Elaine T wrote:
Phil Williamson wrote:

Hi Elaine,

To my rescue again! The tank is up and running beautifully but I'm
struggling with the hair algae (both green and black). I have 3
Otto's, a
yoyo loach, and two black molly's (I've read they nibble at the stuff
too).
Do you think I should shorten the light period?

Phil..


I always run my planted tanks with a 12 hour photoperiod, on timers.
IME, the only reliable way to get rid of BBA is to toss a siamese algae
eater in the tank. Maybe someone else here has another way, but it has
always seemed to me that BBA likes all the same conditions as plants.

I get green hair, cyanobacter, and stalled plant growth when nitrates
are low and phosphates and trace elements are adequate. Anyone else
notice this?

I dont think you'll get rid of hair algae by shortening the photoperiod
as it is high phosphate and nitrate issue most likely. When nitrates are
low you are getting stalled growth because the plants have most likely
used up all the nitrate. Depends on the setup, type of plants you have etc.

IMO the best tool for dealing with hair algae is the amano or yamato
shrimp, these creatures are amazing and really keep the tank spotless, I
have serveral in my tank and wouldn't consider setting up a tank without
them, you may find your clown loach may treat them as a tasty morsel and
you might not be able to keep them for long! I would err on the side of
caution with SAEs I have never found them to be that effective, as they
get older their effectiveness descreases and they can become
territorial. Flying foxes are great for dealing with hair algae but can
grow too large. Ottos I've found aren't much use for hair algae as far
as I can tell but I always keep them because they're such great fish.