Hair algae

[postiepam]

Does anybody no know to get rid of hair algae in aquariums without getting rid off the plants its growing on. Have tried anti hair algae but it does not work. have heard about bleaching plants but dont know what it means or how to go about it.

[Miss Zippy]

Hair algae can be caused by too much phosphate in the water so you might want to see if you can control your water quality.  Also, its growth is encouraged if the lights are left on for long periods, so you could try reducing the lighting period (if this will not affect any corals you have).  Do you have a marine aquarium?  Certain fish, such as algae blennies (also called Jewelled Rockskippers) actually eat hair algae and are a useful addition to a marine tank.  Have a look at reefpark.net for help.

[BondGirl]

Once again, depending on if you have a tropical tank, you could try putting a Siamese Flying Fox in (they are community fish and grow to about 6") - these are good for algae eating, as are Algae eaters/sucking loaches, but I am not sure if these are suitable for a community tank.  If hair algae is like "thread" algae,  you could use a cane (just one that you would use to support a plant), and poke this into the centre of the mass, and twirl it around the stick - will not rid the problem, but should keep it under control. Hope this helps?  

[suki30]

hi postiepam, this is probably useless info but here goes! my tank had that problem, the pet shop advised anti hair algae got some it didnt work ended up stripping tank anyway and starting fresh but they did say it was caused by overfeeding ( my other halfs fault of course) he said they looked starving! not much help to your question i know but i was bored and you have given me something to do  sorry!