My rock is growing hair like a chia pet!!!!!

decaywunz

Member
OK.....this is getting annoying!!!!! The brown algae that was supposed to be diatoms, now is growing LONG hair!!!! It is sill brown, not green. I'm not enjoying my tank like this at all, and I'm hoping that someone might be able to help me out...??? :help:
 

snipe

Active Member
It is probly hair algea if you params are right get a cleaning crew if you already have one it seems you need more.
 

phils1107

Member
I had the exact same problem.
I First bought a lawnmower blenny that helped a little. The next thing I did was removed about three quarters of it so that he had some food. After that I left it alone for about two months and it started to grow back so this time I did a very painful thing...I bought a UV Sterilizer but it hasn't ever let me down. The only thing you have to worry about is over feeding with algea food because even with the sterilizer the algea will grow. Also UV sterilizer bulbs will only work for about 6-9 months then you want to replace them
I hope this helps. Buy the way I bought the Coral Life 3x Sterilizer for my 30ga and it wasn't cheap either.
 
B

betacrash

Guest
A couple of days ago I had the same problem. It is green hair algae covered with diatom (pretty isnt it?). The are some nerds here on the board that want you to remove everything and brush it all off, forget that. I just used and bottle brush and tried to get as much of the hair stuff caught in the bristles then cleaned it of and repeated. Then I just brushed the rock a little bit better to loosen it. then I gave it a good water change. Try to use purified or distilled water for your change.
 

sonofkrono

Member
from my experience the fastest and easiest way to get rid of hair algae is a sea hare. they'll clean your entire tank (100 gallons) in about a day and a half
 

lizzy

Member
Sea Hare
Resembling a crouched rabbit, the sea hare is a marine snail with a shell reduced to a small, thin internal remnant. It can grow up to the size of a football and its coloration various from olive green to reddish brown with mottling. Sea hares occur in sheltered habitats from the shore to 60 feet deep where they graze on a variety of algae. When handled or disturbed, they can eject a slimy, purplish fluid, a defensive mechanism that acts as an irritant against potential predators. This purplish ink is tied to the red algae in the sea hare's diet. Sea hares are hermaphrodites, animals having both male and female reproductive organs. Any individual may act only as a male, or only as a female. Whole chains of mating animals can be seen in the wild. Large stringy egg masses resembling a spilled pot of spaghetti are laid. A typical egg mass can contain in the neighborhood of 80 million eggs. California Brown Sea Hares are usually found at the Aquarium in tank number 3.
 

snipe

Active Member
There pretty cool looking but they can easily be sucked into powerheads and pumps.
 
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