Slough Shark Posted March 14, 2007 Report Share Posted March 14, 2007 :cuss: this crap is driving me nuts!! It seems like more I pull off, more grows back again even faster! I don't know if there is more than one type, this stuff id Blue/Grey and a huge pain!! Would ottos take care of it? I'm not getting a SAE! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOSStile Posted March 14, 2007 Report Share Posted March 14, 2007 I know NUKE IT!!!!! :ph43r: JK If this is a planted tank reduce the nutrients, if not planted you could cover the tank for a couple of day so no light gets in. It won't hurt the fish. The american flag fish and the ameca splendids will eat hair algae when you don't feed them too much fish food. As far as an SAE what is the problem??? I think you are thinking about the Chinese algae eater which can become PITAs when bigger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted March 14, 2007 Report Share Posted March 14, 2007 Amano shrimp will also help you out with this. But, as HOSStile said, a black-out will do the trick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P@UL Posted March 14, 2007 Report Share Posted March 14, 2007 lol ive never had any algea at all but think i may need it for my CAE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slough Shark Posted March 14, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2007 Ok, I'll try the cover up, thanks boys. I won't put a SAE in is because I had 2 goldfish and a koi in my last setup, I will NOT squish such a large fish in such a small tank EVER again! If I can get the Amanos, I'll go for it, I was planning on getting some anyays. If they take care of this nasty stuff, thats a bonus!! Thanks again Taylor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
werner Posted March 14, 2007 Report Share Posted March 14, 2007 (edited) Blue-grey? It might be also be staghorn algae. Have a look here: Aquarium Algae Not sure if the blackout will do much long term, since this stuff likes to keep growing back. Overdosing Flourish Excel has been shown to be a very effective algicide (even though it can't be marketed as such.) Remove as much algae as you can manually, first. For a smaller tank, do the recommended first dose, then 2 or 3x the recommendation for the following doses. In a larger tank (where it wouldn't be cost effective to dose the whole tank) you can use a syringe to squirt Excel on the algae spots. You should see the algae changing color and dying within a few doses. Certain plants (eg. Vallisneria) may be affected as well. Edited March 14, 2007 by werner Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
electronic_brick Posted March 14, 2007 Report Share Posted March 14, 2007 I don't know if I just fluked, but I had a major hair algae problem.. dang stuff kept coming back... and I added 3 tall pieces of bamboo to the back of my tank. They and are tall enough to be out of the water at the back. It took a week or so, but I haven't had hair algae since. The theory?? behind the bamboo was that they absorb nutrients at incredible speed and would out compete the algae. Seems to have worked for me, but like I said, I'm not sure if I fluked! Anybody have any comments on that?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted March 14, 2007 Report Share Posted March 14, 2007 Most house plants will outcompete anything aquatic for nutrient uptake. I use plants that grow fast, like pothos, ivy, philodendron, peace lily, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
werner Posted March 14, 2007 Report Share Posted March 14, 2007 they absorb nutrients at incredible speed and would out compete the algae. Yep. Another theory is "Allelopathy": that plants give off certain chemicals that inhibit the growth of other plants or algae. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
electronic_brick Posted March 14, 2007 Report Share Posted March 14, 2007 I hope the bamboo doesn't inhibit the growth of my other plants. I don't have many other plants, but like I said I haven't had the hair algae again so I guess the +'s outweighed the -'s so far. I do have an ivy hanging in the back of my tank too now that u mention ivy, jvision. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted March 14, 2007 Report Share Posted March 14, 2007 I hope the bamboo doesn't inhibit the growth of my other plants. I don't put terrestrials with any of my PLANTED tanks (where growing healthy plants is the main goal of the tank) for that very reason. But, if there are just a few plants in the tank, I'll stick a sprig of ivy or something in the tank or HOB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slough Shark Posted March 14, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2007 Hmmm well, I can't really tell what kind it is. I'll just post some pics tommorow, I'm swamped with Math homework and won't be distracted! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qattarra Posted March 14, 2007 Report Share Posted March 14, 2007 I read through that article, I only have some tough spot algea (and only just a bit) in my 72. My convict tank gets loads of algea on top of the uppermost rocks, those closest to the light. I take those once fully fuzzied and place them in my fry tank where the babymbunas eat it all up. I think that the beard algea is neat, I wouldn't mind a piece of driftwood covered in that in my community tank. I assumed that in my male beta tank(1 1/2 gal) was some fine java moss but after reading that article, it's a clump of green hair algea, really neat! I'll have to put it in my snail tank for food source. I've learned stuff today, thanks for the link werner. Sue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slough Shark Posted March 17, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2007 (edited) Heres the stuff: It's not so bad to look at, but I think the wood is alot better without it. Does this help with the identification? From what I see, it looks like BBA, which would mean I will NEED a SAE to take care of it. I'd rather it was Staghorn Algae though :grr: Thanks Taylor Edited March 17, 2007 by Slough Shark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qattarra Posted March 17, 2007 Report Share Posted March 17, 2007 Wasn't there a Star Trek eppisode with this stuff? Does it burn your hand when you touch it? J/K I've never seen that stuff before, it looks like the wood is mouldy. Sue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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