A good fish for hair algae.

[zoogrl03]

Please!! Someone who has had success with a fish that takes cair of hair algae, let me know what kind worked. I have tried a few different things like increasing water flow turning off lights but my hair algae continues to spread and grow like crazy. I was told to put a lawnmower blenny in my tank which would be ok bcuz i do not want to put anything too big. Is this a fish you have had success with in the past!??! Let me know what you all think. Thanks

 

[socal57che]

Adding livestock to fix an algae problem is a bad idea, IMO.
First, it only treats the symptom, not the cause.
Second, after the algae is gone the specimen needs to be supplemented or it dies from starvation.
Third, you still have the problem that led to the algae bloom in the first place.
You prolly just need to remove the algae's food source.
What do you feed?
How often do you feed?
Do you use RO water?
Do you have a skimmer?
Do you have a fuge w/macroalgae?
What lights do you have?
Does your tank get direct sunlight?

 

[mr.clownfish]

my lawnmower blenny really eats all types of algae he is soooo fat i dont think he could eat anymore. like he has a thin body and there is a huge circle for his stomach.

 

[kjr_trig]

Also make sure you have Hair Algae and not Bryopsis which is easily mistaken for Hair Algae....Lots of fish eat hair algae, no fish I know of will eat Bryopsis....Sea Slugs do though.

 

[lawny]

How can you tell the difference? I thought I had Hair Algae but my lawnmower blenny did not even touch it.

 

[silverdak]

Originally Posted by kjr_trig
http:///forum/post/2779614
Also make sure you have Hair Algae and not Bryopsis which is easily mistaken for Hair Algae....Lots of fish eat hair algae, no fish I know of will eat Bryopsis....Sea Slugs do though.
2x how do you tell? I am having i believe an outbreak of algae...

 

[kjr_trig]

Originally Posted by Lawny http:///forum/post/2780021
How can you tell the difference? I thought I had Hair Algae but my lawnmower blenny did not even touch it.
Originally Posted by SilverDak http:///forum/post/2780031
2x how do you tell? I am having i believe an outbreak of algae...
It's tough....Here is a thread I started in the reef forum
https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/325184/algae-id-please
You can see misdiagnosed as Hair Algae (not ripping on the person that did it, an easy mistake), I ended up sending the pic to wetwebmedia Bob Fenner answered back that it was Bryopsis. I was told the best way to diagnose it is, if no fish will eat it, it's probably Bryopsis, the reason fish won't eat it, it doesn't taste good. The only way to get rid of it is to get a Lettuce Slug of some sort (they do not eat Hair Algae, but eat Bryopsis), or pull the indivdual LR out and scrub it with a brush. DON'T try to pull it out while the rock is in the tank!!! This can lead to seeding/spreading.
There is a great thread about Bryopsis on Reef Central, but I don't think I'm allowed to post that link?