hair algae

[Joviella]

i need to get rid of some hair algae and need some advice on how?? i've been told that siamese flying foxes eat it but its difficult to identify true siamese ones as apposed to normal flying foxes??

 

[Fish Buddy]

Siamese Flying Foxes have a black line across the length of their body. I think you are thinking of Chinese Algea Eaters as being hard to identify the true specie. Also, about the algea, you could pick off what you can and see if you can find a flying fox!! Good luck ; )

 

[modernhamlet]

For your bookmarking pleasure...

http/www.thekrib.com/Fish/Algae-Eaters/

 

[luxum]

Twirl it around a toothbrush or filter brush to remove it manually. It works really well, gets even the branches, pops it off at the attachment point, and minimizes the breakage that spreads it through a tank. Hair algae (the long kind) is often associated with too little nitrate in a planted tank.

 

[Bangin]

luxum, I thought high nitrates led to hair algae? Oh, you said the 'long' kind. I suppose that's different.

I eliminated my hair algae when I began injecting CO2 into my tank.

 

[luxum]

Yeh, i'm talking about the long strand kind, i think you mean "beard" algae which is similar but only gets an inch or two long.

 

[Joviella]

thanks modern hamlet for the info on the differences between siamese flying foxes and ohters......very useful
thanks everyone else too.......i will be removing some of the ugly algae manually,and then i am going on a mission to find a couple of large(3-4inch minimum) siamese flying foxes for my tank. thanks again.xx

 

[Bol]

I had a hair (and thread) algae problem, and read something a couple of months ago in Tropical Fish Hobbyist, so I tried it.

I added a pair of rosy barbs.

I was pretty skeptical about putting them in a community tank, but they did fine -- chasing each other, but leaving other fish alone.

In addition, they went nuts eating the hair algae. Made black mollies look like carnivores . Not only that, but it seems that their behavior has "taught" my angel fish how to eat hair algae.

Your mileage, of course, may vary.

 

[Silly me]

rosy barbs?? Well I know that a Siamese algae eater (Crossocheilus siamensis) is a barb.

But the flying fox and false Siamese algae eater are also barbs but not the same spiese they will also eat algae, not the red algae as a Siamese algae eater will and also they dont like there own kinds company, unlike Siamese algae eater.

 

[Bol]

Yep. Barbus conchonius.