# Hair Algae or new growth?



## hutch_189 (Apr 13, 2013)

Hi everyone thanks for looking, 
i have purchased some java moss and im new to planted tanks and was noticing some small hairs 
growing from it and am not sure if it is new growth or hair algae, if it is hair algae how do i get rid of 
it, manual removal or spot dosing with a chemical, thanks for taking the time to help.


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## CRS Fan (Nov 25, 2008)

It may be Uticularia gibba. A close cousin to UG. I can't really tell from the picture though.

Best regards,

Stuart


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2


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## herns (Aug 28, 2007)

hutch_189 said:


> Hi everyone thanks for looking,
> i have purchased some java moss and im new to planted tanks and was noticing some small hairs
> growing from it and am not sure if it is new growth or hair algae, if it is hair algae how do i get rid of
> it, manual removal or spot dosing with a chemical, thanks for taking the time to help.


Hair algae is tough on moss to get rid of. I have tried Algaefix and works fine. Follow recommended dose and make sure to look around what causes algae.


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## Yo-han (Oct 15, 2010)

This is staghorn algae. Try googling it. Few things that I've noticed when I had this algae. Low CO2 (high light), low PO4 and low magnesium are some things to check. Magnesium is almost never mentioned but since I dose magnesium I've never seen it again. Might be a coincidence but with low magnesium and high calcium from my tap it seems plausible. Good luck, this is not a very hard algae to get rid of but it is an indicator you need to pay more attention to your tank and balance things out!


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## SBS (Feb 26, 2013)

Or dirty filters...


It looks beatiful on the picture though


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## Zapins (Jul 28, 2004)

Yo-han is right. It is staghorn also called "beard algae" by some.

Addition of CO2 does kill this algae. It is fairly easy to get rid of and is rather uncommon as far as showing up in aquariums goes.

To identify Utricularia gibba you need to look for little round pods that come off the main stem, the plant uses these to capture and digest small aquatic insects. They are not present in this photo so it is not a Utricularia species.


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## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

Staghorn.

Change water every other day.

Clean filter.


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