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Black beard Algae help!!!!
- Thread starter kevfiz
- Start date
You could add 6-10 shrimp and they might deal with it but it depends non how much there is to get rid of.
Shrimp are easy to keep, if the water is good for fish and has no ammonia or nitrite, and a low nitrate, they are fine.
If you haven't had shrimp before, get some glass/ ghost shrimp and see how they do. they are regularly sold as feeder shrimp (used as food for bigger fish) and only cost a few dollars for a bag of them.
Shrimp are easy to keep, if the water is good for fish and has no ammonia or nitrite, and a low nitrate, they are fine.
If you haven't had shrimp before, get some glass/ ghost shrimp and see how they do. they are regularly sold as feeder shrimp (used as food for bigger fish) and only cost a few dollars for a bag of them.
There is only one effective way to deal with this or indeed any "problem" algae, and that is to establish or re-establish the light/nutrient balance. Assuming this is a planted tank, in which case you want to have it under control which means it does not increase. If the tank is not planted, then it really doesn't matter as all algae performs the same function as higher plants, using light and nutrients to photosynthesize and produce oxygen.
There are only two fish that I have ever heard of that will eat black brush/beard algae, but they will not control a real problem, plus they are large and need a group and outside the capacity of most aquaria. I've no idea about shrimp, but I suspect they are good with some but not a heavy infestation, but that is only surmise. Problem algae, once it takes hold and given that the conditions are usually rather extreme in the first place, needs serious controlling.
There are only two fish that I have ever heard of that will eat black brush/beard algae, but they will not control a real problem, plus they are large and need a group and outside the capacity of most aquaria. I've no idea about shrimp, but I suspect they are good with some but not a heavy infestation, but that is only surmise. Problem algae, once it takes hold and given that the conditions are usually rather extreme in the first place, needs serious controlling.
i do not think shrimp will remove stringy algae such as hair algae, beard algae.
too hard for them to eat or something.
Hydrogen peroxide. But,then it grows back eventually. I live with it and find it easier to rid a tank of BGA then BBA. One thing I noticed is that BBA grows best under a cool light setting. In gardens it would be north facing exposure lighting compared to southwestern that grows the sunlovers. Same thing in artificial lighting. You might want to change light settings to a warmer tone.
I had an outbreak in my tank after adding some plants and Cory cats from a person who was tearing down their tank. Now I know why. I should have just adopted the cories and not worried about any of his plants.
I did a lot of reading and searching online and tried the things I could easily do.
I did lots of water changes, not quite daily, but a few times a week. While I had the water down low, I would remove bits of plants with the hairy black stuff on them and then I would pour some Flourish Excel (liquid carbon) directly onto the worst areas. I did this with each water change.
I tried turning lights off during the day for several days in a row and reducing the amount of food I fed the fish.
I went and purchased two Siamese algae eaters and added them to the tank.
The black hairy stuff is now finally gone. I can’t say for sure what worked and perhaps I just got lucky with the combination I tried.
I still have some green algae in the tank though and that doesn’t bother me much. I still have to scrape the glass now and then. It isn’t the BBA though.
I did a lot of reading and searching online and tried the things I could easily do.
I did lots of water changes, not quite daily, but a few times a week. While I had the water down low, I would remove bits of plants with the hairy black stuff on them and then I would pour some Flourish Excel (liquid carbon) directly onto the worst areas. I did this with each water change.
I tried turning lights off during the day for several days in a row and reducing the amount of food I fed the fish.
I went and purchased two Siamese algae eaters and added them to the tank.
The black hairy stuff is now finally gone. I can’t say for sure what worked and perhaps I just got lucky with the combination I tried.
I still have some green algae in the tank though and that doesn’t bother me much. I still have to scrape the glass now and then. It isn’t the BBA though.
TwoTankAmin
Fish Connoisseur
Yes there is at least one fish I know will eat BBA. But it will not like being in your size tank and you would need to have a few. Plus, one should not get any fish to solve and algae product. If an algae eating fish is one you want to keep, that is a different story.
SAE will eat BBA. They will do so better younger. They are also pigs and will pretty much eat anything they can. So one must stop feeding the tank entirely before they will eat BBA. If you look closely at the pic below you can see the BBA in the dwarf hair grass. I collected a few of my SAE from other thanks and put them inth that 50 and stopped feeding it. They ate the BBA
As you can see, some clown didn't know way it should be swimming. One of my copfish gave it a ticket not long after the picture was taken.......
The BBA outbreak was caused by one of the 4 power compact bubls over the tank dying. I had no spares on the shelf, However, I normally have spares of most things these days.
Fish always get sick and equipment always breaks when you do not have the needed med or replacement part on hand and you cannot get it quickly.
WOW--> edited for typos and grammar
SAE will eat BBA. They will do so better younger. They are also pigs and will pretty much eat anything they can. So one must stop feeding the tank entirely before they will eat BBA. If you look closely at the pic below you can see the BBA in the dwarf hair grass. I collected a few of my SAE from other thanks and put them inth that 50 and stopped feeding it. They ate the BBA
As you can see, some clown didn't know way it should be swimming. One of my copfish gave it a ticket not long after the picture was taken.......
The BBA outbreak was caused by one of the 4 power compact bubls over the tank dying. I had no spares on the shelf, However, I normally have spares of most things these days.
Fish always get sick and equipment always breaks when you do not have the needed med or replacement part on hand and you cannot get it quickly.
WOW--> edited for typos and grammar
Last edited:
What defeats BBA is QUALITY lighting- color and amount and also healthy fast growing plants. They suck the nutrients that BBA needs. Underplanted aquariums get BBA when the lighting is intense-right? But if its the right lighting and you plant up the tank thickly,BBA starts to go away.
do SAEs eat hair algae?Yes there is at least one fish I know will eat BBA. But it will not like being in your size tank and you would need to have a few. Plus, one should not get any fish to solve and algae product. If an algae eating fish is one you want to keep, that is a different story.
SAE will eat BBA. They will do so better younger. They are also pigs and will pretty much eat anything they can. So one must stop feeding the tank entirely before they will eat BBA. If you look closely at the pic below you can see the BBA in the dwarf hair grass. I collected a few of my SAE from other thanks and put them inth that 50 and stopped feeding it. They ate the BBA
As you can see, some clown didn't know way it should be swimming. One of my copfish gave it a ticket not long after the picture was taken.......
The BBA outbreak was caused by one of the 4 power compact bubls over the tank dying. I had no spares on the shelf, However, I normally have spares of most things these days.
Fish always get sick and equipment always breaks when you do not have the needed med or replacement part on hand and you cannot get it quickly.
WOW--> edited for typos and grammar
also are they aggressive?
No, at least not in any sense of dealing with "problem" hair algae.
Yes to some degree. They require a group of five or six (or more), but they attain 5-6 inches. The can be somewhat aggressive to other fish. A distinct hierarchy will be developed within the group, and interactions are interesting, but this requires a group and in a spacious tank.
The true species is probably Crossocheilus langei.
Acquiring any fish should never be the result of dealing with a problem that is easily resolved naturally.
they look really nice. mostly i'm afraid that i will get the chinese algae eater, or a mix labelled wrong
Fishfinder1973
Fishaholic
The green algae on the glass might be outcompeting the BBA.Long live the green algae.
Bad Raven
New Member
I suffered badly from black hair algaes and black slime in a tropical 48x12x15. The grey backscene "3D rockface" had become all over black in six months or so. Believed it came in with tapwater, as plastic plants and no new fish in for ages After several failed attempts, I bought 12 zebra nerite snails and they worked and are still maintaining a wonderful algae free tank.
They do leave a few white eggs around, but don't usually breed in freshwater, so no infestation. As snails go, they are surprisingly rapid and are actually quite handsome with their "humbug mint" shells in various styles, they can even be told apart!!
They do leave a few white eggs around, but don't usually breed in freshwater, so no infestation. As snails go, they are surprisingly rapid and are actually quite handsome with their "humbug mint" shells in various styles, they can even be told apart!!
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