Algal genus Spotlight: Bryopsis "hair algae" - Page 7

angmoh · #**151** 09/14/2006, 07:33 AM

any pics of turbo and margarita snails ?

i used to have alot of snails, but somehow i dont find them effective... perhaps the amount of snails i'm having is too little ? or i'm getting the wrong snails to tackle my algae problem?

vest0830 · #**152** 09/14/2006, 11:39 PM

A friend of mine had a tank disaster and and decided to take his tank down. He had some goodies, and I went and got them.

A blue tang, some clowns, a few turbo snails, and a few other things.

Everything went into the tank last night around 8, the lights went off at 9:15, they werent on before I left for work this morning as they turn on at 10. I just went home and checked the tank/stock at lunch time (about an hour ago) and half of the bryopis is gone. The tang seemed to be pokin at it. Something ate it, I dont know if its a combo of the snails, the tang, just the sails, IDK. I did see the tang going to town though. They must have full stomachs cause they went to town on that stuff. Litterly probably 12 hours.

So my battle has begun. I wanted to pick up a few new inhabitants early in the week, but havent been able to.

Quote:

Originally posted by angmoh
any pics of turbo and margarita snails ?

i used to have alot of snails, but somehow i dont find them effective... perhaps the amount of snails i'm having is too little ? or i'm getting the wrong snails to tackle my algae problem?

I dont see most of my snails while the lights are on. They all come out after dark. Go searching with a flashlight after the lights have gone out for about an hour or 2.

vest0830 · #**153** 09/17/2006, 06:49 AM

My bryopsis is almost gone. I would say 80% gone. Another 48 hours and it will be gone I think.

I also gotta add, I started my fuge with a small ball of chaeto. The Chaeto went in yesterday.

I would have to say its a combo of added snails, crabs and the tang.

angmoh · #**154** 09/17/2006, 10:04 AM

i heard that cheato is one of the best algae which wont turn asexual right ?

graveyardworm · #**155** 09/17/2006, 10:33 AM

Cheato doesnt go sexual the same way caulerpa does. What it does do however is it begins to fragment into small pieces.

vest0830 · #**156** 09/19/2006, 08:27 PM

I would like to update, I would say my battle is over.

I will try to get a before (if I can find one) and after photo of my tank.

I have a few tiny patches around the tank, but considering what it was before and what it is now is a night and day difference.

Lunchbucket · #**157** 09/19/2006, 08:59 PM

so what ate it vest??

Lunchbucket

blazzent · #**158** 09/19/2006, 10:48 PM

I've seen two fish listed here that seem to eat bryopsis: a fox face lo and a yellow tang. Which of the two would you recommend as the best?

blazzent · #**159** 09/19/2006, 10:50 PM

Correction to my first: a blue tang not yellow tang

vest0830 · #**160** 09/20/2006, 05:23 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Lunchbucket
so what ate it vest??

Lunchbucket

Well, to summerize my little battle, my thoughts were this from the get go..

1. get a lawnmower blenny
2. get a urchin
3. stop water changes
4. more snails

and I was going to do all of this. I was going to go out and pick up a urchin at low tide, and go buy a blenny. I hadnt had the time to go out at low tide, or meet with the LFS before they closed, but a freind was giving away some stuff, so I went and got this things. He give me a blue tang some snails and some crabs. (and a mated pair of clows

)

instantly the tang started munching on that stuff. I mean it was litterly within min's of putting him in the tank that he started eating it. I woke up the next morning to find him going to town on it, and over a period of about a week, I would say I have won the battle. I must also add that I started my refugium with a small ball of chaeto in the mix also. I never have yet added the the blenny, the urchin, and I plan to do a water change this weekend. I did add a few more snails, a few turbos and various other snails.

Dont get me wrong, I do still have a few small (tiny) patches around the tank, but considering a few weeks ago I almost cried looking at my tank and looking at it now is a night and day difference.

I was just going through a few pictures trying to find the before and after, I dont have any before in my gallery (and im now at work, so I cant go looking through my HD) but in my gallery I found this. my tang eating...

the stuff along the backwall is gone. its almost clear again.

Lunchbucket · #**161** 09/20/2006, 07:08 PM

why would you stop doing water changes??

Lunchbucket

vest0830 · #**162** 09/21/2006, 06:22 PM

Someone in this thrad had mentioned that the algae is feeding on the "excess" nutrients in the water. Not doing water changes would essencially cause the algae to starve itself.

Claeth · #**163** 09/21/2006, 06:58 PM

not doing water changes will only add nitrates to make them grow faster.

Lunchbucket · #**164** 09/21/2006, 09:43 PM

vest - you have it backwards. algae won't grow in clean nutrient poor water like a brand new water change. fish poop, detritus, etc are the nutrients it feeds off of...not the elements in fresh water change water

disolved organics in the water make it grow faster. remember the solution to polution is dilusion (hence water changes to dilute it)

Lunchbucket

vest0830 · #**165** 09/22/2006, 12:23 PM

thanks for makin me feel like a moron.
I needed it.

my bryopis is 100% gone. Couldnt find any in the tank tonight.

Lunchbucket · #**166** 09/25/2006, 10:41 PM

lucky you!!

Lunchbucket

saltyray · #**167** 10/01/2006, 01:59 PM

I had my 120 set up in February. I went out, after the cycle and bought many neat things like clams, and fish and corals. One piece had some green algae on it that I thought the new sailfin would eat. I was wrong and now 6 months with the bryopsis, as I have learned what it is, is killing me. I am doing 40 gallon water changes every other weekend. It is not slowing at all. Before every water change my wife, bless her, and I hand pull as much of this nasty nuisance as possible. I have also invested in a nudibranch. He eats it alright but i would probably need a hundred to get control and then when you get control they die and then the bryopsis does not have anything to eat it it so it comes back.... sorry got carried away. I do not have a skimmer but I am looking at the ASM website for when currently. Does it make sense at this point to tear the tank down and scrub the rocks and sand with a slight bleach mixture and then set it all up again or will the skimmer make my life better. I just want to know there is light at the end of the tunnel.

b_mattias · #**168** 10/28/2006, 09:16 AM

if that is what I have (looks just like it) my large turbo snails eat it.

angmoh · #**169** 10/28/2006, 09:32 AM

i found the best way to remove bryopsis algae is to invest on a yellow tang + foxface + manual pluck.

yellow tang and foxface will refrain any new grown bryopsis but u still hv to pluck off those long,matured bryopsis.

last but not least, good water parameters

Lunchbucket · #**170** 10/28/2006, 11:34 AM

angmoh - i just got a yellow tang about 2wks ago and much to my happiness he eats bryopsis!!! it seems that he won't eat it unless it is really short and right close to the rock. like if i just pull some seems like he eats the stubble that is left. he has not desimated the tank of it yhet but i think he is helping. by FAR my most priced fish right now. i hope manual plucking and him trimming will eventually get it out or not noticable. i can't believe how happy i am that i have that fish!!

i'm still doing eveyr other week water changes (20gal now), skimming hard, but feeding more to get my coral colors to come out more.

later
Lunchbucket

angmoh · #**171** 10/29/2006, 08:37 AM

Lunchbucket, precisely! I'm also very happy with my yellow tang!! i found that yellow tang loves bryopsis more than foxface (even though alot of them claimed that foxface is very good at clearing bryopsis)...

I'm surprised that no one here, neither anywhere or anyone propose/recommend yellow tang! i'v witnessed myself my yellow tang grazed off a bunch of bryopsis within one day! even the long ones! of course, i found that they still prefer short ones.

So now everyday i still pluck off any visible, long bryopsis alage each every other day. At least i can see that my bryopsis is under controlled with the help of yellow tang and foxface

hurrays! forget about snails, nudis, or whatever so... they are slow eaters! too slow!

seamonkey2 · #**172** 11/03/2006, 09:03 AM

hmmm, I know that most of you do really hate hair algae and all its friends in your tanks, but I love it, I got a 215ga sea horse tank, with pipefish and I got lots and lots and lots (you get the point) of hair algae, culerpra and mexicana growing on the LR walls and returns loclines.

the thing is that all this algae hide hundreds upon hundreds of pods that my pipes feed upon, the hunt all day, the hover around the algae until they see one and BAM snack

I over feed my tank big time, when I first notice the hair algae I was going to remove it, but, yeah I know call me idiot, it looked cool to me, so I let it be, a couple of months later it was all over the back wall of the tank, then I said, "crap I got to get this thing under control", so I pull a hand full from the tank, and as I was going to dump it, I felt lots of creepy crawlers on my hand, so I took a closer look at it, and damn!!! copepods galore, by the hundreds, so I put it back, and ever since haven't touch it.

the culerpra has taken all of the floor of the tank and is about 6" tall, but the horses love it and the pipes hide in it

but there is an observation, I used to run 2 phospate remover reactors in this tank, but I stoped doing it, dont know why, 2 months ago, ever since, the hair algae has stop growing and is actually been over run by mexicana, wich if fine with me, but it just amazing that that alone happen, I do water changes every six months, and I run a skimmer one a week, any input on this?

Jose

Ryanqk · #**173** 11/09/2006, 11:19 PM

ok i have this problem i was thinking about taking all the desirable algaes out of my display temporarily, and putting them in the fuge, then introducing two small sea urchins and let them mow down my turf algae, once done they go back to the store and i re-plant my algaes. my phosphate is 0, nitrates a little high. Keep my fuge light on 24/7 as well. what do yall think?
Ryan

daveverdo · #**174** 11/10/2006, 09:31 PM

I just read this entire thread and still have a big problem and a bigger question. Are there any small fish that will eat this stuff? I only have 30g do things like a Foxface and tangs aren't going to make it unless someone wants to lend (or rent) me one for a few weeks.

I have a variety of snails, the ceriths are useless, I have 5 Trochus and 3 Astrea, 1 of those 8 eats it but 1 alone is losing the battle.

Any small fish? Even if they only eat a little its will help, I guess. This is the first tank I even had this kind of problem with. It is only in its early stages but I want to nip it in the bud(as the saying goes).

Dave

Sugar Magnolia · #**175** 11/11/2006, 11:29 AM

I'm in the same boat Dave, 30 gallon hair algae farm. I'm considering buying a baby yellow tang to munch on the algae for a couple of weeks, then trading him back in.