Hairy algae

[eflyer]

Hi all,

Tank Dimensions (LxWxH, specify units):2.5 ft x 1.5ft x 1 ft

Lighting Intensity(No of Watts) :48
Number and type of Lighting (FL/PL/MH) : PL
Age of light bulbs :2 months
No. of hours your lights are on : 8hr

CO2 Injection Rate (bps) :1 bps
Type of CO2 (DIY/Cylinder) :Cylinder
Method of Injection (e.g. Diffusor/Reactor) iffusor

Liquid fertilisers Used (Product name. E.g. Seachem Flourish) : Fertilization regime (Frequency and amount per dose) : Aqua plant fert / 2 drops per day

Other fertilisers (Product name. E.g. Root Monster) :N/A

Other additives (Product name. E.g. Seachem Prime) : N/A

Type of Filter (overhead/internal/canister, Product name/model if possible) :external
When was the filter last washed :6 months
Filter media used :N/A
When was the media last changed :N/A
What was changed :N/A

Age of setup (i.e. since initial setup or last major re-do ) : 3 months

Water change frequency :Once per week
Amount changed : 30%

Water surface movement (None/gentle/turbulent) : Gentle
Circulation (None/gentle/turbulent) :Gentle

Tank Temperature :27 degree

Chemical Properties (Fill what you can)
-------------------------------------
KH (dKH):
GH (dGH):
pH :
NH4 (ppm):
NO2 (ppm):
NO3 (ppm):
PO4 (ppm):
Fe (ppm):

Bioload (Number and type of fish and plants) 25 carinals, 4 cherry shrimps, 2 yamato, 5 bumble shrimp.

I'm currently in a situation where i'm experiencing a slight outbreak of hairy algae on my java moss and christmas moss. I understand that by adding yamato, it will help to solve the hair algae problem. Are there any other types of shirmps (cherry,malayan, cherry)that will have the same effect as yamatos? Or can anyone give some advice to tackle the problem i'm facing. Thanks.

[Jenova]

Hi there,

SAE might also help to remove the Hairy Algae.

IMHO

[PeterGwee]

Trim the algae off or take out the moss and replant only those non-affected ones. Once you do that, you need to improve the conditions for the plants. (Look into testing CO2 using pH/KH test kits and also add macro and micro nutrients in non-limiting amounts. Last but not least, add enough plant mass! Not just a few patches of moss in a big tank.)

Regards
Peter Gwee

[Memnoch]

My latest batch of moss came with an equal amount of hair algae... without a clue i tied it all to the driftwood... had a shock when told by my fav LFS that that green stuff is hair algae...

Now how to i get rid of it... Its a 4ft, C02 reactor, Magnum II PL on for 10 hrs a day. I cant keep yamatos as the apistos get to them... so far there are 4 SAEs and a couple of Otos... 6 mini bristlenoses....

Any other fish that will eat those algae?
Headstanders?

[hirowen]

The most effective way is to manually remove them. Remove as much as possible, take care of their nutrients, soon they will stop growing back. Some SAE and shrimps will just ignore it, so no point rely on them.

[Memnoch]

Jia lat liao.. coz they were sold so thickly intermingled with the moss i thought they were moss!!! tied them to the driftwood etc... ack...

[hirowen]

yes i understand. I tried this before too. in the end i still have to take out all the infected moss and add in more moss again. Lesson learnt; check before buy

[FishFan]

Hi,

Mechanical removal is the best method for hair algae in my opinion. Perhaps you can remove the moss from the driftwood and try to remove as much hair algae as possible?