Fish for hair algae?

[best3175]

Is there a fish or maybe a shrimp that likes to eat hair algae? I've added several hermit crabs but they are not keeping up. My Kile Tang does not show an interest in it. He prefers his flakes.

[best3175]

I am calling this hair algae.

 

http://i.imgur.com/dq4KLLA.jpg

[CronicReefer]

Turbo snails love hair algae.

[Neebles]

I have 2 urchins that demolish every type of algae in my tank. I had hair algae pretty bad at one point and they took care of it.

[best3175]

I'm trying to stay away from urchins. Those things are bulldozers with no regard to what is in the path.

 

I'm looking at some turbo snails and a black com tooth Benny.

[clownfitch]

What size tank?

[joy13]

Turbo snails are just as bad as urchins for knocking stuff around. I found my lawnmower blenny liked flakes and frozen food better than algae. I have urchins in 2 of my tanks and turbos in all 3. IMO tuxedo urchins are a great choice.

[Robert1969]

My Turbo snails really chow down on hair algae. Have 2 in my 29gal.

[Neebles]

My urchins don't bulldoze a thing. It's a valid concern for sure, but my experience has been great. I have a large turbo that has definitely moved rocks.... You just never know. I would say maybe a lawnmower blenny although I had one and it never liked the long stuff.

[best3175]

What size tank?

SR80. Probably 60 gallons on fish space.

 

Probably going to try a Blenny and three snails. We will see. Maybe a second protein skimmer would help.

[Pinner Reef]

Dude, that looks like bryopsis.

[Pinner Reef]

No fishes like bryopsis.

 

Urchins maybe. Peroxide dips, Mag overdosing ect.

[clownfitch]

I agree that it is bryopsis.

 

I have a One Spot Foxface in my 65 mixed reef and it completely cleared the tank of bryopsis. Its only visible in the refugium section of my sump now. Great community fish also.

[best3175]

I thought it looked different than hair Algae. My fix face doesn't touch it.

 

Reading about bryopsis. This sucks. Looks like I will pull everything out and scrub it down. Probably will never get rid of it.

[Pinner Reef]

Check into peroxide dipping on it.

[Partagas]

Dude, that looks like bryopsis.

I agree that it is bryopsis.

 

I have a One Spot Foxface in my 65 mixed reef and it completely cleared the tank of bryopsis. Its only visible in the refugium section of my sump now. Great community fish also.

 

After looking at the pic in a bigger screen I have to agree with these gentlemen and deleted my post. Sorry, my old eyes!

[Lawnman]

I am calling this hair algae.

http://i.imgur.com/dq4KLLA.jpg'>http://i.imgur.com/dq4KLLA.jpg

Sure looks like bryopsis to me.

[mountaineer]

A month of dosing Kent Tech M whacked my bryopsis. It started to turn white at 1600 ppm mag, but I cranked it up to 1850 to be sure.

 

A lettuce nudibranch and my dwarf blue leg hermits would eat it, but only if I kept it short.

[ETucc]

Is the bryopsis only in that spot? Take that chunk of rock off with a chisel and throw it in the trash.

[CronicReefer]

Bryopsis is a very confusing algae to me. It will spring up in a few spots around my tank only to die off a week or two later. Does anyone have a definitive answer as to what causes it other than "nitrates and phosphates"? I've noticed it tends to only appear where detritus collects to form a "soil" for it to grow out of.

[best3175]

I'm very disappointed to be battling this issue. I'm using RO/DI water, only feed my fish twice a day and do not over feed. I use filter socks and changed every two weeks. I'm going to update this to twice a week. I do water changes with a gravel vacuum every one to two weeks. I runa skimmer. I feed my corals two to three times a week. I also have more flow then required.

 

I guess I'll up my filter sock changes and watch the tank.

[clownfitch]

The problem with bryopsis is that it needs very little nutrients in the water column to survive. It likely got introduced into your tank on a frag plug or rock and now that you have it all you can do short of a stick of dynamite or tearing your tank down and sterilizing the sand, rock, and tank (including plumbing, pumps, sumpo, etc) is find something that keeps it in check like my foxface does for me or give the TechM dosing regiment a shot.

[jestep]

I agree that it is bryopsis.

 

I have a One Spot Foxface in my 65 mixed reef and it completely cleared the tank of bryopsis. Its only visible in the refugium section of my sump now. Great community fish also.

 

My foxfaces have always destroyed it as well. They always outgrow my tank though. My 1 spot got too big for my 90 even. But haven't had a spot of bryopsis in about 2 years now with a combination of foxface, nutrient reduction, and peroxide.

 

I'm very disappointed to be battling this issue. I'm using RO/DI water, only feed my fish twice a day and do not over feed. I use filter socks and changed every two weeks. I'm going to update this to twice a week. I do water changes with a gravel vacuum every one to two weeks. I runa skimmer. I feed my corals two to three times a week. I also have more flow then required. I guess I'll up my filter sock changes and watch the tank.

 

2x feedings per day is heavy feeding IMO. I think even daily is heavy feeding. I'd back off to once every other day and see how it goes. This stuff is beatable with nutrient control and removal though.

 

Also lettuce nudibranches will usually eat bryopsis if you can find one.

[mountaineer]

For what it's worth, my bryopsis went crazy and I had just set up the tank a week before -- so it thrived in an extremely low nutrient environment. During the cycle, my ammonia never went about 0.5 and nitrate never went above 10, but still, lots of bryopsis. I didn't even have any fish or CUC in the tank when it took off.

 

My lettuce nudibranch gobbled the stuff, but be careful with your pumps and powerheads. They are death traps for nudibranchs.

[reefernanoman]

My tuxedo sea urchin never messed with my glued down corals and ate all my hair algea.