# Annoying thread/hair algae



## dennis (Mar 1, 2004)

Hey all, 

I have hte annoying thread and hair algae. I realize this is generally due to having good tank conditions, proper fert levels and high light/CO2. 

Is there anyhting that I can do besides manual removal or shrimp? Is it an indication of a bad nutrient level. I don't dose high amounts of Fe. I dose 1ml Flourish every day and Flourish Fe every 2-3 days(1ml). Could there be a problem with that. The tank is 10gallon with 45 watts no florescent and press. CO2, ~30ppm.

Thanks


----------



## plantbrain (Jan 23, 2004)

Flagfish will eat anything furry, moss and riccia included.
Cheap, easy to keep.

It's a 10 which is not too bad to remove the stuff.
I've never associated thread algae with excess nutrients(iron or what have you as is often stated in the past books and web sites), if you believe this to be true I suggest to take a more critical look at your levels.

We often go way beyong the needs of the plants there.

When I don't fertilize my tank for a week or so, I'll get thread algae, generally 3 species. 
I have this happen when I take off for 10 days and come back.

I remove what's there, trim the plants back, net out any left overs and do a water change etc.

You can also remove plants that allow algae to get tangled up in their leaves etc also for a little while till the tank is in better shape.

Rotating the gravel under will help get rid of any attached to the gravel.
Also, something that disturbs the gravel and moves some of the top layer around will also prevent algae from growing on the gravel also.

If the algae is in the plants, careful cleaning and pruning will remove most of that. When you have good conditions and pick on the algae, they submit. If not, re evaluate your routine, don't assume your kits/levels are are correct etc.

Regards, 
Tom Barr


----------



## dennis (Mar 1, 2004)

Thanks Tom.

I was under the impression the the thread algaes were not caused by any improper fert. levels. Just wanted to make sure. I am unable to find flagfish locally, I was not to keen on adding more fish anyway, but I can get Amano and ghost shrimp at my LFS I'll get a few of each and see how they do. I understand they work well, and if not, well then I think they look really cool anyway.

Thanks for the info.


----------



## AV8TOR (Mar 28, 2004)

How compatible are the flag fish in a community of non-killiefish?


----------



## mm12463 (Mar 5, 2004)

I have a single female in my tank. At one point I had 8 silver tip tetras, 5 otos, an ancistrus species and two pair of laetacara dorsigera. She seemed fine. Now the fish load is down to 2 silver tips and a lone LD and 2 cories. She still seems fine but rather shy as she always has been, laying in the plants but she does come out from time to time to swim around.


----------



## gpodio (Feb 4, 2004)

Dennis, if all fails 2ml of H2O2 per gallon and a water change after 15-20 minutes will take care of most of the thread algae. I had a really bad 10 gallon that I had not changed the water for months and was full of thread algae. Last week I added 20ml of H2O2 and within 3 days there is hardly any evidence of the thread algae. Only death caused by the H2O2 was my hornwart which melted away, other floating and rooted plants were not effected.

In general I get thread algae when first starting up a tank, it then goes away on it's own when the tank has matured. It only seems to come back when I get lazy with water changes. In my high light tank, it seemed to be more of a problem with insufficient ferts rather than any excess. Macros and CO2 seemed to make the biggest difference for me.

Hope that helps
Giancarlo Podio


----------

