Question about hair algae
- Thread starter solarris
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azul1994
Guest
Coral yes. Fish no. But if the tanks all have hair algae in them i would question the quality of the water and the health of the fish. I personally wouldn't buy any fish from a store with heavy algae in their tanks. JMO
pnkflydlvr
Member
+1
robdog696
Member
Originally Posted by azul1994
http:///forum/post/2710951
Coral yes. Fish no. But if the tanks all have hair algae in them i would question the quality of the water and the health of the fish. I personally wouldn't buy any fish from a store with heavy algae in their tanks. JMO
I slightly disagree with your last statement. It mostly depends on what type of filtration/maintenance the tanks get. All of my LFSs go through phases where their employees slack off and the tanks start growing hair algae, bubble algae, aptasia, and even red slime occasionally. Mostly, my reason for saying this is because of *****. If you look at Petcos tanks you will usually not see any algae. Now we all know ***** probably has the worst water quality and most unhealthy fish in the trade. I think a little hair algae would probably do their tanks some good. LOL! But without the proper cleanup crew and maintenance probably all of our tanks would get some hair algae in them. Here are some tips that might help you.
-Don't be afraid to ask about the algae if you have a chance to talk to the owner. Maybe his best worker just quit or maybe he got a shipment of fish that had several deaths. Just by asking you can usually figure out if the tanks are unhealthy or just a little neglected.
-Buy some snails or something cheap, just so you can get a sample of their water. Once home, test the water with your own test kit.
-Don't ever add LFS water to your own tank. My favorite way to acclimate new fish is to add about a cup of my own tank water to the bag once every 5 min until the bag is full. Then net the fish and discard the water. As long as you don't add any of the water to your tank, the risk of getting hair algae is minimal.
-If you do get a piece of coral with some hair algae on it, put it in a very high flow area, keep your nitrates low, and make sure to not overfeed the tank until it is gone. The less CO2, nitrates, and organic carbon the algae gets the sooner it will die.
If I found a fish I fell in love with or a rare coral for a great price I wouldn't let a little hair algae stop me. But make sure the vendor is reputable and his water is good.
http:///forum/post/2710951
Coral yes. Fish no. But if the tanks all have hair algae in them i would question the quality of the water and the health of the fish. I personally wouldn't buy any fish from a store with heavy algae in their tanks. JMO
I slightly disagree with your last statement. It mostly depends on what type of filtration/maintenance the tanks get. All of my LFSs go through phases where their employees slack off and the tanks start growing hair algae, bubble algae, aptasia, and even red slime occasionally. Mostly, my reason for saying this is because of *****. If you look at Petcos tanks you will usually not see any algae. Now we all know ***** probably has the worst water quality and most unhealthy fish in the trade. I think a little hair algae would probably do their tanks some good. LOL! But without the proper cleanup crew and maintenance probably all of our tanks would get some hair algae in them. Here are some tips that might help you.
-Don't be afraid to ask about the algae if you have a chance to talk to the owner. Maybe his best worker just quit or maybe he got a shipment of fish that had several deaths. Just by asking you can usually figure out if the tanks are unhealthy or just a little neglected.
-Buy some snails or something cheap, just so you can get a sample of their water. Once home, test the water with your own test kit.
-Don't ever add LFS water to your own tank. My favorite way to acclimate new fish is to add about a cup of my own tank water to the bag once every 5 min until the bag is full. Then net the fish and discard the water. As long as you don't add any of the water to your tank, the risk of getting hair algae is minimal.
-If you do get a piece of coral with some hair algae on it, put it in a very high flow area, keep your nitrates low, and make sure to not overfeed the tank until it is gone. The less CO2, nitrates, and organic carbon the algae gets the sooner it will die.
If I found a fish I fell in love with or a rare coral for a great price I wouldn't let a little hair algae stop me. But make sure the vendor is reputable and his water is good.
mr_x
Active Member
all LFS's in america get their livestock from a handful of wholesalers. there are many wholesalers, but for the most part, the bulk of the wholesale orders go through the same handful of warehouses located in LA.
that said, almost all LFS's hire whoever is willing to work at their store. they don't pay them 25 bucks an hour either.
sometimes they get very knowledgeable reefkeepers who want a part-time job(these are the stores where the tanks are pretty clean and nice), and sometimes they get someone who doesn't know the difference between a snail and a shark egg(these are most likely the stores that have the nasty tanks).
there is also the owners to think about- do they care like we do, or are they just out to make a buck, and hope their fish get sold before the effects of their dirty system start to effect them?
my viewpoint on this is- qt every fish you get. it just makes sense. LFS's are not QT'ing their fish. they drip them and toss them in the tank with the rest of the like fish. that's it. some use hyposalinity to keep parasites down while they have them, but they do not do much more than that.
i would buy a fish from anywhere, that looked good. if you are considering a fish from a LFS that has bad water, it must look healthy. imagine how healthy he will look after he gets to your water!
i think we should think more about how the fish was caught(cyanide) than how it is kept.
that said, almost all LFS's hire whoever is willing to work at their store. they don't pay them 25 bucks an hour either.
sometimes they get very knowledgeable reefkeepers who want a part-time job(these are the stores where the tanks are pretty clean and nice), and sometimes they get someone who doesn't know the difference between a snail and a shark egg(these are most likely the stores that have the nasty tanks).
there is also the owners to think about- do they care like we do, or are they just out to make a buck, and hope their fish get sold before the effects of their dirty system start to effect them?
my viewpoint on this is- qt every fish you get. it just makes sense. LFS's are not QT'ing their fish. they drip them and toss them in the tank with the rest of the like fish. that's it. some use hyposalinity to keep parasites down while they have them, but they do not do much more than that.
i would buy a fish from anywhere, that looked good. if you are considering a fish from a LFS that has bad water, it must look healthy. imagine how healthy he will look after he gets to your water!
i think we should think more about how the fish was caught(cyanide) than how it is kept.