Hair algae on moss in shrimp only low tech tank

Jag1980 · 02-01-2009, 03:39 PM

I got light colored green hair/thread?
(Looks like someone cleaned out their brush and put the hair on my moss.)
Thealgae is growing all over my moss.
This is a 10 gallon shrimp breeding tank with snails.
Lighting is a standard old 15 watt light bulb that comes with the light strip.

I see it growing all over all my moss, what can I do to get rid of this major problem that will soon destroy my tank..?

Looks like someone cleaned out their brush and put the hair on my moss.

Here's the tank:

Homer_Simpson · 02-01-2009, 03:45 PM

That is interesting. It is rare to see algae with that much light. How long are you running your lights. I suggest reducing your photoperiod to no more than 8 hours and if that does not work, split the photoperiod. 4 hours on, 2 hours off, and 4 hours on again. To contain the problem, get some Amano Shrimp as they are known to eat algae or even black mollies or florida flag fish. However, I heard that the mollies and fff can also take out plants once they are done with the algae, so I would stick to Amano Shrimps. By the way, that is one beautiful tank and I can hardly see the hair algae. Also, I don't know how compatible the Amano Shrimp or fish will be with your current shrimp and offspring, so that may not be an option.

It is also alleged that hair algae is caused by a nutrient imbalance. How that happens in a low tech tank is beyond me and others have venemently argued with me when I suggested dosing ferts in low tech tanks even once a week with water changes(which is what I do with and have no algae). If your hair algae is due to a nutrient imbalance, you may want to dose ferts, once a week. As always Tom Barr is right again when he suggests dosing ferts with low tech low light setups once a week. Some claim that dosing ferts in a tank is not a good idea if you are breeding shrimp and could prove toxic. So, it comes back to reducing your photoperiod as the only option and hoping that fixes the problem.

lotekfish · 02-01-2009, 05:32 PM

I had the same problem with hair algae in the moss. I found the most effective way to eradicate it is to spot treat it with Flourish Excel. I figured out what my daily dosage should be per directions on bottle, added that and an equal amount of water in a small cup, then used a syringe to squirt this on the moss with the filter turned off. Let it sit for a few minutes, then turn the filter back on. Do this everyday, working one area at a time until it's gone. I found it took 2-3 doses to kill an area of algae.

Jag1980 · 02-02-2009, 12:14 PM

Thank you

I was doing a Seachem dosing schedule with Excel a while back and it killed half of my 3 species of moss I had in my tank. Not really wanting to try that again.

Maybe I should trying using a gallon of water from my main plant tank and pouring it into my shrimp tank once a week?

Can't use fish as they will probably eat the shrimp fry.

The tank does get daylight, but not direct sunlight, not sure how much of this type of light plays a role against the time the lights go on above the tank?
I normaly turn on my lights at about 3pm to 4pm and off at about 1am

lotekfish · 02-02-2009, 06:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jag1980

Thank you

I was doing a Seachem dosing schedule with Excel a while back and it killed half of my 3 species of moss I had in my tank.

1am

I'm surprised by that. I have christmas moss and fissidens fontana in my tank and neither has been effected by Excel. I even squirt straight Excel on them- kills the algae, no effect on the moss.

**coolnick** · 02-02-2009, 07:04 PM

I had a recent hair algae outbreak when my DIY CO2 fizzled out early. My outbreak was BAD and it was GONE in 3 days after I added 4 Amanos to my 10g. So that's what I would do. They get along great with my RCS.

Jag1980 · 02-03-2009, 05:12 AM

Cherry shrimp wont eat it but Amano shrimp will? What a rip off.. lol

**NeonShrimp** · 02-03-2009, 06:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jag1980

Cherry shrimp wont eat it but Amano shrimp will? What a rip off.. lol

I know, too bad the Cherries can't do it all

Nice tank by the way

Jag1980 · 02-03-2009, 07:39 AM

thanks

o snap its eric · 02-03-2009, 09:39 AM

homer is right, mollies will clean up the algae hair fast! however they will take out some plants because they dont stop eating. I thought there were a must have but after a while of cleaning up my own algae hair in my tank, my pair started to rip up my HC and tore out a new other leaves in my tank. I eventually took them out but they do one hellova job.

Homer_Simpson · 02-03-2009, 03:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jag1980

Cherry shrimp wont eat it but Amano shrimp will? What a rip off.. lol

Yes, this is why I prefer Amano Shrimp over Cherry Shrimp. While Amano Shrimp may not breed in freshwater, my priority is a little extra insurance against algae vs breeding, and for that you cannot really beat Amano Shrimp. Amano Takishi is no fool for stocking his planted tanks early on with Amano Shrimp.

**NeonShrimp** · 02-03-2009, 05:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Homer_Simpson

Yes, this is why I prefer Amano Shrimp over Cherry Shrimp. While Amano Shrimp may not breed in freshwater, my priority is a little extra insurance against algae vs breeding, and for that you cannot really beat Amano Shrimp. Amano Takishi is no fool for stocking his planted tanks early on with Amano Shrimp.

That is an interesting way to look at it, thanks

Jag1980 · 02-04-2009, 01:04 AM

The reason for starting this shrimp tank was to make some money with it.
My local pet store will buy them from me for $3 per shrimp.
Amano shrimp are $6 to $7 per to buy from them... I got 3 for my main tank and one died within a couple days..

Breed Amano shrimp would be nice

Homer_Simpson · 02-04-2009, 01:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jag1980

...Breed Amano shrimp would be nice

Lol, I hear you and cherry shrimp are much easier to breed from what I hear. But if you are ever up for the challenge of trying to breed amano shrimp, here are a couple of useful articles.

http://mikes-machine.mine.nu/breeding_yamato.htm

http://caridina.japonica.online.fr/English/Elevage.htm

Aquarist_Fist · 02-04-2009, 03:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jag1980

The reason for starting this shrimp tank was to make some money with it.
My local pet store will buy them from me for $3 per shrimp.
Amano shrimp are $6 to $7 per to buy from them

That's insanely expensive. Do you live in Washington State or in DC? Here in Portland, Amanos go for 2.50-ish.

02-01-2009, 03:39 PM	#1 (permalink)
Jag1980 Algae Grower (View User Tanks) PTrader: (9/100%) Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Washington Posts: 136	Hair algae on moss in shrimp only low tech tank I got light colored green hair/thread? (Looks like someone cleaned out their brush and put the hair on my moss.) Thealgae is growing all over my moss. This is a 10 gallon shrimp breeding tank with snails. Lighting is a standard old 15 watt light bulb that comes with the light strip. I see it growing all over all my moss, what can I do to get rid of this major problem that will soon destroy my tank..? Looks like someone cleaned out their brush and put the hair on my moss. Here's the tank: __________________ 29 gallon, 3.3wpg, AQUATEK Co2 Injection, 3M S-Grade Black Sand, Fluval 205, EMP-400, Koralia Nano, 200w Stealth Heater 10 gallon Planted Cherry Shrimp and Snail Breeding Tank, 15wpg, Bio-Wheel Mini, 3M S-Grade Black Sand

02-01-2009, 03:45 PM	#2 (permalink)
Homer_Simpson Wannabe Guru (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: May 2007 Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba Posts: 1,785	That is interesting. It is rare to see algae with that much light. How long are you running your lights. I suggest reducing your photoperiod to no more than 8 hours and if that does not work, split the photoperiod. 4 hours on, 2 hours off, and 4 hours on again. To contain the problem, get some Amano Shrimp as they are known to eat algae or even black mollies or florida flag fish. However, I heard that the mollies and fff can also take out plants once they are done with the algae, so I would stick to Amano Shrimps. By the way, that is one beautiful tank and I can hardly see the hair algae. Also, I don't know how compatible the Amano Shrimp or fish will be with your current shrimp and offspring, so that may not be an option. It is also alleged that hair algae is caused by a nutrient imbalance. How that happens in a low tech tank is beyond me and others have venemently argued with me when I suggested dosing ferts in low tech tanks even once a week with water changes(which is what I do with and have no algae). If your hair algae is due to a nutrient imbalance, you may want to dose ferts, once a week. As always Tom Barr is right again when he suggests dosing ferts with low tech low light setups once a week. Some claim that dosing ferts in a tank is not a good idea if you are breeding shrimp and could prove toxic. So, it comes back to reducing your photoperiod as the only option and hoping that fixes the problem. __________________ My experience With two very different non-C02, low tech, low maintenance tanks Slide show of my 40 Gallon High Tech Jungle, showing my clear cut victory over Green Dust Algae 3 Gallon ADA Aquasoil II, non-c02, experimental tank Journal

02-02-2009, 12:14 PM	#4 (permalink)
Jag1980 Algae Grower (View User Tanks) PTrader: (9/100%) Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Washington Posts: 136	Thank you I was doing a Seachem dosing schedule with Excel a while back and it killed half of my 3 species of moss I had in my tank. Not really wanting to try that again. Maybe I should trying using a gallon of water from my main plant tank and pouring it into my shrimp tank once a week? Can't use fish as they will probably eat the shrimp fry. The tank does get daylight, but not direct sunlight, not sure how much of this type of light plays a role against the time the lights go on above the tank? I normaly turn on my lights at about 3pm to 4pm and off at about 1am __________________ 29 gallon, 3.3wpg, AQUATEK Co2 Injection, 3M S-Grade Black Sand, Fluval 205, EMP-400, Koralia Nano, 200w Stealth Heater 10 gallon Planted Cherry Shrimp and Snail Breeding Tank, 15wpg, Bio-Wheel Mini, 3M S-Grade Black Sand

02-02-2009, 07:04 PM	#6 (permalink)
coolnick Meltin' plants since 99 (View User Tanks) PTrader: (6/100%) Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 172	I had a recent hair algae outbreak when my DIY CO2 fizzled out early. My outbreak was BAD and it was GONE in 3 days after I added 4 Amanos to my 10g. So that's what I would do. They get along great with my RCS. __________________ 65 gal planted tank Pressurized CO2 Soon to be HID 10 gal planted RCS

02-03-2009, 05:12 AM	#7 (permalink)
Jag1980 Algae Grower (View User Tanks) PTrader: (9/100%) Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Washington Posts: 136	Cherry shrimp wont eat it but Amano shrimp will? What a rip off.. lol __________________ 29 gallon, 3.3wpg, AQUATEK Co2 Injection, 3M S-Grade Black Sand, Fluval 205, EMP-400, Koralia Nano, 200w Stealth Heater 10 gallon Planted Cherry Shrimp and Snail Breeding Tank, 15wpg, Bio-Wheel Mini, 3M S-Grade Black Sand

02-01-2009, 05:32 PM	#3 (permalink)
lotekfish Algae Grower (View User Tanks) PTrader: (3/100%) Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Philadelphia, PA Posts: 81	I had the same problem with hair algae in the moss. I found the most effective way to eradicate it is to spot treat it with Flourish Excel. I figured out what my daily dosage should be per directions on bottle, added that and an equal amount of water in a small cup, then used a syringe to squirt this on the moss with the filter turned off. Let it sit for a few minutes, then turn the filter back on. Do this everyday, working one area at a time until it's gone. I found it took 2-3 doses to kill an area of algae.

02-03-2009, 07:39 AM	#9 (permalink)
Jag1980 Algae Grower (View User Tanks) PTrader: (9/100%) Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Washington Posts: 136	thanks __________________ 29 gallon, 3.3wpg, AQUATEK Co2 Injection, 3M S-Grade Black Sand, Fluval 205, EMP-400, Koralia Nano, 200w Stealth Heater 10 gallon Planted Cherry Shrimp and Snail Breeding Tank, 15wpg, Bio-Wheel Mini, 3M S-Grade Black Sand

02-03-2009, 09:39 AM	#10 (permalink)
o snap its eric Planted Tank Obsessed (View User Tanks) PTrader: (6/100%) Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Bay area, ca Posts: 305	homer is right, mollies will clean up the algae hair fast! however they will take out some plants because they dont stop eating. I thought there were a must have but after a while of cleaning up my own algae hair in my tank, my pair started to rip up my HC and tore out a new other leaves in my tank. I eventually took them out but they do one hellova job.

02-04-2009, 01:04 AM	#13 (permalink)
Jag1980 Algae Grower (View User Tanks) PTrader: (9/100%) Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Washington Posts: 136	The reason for starting this shrimp tank was to make some money with it. My local pet store will buy them from me for $3 per shrimp. Amano shrimp are $6 to $7 per to buy from them... I got 3 for my main tank and one died within a couple days.. Breed Amano shrimp would be nice __________________ 29 gallon, 3.3wpg, AQUATEK Co2 Injection, 3M S-Grade Black Sand, Fluval 205, EMP-400, Koralia Nano, 200w Stealth Heater 10 gallon Planted Cherry Shrimp and Snail Breeding Tank, 15wpg, Bio-Wheel Mini, 3M S-Grade Black Sand

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