon · #3 12-02-2009, 03:53 AM

total pet in kamloops had a few sea hares on saturday when i was there

BlueWorldAquatic · #4 12-02-2009, 04:25 AM

for hair algae we have found the livestock to do the most damage to it are as follows;

Scopus Tangs
Dragon Gobys
Tuxedo Urchins
Emerald Crabs
Mexican Turbo snails
and of course Sea Hairs (we have a few circulating around Edmonton)

Hope that helps.

Ken

fishytime · #5 12-02-2009, 04:37 AM

Most of the "hair munchers" BWA(Ken) mentioned will do a much better job if you can keep the algae pruned...its like, "a cow can be in a field of grass two feet tall and he/she will eat the short, new stuff"...We have a pretty neat "program" at the shop...We re-home seahares on a rental basis....pay full price for the seahare then get 50% back in store credit when you return it...I know that doesnt help you out there in BC but it was a shameless plug for RC

banditpowdercoat · #6 12-02-2009, 04:51 AM

Ya I know my water, Nitrates etc are probibally an issue. Lights, 2 250W MH 8hrs, 2-10PM on a 5'lx2'dx2'h tank. I procrastonate on water changes. 15g/month on average. My bad

But we usually only feed the fish once a day too, and have been trying to lessen the food. Sometimes pellet snacks during day, just a little tho, try to keep the unetens that settle to floor to a min.

I love my fish, I just don;t have time to devote to keep my tank pristine

Delphinus · #7 12-02-2009, 05:08 AM

Not surprising about the lawnmower, they actually don't really care for filamentous algae so much as the film kind of algae you get on the glass (look for the kiss marks

).

I forget what size your tank is Dan but a couple options I've found that seem to work well for me are urchins and abalones. A diadema urchin does a pretty good job but needs a LOT of space (you can get them small but it doesn't take them long to get big). Another option that has worked *incredibly* well for me is a green urchin. No idea on the species ID, looks just like a blue tuxedo but uniformly green. Anytime I've tried to google them all I find is coldwater species though, this is not a coldwater species though (sorry I realize that's not terribly helpful).

sask · #8 12-03-2009, 04:47 PM

Emerald Crabs are always a good choice for hair algae. They are usually fairly cheap and will munch on the algae. They will probably survive when its all gone, too. I personally don't think water quality is too much of an issue. Like a shaving brush plant, once it is established, it will do well. I used to get hair algae grow on top of my return water outlets where no one could reach it. It was always wet but in duel 250w direct hq lighting and water quality was excellent. Good luck.