Best Algae Eating Fish

[Clownguy]

Hi Guys,
I have some hair algae starting to pop up in my tank. I had a problem last year with hair algae, but has been gone since then. My tank is 150 gal sps tank with 3 250-MH that are 6 months old. I have a sump/refugium with chaeto and 200lbs. of live rock, BB. NO3 = 0, NO2 = 0, PO4 = 0, pH = 8.3, salinity 1.025. I have a barred rabbitfish and an algae blenny/lawnmower blenny, the rabbitfish ate the algae when I first got him 6 months ago but not any more. What other fish can anyone suggest tangs, rabbitfish, etc.

Thanks,
Chris

 

[balogh03]

maybe buy another lawnmower??? in my dads tank we cant keep enough algae in there.

we'll see what others say.

 

[spongebob lover]

you could try a tang or whatever happen to snails and urchins

 

[balogh03]

you could try a tang or whatever happen to snails and urchins0

that too.lol

 

[dpaynter]

When I saw the title of the post, I was going to recommend a rabbitfish. Are you feeding supplemental macroalgae to your rabbitfish? I'm just surprised that he doesn't take care of it.

 

[Krish]

I had a yellow tang that grazed all day...That's my vote

 

[steve-s]

I would actually suggest attacking the problem that is causing the algae in the first place. As you've already experienced, the animals you had in place previously no longer address the problem. The same will hold true for whatever you decide to add this time.

 

[Juanfer]

you should buy a sally lightfoot crab!!!
I am sure he will get rid of the problem

 

[balogh03]

just make sure that sally light foot doesnt get hungry, i have hered of them eating fish as large as tangs because they got so aggressive:shock: .

 

[reedman]

steve is right. Find the source of the problem first and resolve that. If you don't want to do that then I would suggest an urchin (unless you have an acrylic tank, then be very careful of you choice of urchin).

 

[Clownguy]

I have no NO3 no Phosphate I only feed every other day I only use RO water for water changes and top off. My skimmer pulls out about 2 cups a week I use carbon that is changed every week. I only have 6 or 7 small fish in the tank. Flow is from a hammerhead on a closed loop through 6 3/4" outlets and a spray bar. Main flow is from a genx pump pushing 1500 gph. I see flow going every where, but the hair is evening growing where there is so much flow the hair lies flat against the rock where the current hits. I baked my rock a while back because I thought that since the rock was old it was clogged and that worked for a while. I do have a pin cushion urchin and he has scratched the front where I let the coralline grow on the edges. ANy help appreciated. I had a powder blue in their and the algae stayed away, but he got extremely aggressive and I yanked hiom and that is when the algae started to come back.

Thanks,
Chris

 

[shallowreef]

I too have hair algae growing in my tank in high flow areas. as a matter of fact its growing right on my TUNZES so i don't believe taht flow will eliminate it. I would try a different rabbitfish or a yellow tang.

 

[reedman]

Hey Chris,

Just personal experience here....my tank was established for a good 4 years and running great with all parameters in order when I had a hair algae bloom. It happens. Talk to anyone that has had a tank for a while and you will hear the same. Patience, pull it out by hand, and have some kind of herbivore that will eat it. Lets of water changes, and wait it out....it will clear. Mine took a couple of months to finally clear out and it has not returned.

Remember that these tanks are very delicate balances of a variety of elements that we don't even measure. Slight swings here and there (variations in salt mixes from the same manufacturer, summer weather...open windows....vs winter weather...closed up and furnace burning) can affect that balance.

Patience and you will prevail,
-Reed

 

[steve-s]

Algae cannot grow in the absence of a nitrogen and/or phosphorus, it's there you just haven't found a way of detecting it. Macro algaes especially (hair in this case) are so good at removing these things from the water they an literally strip it out as fast as you can add it. This can often leave the hobbyist with the fasle impression it's not in the tank. These items are bound up in living structures, bacteria being a large one. As everything passes through it's life cycle and dies (algaes/bacteria mainly) they release these items again making them "available" to something else. The goal is to get it out of the tank before that happens. P especially (like bacteria) is what you might call "in a constant state of renewal (flux)".

Try taking samples millimeters above the sand and rock. Keep testing varoius parts of the tank is sequence, eventually you'll find the problem. Reducing what you feed is also not the most opportune solution, although limiting import is a worthy goal. You need to encourage avenues of export if your going to beat something like this. Skimming, competing macro's, water changes, P/Si sponges and so on. This is an easily beat macro algae, I would still very strongly recommend against animals for it's control/demise.