# Will Hair Algae fix itself?



## DJKronik57 (Apr 17, 2006)

I have a moderate case of hair algae now in my 30 gallon tank due to a week without CO2 and now that I have CO2 back it seems to not be going away. Will it die off by itself or do I have to take action to get rid of it now that it is established? I've heard Excel overdoses work well for getting rid of it.


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## BryceM (Nov 6, 2005)

My experience has been that if you let it get out of hand you may never get rid of it. I'd physically remove all of it that you can, even if it means chopping up a few plants. Then, I'd use another method like excel, or peroxide, or blackout or something else. Come to think of it, it's almost like treating cancer.

For many types, the recommended therapy is chemo, surgery, chemo. 

Absolutley jump on it right away before it gets any worse. I just tossed a whole bunch of moss and HC that got thread algae hopelessly mixed up in it.


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## John N. (Dec 11, 2005)

I agree, I've let it sit around thinking it would go away with the increased CO2, but it seem to grow exponentially despite it and covered the whole tank, in which I had to go in an manually remove triple the amount of which I started with.

However, conversely, I've had a small patch of hair algae go away by itself, it grew in a local location, and then died away.

But ultimately I think it's easier to just go in with a remove it just in case.

-John N.


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## stcyrwm (Apr 20, 2005)

In my experience the best strategy is to go after it immediately with everything you have. Be very cautious about spreading it also. Turn off your filter and powerheads while you are doing any manual removal and then net the water for any stray strands. Don't be afraid to remove contaminated plants. It is easy to deal with at this stage but if you wait it can be a real challenge.

Good luck, Bill


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## DJKronik57 (Apr 17, 2006)

Well I added an SAE to the tank as well as dosing 15ml of Excel to try to fight the algae back. The SAE had been previously removed because it was starting to eat my Christmas moss (where the hair algae is worst now, ironically). Two days later, I see a definite improvement. Thanks for your input and help guys!


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## turtlehead (Nov 27, 2004)

I just gave up. Excel at 4 times everyday and addition of co2 stopped growth but didn't kill it like it did bba.


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## 1stwizard (Jun 16, 2006)

Just a quick observation, I've watched my Black Ruby Barbs tear into hair Algae in my previous tanks, all but destorying it.

Mind you, they also tore into the L. Repens as well!.


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## abnormalsanon (Jun 6, 2006)

What about shrimp? I'm adding some CRS to my tank in about a week, and I'm hoping they'll chow down on some of the hair/brush algae in my tank. Does anyone know if this has been effective?


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## Zapins (Jul 28, 2004)

Weird experiences guys. It has always been easy for me to get rid of simply by upping nitrates and phosphates (though manual removal definitely helps speed up its demise). Check these pics out to see what a horrible infestation I had.

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/...orrific-algae-contest-algae1.jpg?d=1149571580

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/...orrific-algae-contest-algae2.jpg?d=1149571669

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/...algae-contest-bottom-up-tank.jpg?d=1149571811


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## DJKronik57 (Apr 17, 2006)

Well maybe we're talking about a different kind of algae because mine certainly doesn't look like that. I've always thought that was thread algae. Mine is tiny little short hair-like strands coating leaf surfaces and moss. Maybe this is BBA? Either way, it looks like it's almost all gone!


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## Zapins (Jul 28, 2004)

Hmm, well that is good. Out of curiosity though does your algae look like this?

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/...ntest-vote-now-anubias-algae.jpg?d=1149449306


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## DJKronik57 (Apr 17, 2006)

Not quite. My algae was somewhat like the green tufts at the base, but much more spread out, like little hairs on everything. It also seemed to be a browner color. Definitely not the long thready bright green stuff though.


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## dstephens (Nov 30, 2005)

I have a hair algae thast looks very coarse, short and bushy. Zapins looks slimy and stringy in mho. I hit with everything, after I let the cherries, amanos, CO2, increase excel, NO3, PO4 take a shot at it. Earlier in this thread someone mentioned those remedies stopping the aggressive growth, which is what it did for me. Then I started finding it in the substrate, HC and everywhere else I did not want it. It originally started on a piece of driftwood gorwing into a tuft of moss that had spontaneously started growing out of the dw. I have gone in and hand removed daily. I have ottos and added 2 sae hoping they might work it over, and they have but not enough to get rid of it. The shrimp have been awesome though. I have about a dozen amanos and 40-50 Cherries and they make a heck of a clean up crew. Darrell


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