Hair algae taking over

[James Moreno]

I don’t know how to deal with hair algae . I tried a lawnmower blenny thinking that would help but he didn’t eat it so I got rid of him . There’s no fish in the tank at the moment so I’m not over feeding . I do water Changes very week .

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

So you have snails and cuc in the tank?
I’d check to make sure everything is good(parameters , source water) amd if it’s still a battle , fluconazole.

 

[mcarroll]

I don’t know how to deal with hair algae . I tried a lawnmower blenny thinking that would help but he didn’t eat it so I got rid of him .

As the #1 member of your CUC what are you doing vs the hair algae?

Sounds like it's probably established past what snails will handle on their own....they like to much fresh-growing algae nubbins. Established algae is MUCH less palatable...even to larger herbivores.

Can you post a pic?

You should be pulling it out, scrubbing and siphoning, checking your rocks and sand for detritus buildup with a maxijet-type powerhead or turkey baster (weaker option) perhaps using Algae Cure!! Spot Treating Algae With Peroxide to speed things along without having to treat the whole tank.

As you clear areas manually, the snails (and maybe some hermits) should be able to move in and keep it cleared. If they can't, then you need more CUC. (They can only cover so much surface area per critter per day, so numbers count!)

There’s no fish in the tank at the moment so I’m not over feeding . I do water Changes very week .

Have you figured out what caused the algae bloom in the first place? What's the history on this tank before the algae and lawnmower blenny?

 

[Clownfishy]

Can you post your water parameters and the typemof test kits your using?

 

[sp4zzy]

Where are you getting the water? If you have your own filter you may want to test nitrate/ phosphate right at the source. Depending on your filtration keeping your media clean can make a huge impact as well (floss turns into a nitrate factory).

I had terrible outbreaks for a couple of months and tried the Lawnmower route with no luck as well. After I started manually pulling the algae out regularly I noticed him eating the newer growth - it took a while but it's cleared up nicely. Ended up finding a big chunk of dirty floss that had gotten loose in my filter chamber for who knows how long that seemed to be causing my problems.

 

[higorc]

You should try a Sea Hare, I've had great success with them in the past. They usually mow right through the Hair algae in a couple of days.

 

[MCooper]

Following as I have been battling horrible hair algae for many months. Tried everything. Vibrant, less feeding, manual removal. Water is great.
Dose Mg now to try and kill it but still it is horrible!

 

[SOCOM]

A sea hare would be great to take care of the algae

 

[MCooper]

how does one get a sea hare?

 

[higorc]

Local fish store or search for it online. One gotten mine from Liveaquaria.com before.

 

[higorc]

On a side note, if you are not having luck with anything eating it, u might have Bryopsis and NOT Hair Algae. Not many things will eat bryopsis.

 

[MCooper]

I am positive it's hair algae. It refuses to go away. Going to beef up cleaning crew and continue to manually remove. Also dosing the Mg to stay around 1360
Sooooo annoying

 

[JoshH]

I used turbo snails to get rid of my HA problem, they are pretty darn effective. Couldn't source a sea hare