anything eat green hair algea

[MetalMagot]

does any cuc dudes eat green hair algea it is hard as crap to scrap off the rocks and i just got the red algea problem under control and now this i went to 2 gal weekly change in a 12 gal so any thing eat the green stuff ?

[cheryl jordan]

does any cuc dudes eat green hair algea it is hard as crap to scrap off the rocks and i just got the red algea problem under control and now this i went to 2 gal weekly change in a 12 gal so any thing eat the green stuff ?

Red legged hermit crabs.

[scubasteve2580]

Red legged hermit crabs.

and water changes

[mikedege]

lawnmower blenny ftw....

 

mike

[juniormmm]

Red legged hermit crabs.

I heard of Mexican Red Leg Hermit and will be trying them out after the holidays. Numerous places say that they actually prefer hair algae over other foods. That, and they are not as aggressive as the blue legs. I will post my results sometime in January after I get my shipment.

 

 

Link to red leg hermit:

http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merchant2/m...gory_Code=Crabs

[scubasteve2580]

Red legged hermit crabs.

mine ate any coraline they could reach if that makes any sense

[Apoptosis]

mine ate any coraline they could reach if that makes any sense

 

Mine are like that too, good little eaters!

[MetalMagot]

sweet ill be getting about 8 to 10 of them then thanks all

[cameron1]

i have an emerald crab that is always eating mine and i might get a lawnmower blenny

[SpringFever]

There are lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of posts about GHA... search before you ask! It goes beyond just throwing something into your tank to eat it; you need to find the cause and eliminate THAT. It could be old bulbs, high phos or nitrate, poor flow, over-feeding, poor mechanical filtration, and on and on and on... you will not get control of the problem without finding the cause... Read some more.

[scubasteve2580]

There are lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of posts about GHA... search before you ask! It goes beyond just throwing something into your tank to eat it; you need to find the cause and eliminate THAT. It could be old bulbs, high phos or nitrate, poor flow, over-feeding, poor mechanical filtration, and on and on and on... you will not get control of the problem without finding the cause... Read some more.

+1

[D3monic]

[MetalMagot]

what is that a pic of ????

 

i did read and im doing 2 gal not 1 gal water changes i said that eairler so i have fixed a problem and all water par. are good my tank is only 4 months old so doubt it is bulbs i read and read found nothing so thats why i ask people here they are usually nice and helpfull.

[TheChosenOne]

Lettuce?

[scubasteve2580]

what is that a pic of ????

 

i did read and im doing 2 gal not 1 gal water changes i said that eairler so i have fixed a problem and all water par. are good my tank is only 4 months old so doubt it is bulbs i read and read found nothing so thats why i ask people here they are usually nice and helpfull.

hair algae feeds on nitrates and phosphates. mayeb you should consider putting some bone grass or chaeto in your tank to aid in the reduction of nutrients. do you have fish in your tank?? if so cut the feeding down.. look here is a pic of my tank. i too have some hair algae but since i dont feed my tank that much anymore the hair algae has stopped spreading. if you dont mind the unsightliness of it, its actually a very good nutrient filter. i like a more natural tank so it doesnt bother me that bad. plus it stays on the back wall.

[blibo]

+1 hair blenny (lawnmower blenny). They also look really cool

[cameron1]

will starry blennies work as well as lawnmowers

[xcode]

What about a bi-color blennie?

[MetalMagot]

id like to add another fish but i have two now a clown and a crazy phcy. chromis and both fish are mean i tryed a blue damsil and they both ganged up on him and killed him so i think the red leg hermits will be the way to go. and i only feed the fish very lil every other day

[Thunderstruck34]

that one big pic looks like a sea hare to me...which imo are hit or miss. not the hardiest thing by any means.

[ReeferDude420]

that one big pic looks like a sea hare to me...which imo are hit or miss. not the hardiest thing by any means.

 

I had a little explosion of some GHA in a little spot, next thing I knew one of my red legs was chowing down..he ate the whole patch!

[davidncbrown]

Yes thats a sea hare. Been through my share of them little buggers. Some eat hair algae like crazy, and some get in your tank and then lay eggs and die. If you can get one that definitely eats your hair algae, it won't eat anything else. So don't think it will survive or nori, or other macroalgae. They're a hit or miss. My blue leg hermits do an outstanding job in my 75G.

[treygarz]

sea hares, lettuce nudi, and long spine sea urchins all work well to tear down gha

[davidncbrown]

sea hares, lettuce nudi, and long spine sea urchins all work well to tear down gha

IIRC lettuce nudi ONLY eat byropsis... Urchins are great, but they will eat your coralline too.

[SpringFever]

i did read and im doing 2 gal not 1 gal water changes i said that eairler so i have fixed a problem and all water par. are good my tank is only 4 months old so doubt it is bulbs i read and read found nothing so thats why i ask people here they are usually nice and helpfull.

 

I apologize if I came off as being mean. The fact is, however, that every reefer goes through the exact same thing that you are experiencing and post about it. I went through the same thing and instead of asking the same question that everyone else asks, I read all the other posts and articles already written on the topic… but there I go again… Rather than be mean I will try to synthesize what I learned. For me, it boiled down to these factors:

 

1) Flow: I just didn’t have enough. I have a 20H flat-back hex with (now) 2 korilia nanos, 1 Korilia1, and a 200gph return. This may seem like a lot, but this is what I needed to keep detritus from collecting in dead-spots. Every tank is different and how many gallon/hr is dependant on rockwork and type of inhabitants. Just play with it.

 

2) Mechanical filtration: I didn’t have any at first. Someone told me that a skimmer is all you need and I listened to them. Once I started reading other peoples opinions, it became clear that removing particulate waste before it dissolves in the system is crucial. I now run a filter-sock off of my overflow and CHANGE IT OUT (another hard lesson learned) two or three times a week. This made a big difference.

 

3) Nutrient Export: like a previous poster on this thread, I use Chato to help draw-out phosphate and nitrate. Watch these levels closely. Some people have magic numbers for where phosphate should be, but the name of the game is as close to zero as possible. I have read that .03 is what you need to stay below, but my levels are slightly above that and I have no problems. If you are seeing an increase in GHA, it is likely that you will see a commensurate rise in one or both of these levels.

 

4) Water Chemistry: The most significant impact on GHA that I experienced was achieving STABILITY in the major parameters. Namely, Calcium (420), alk (11), and mag (1400). I have read that boosting Alk and Mag will suppress GHA growth, but I think it may have a stronger correlation to the fact that tanks usually don’t stabilize until the reefer has a grasp of what is going on.

 

These are the factors that most heavily influenced my battle against GHA. Notice that there is no mention of algae eating critters. I have tried sea-hares and blennies and turbo snails and emerald crabs and hermits – some with temporary success. But when that blenny goes carpet surfing or your turbos get eaten by the starving hermits or the sea-hare gets sucked into the power head, your underlying problem is still there, and the GHA will come back.

 

My two cents…