? Best green hair algae eaters ?
- Thread starter kjb
- Start date
- Location
- Virginia
crabs, sally light foots, and I've seen my left handed hermits eating it. Also, my yellow tangs ate it.
Have to agree with the tan chick on this one.
I personally do not have one but they seem to be the only one's reported to eat the long GHA. Anyone with one of these urchins tell me how well they do in and around your LR? Do they knock over stuff? Do they find stuff to eat after the GHA is gone? Thanks.
- Location
- Virginia
I've heard the tuxedo's are good for it (I used to have urchins in my tank) but a word of caution, I have had 3 types of urchins in my tank that are all predatory (eating fish, soft corals, mowing down polyps, starfish, etc. etc.) - long spine, pencil, and pincushion, the last of which is a member of the same family as the tuxedo urchin. The pencil is supposedly the only predator, but IMO, all urchins are omnivores, and when they get a chance to have an easy polyp meal, or a slow moving star fish, they'll take it.
hey TAN GIRL, im with smokin reefer, lets see the tan..
also i agree with tangirl about the tux urchin.. i have one seems to do well , also i have noticed that the emerald crabs also eat the hair algee, not the cyno, but they do pull the hair off the rocks once thet run out of valonia ( bubble algee) ( ok so my spelling sux, sorry)
also i agree with tangirl about the tux urchin.. i have one seems to do well , also i have noticed that the emerald crabs also eat the hair algee, not the cyno, but they do pull the hair off the rocks once thet run out of valonia ( bubble algee) ( ok so my spelling sux, sorry)
The thing in my tank that eats green/red hair algae are bristleworms. THe biggest worm in my tank is about 3 1/2 - 4" long and fat. this thing can eat alot of hair algae at one time. i think it might only eat hair algae that is beginning to deteriorate. not sure. but i also saw this worm eat 2 small zooanthus polyps on a fiji rock, 3 days after i got the rock. and then ate a tiny serpent starfish that came in as a hitchhiker on a florida rock. one the positive side, i havent seen this worm bother anymore zooanthus polyps or coral since then. nothing noticable is missing.
Thanks to all for the ideas. I got 2 emerald green crabs and one sally lightfoot all of which I found on sale. They seem busily at work, although I don't know if they will ever catch up to the amount I have growing.
Now I am thinking about a foxface rabbitfish, or some smaller tang to add to the crew. I read the foxface is a decent beginner's fish, and don't know which tang would be happy in smaller quarters.
Now I am thinking about a foxface rabbitfish, or some smaller tang to add to the crew. I read the foxface is a decent beginner's fish, and don't know which tang would be happy in smaller quarters.
The Collector Urchin, Tripneustes Gratilla, is the algae grazer par excellence.
Has the short spines and doesn't bulldoze or cause rockslides. Gets my vote as the most useful critter I've put in my 120g tank and I don't have one snail or crab ( except hitchhikers of course).
Has the short spines and doesn't bulldoze or cause rockslides. Gets my vote as the most useful critter I've put in my 120g tank and I don't have one snail or crab ( except hitchhikers of course).
kjb
I would first look into what is causing your nutrient build up. What size skimmer are you using, how much live rock and sand? How often do you feed and how much? How stocked is your tank with fish? I tend to go after the root cause of issues like this.
To get things into control, try cutting your photo period by 3/4 and remove what u can by hand. After about a week of reduced light, do a water change and increase your photo period over a weeks time.
To bring down and control your PO3 after you lick the problem, try using Poly-Filters. You can get them from Petwarehouse.com. The pads work wonders and last about a month in my heavily fed 90 gal reef. The bang for the buck over Phosguard or Kent Phosphate Sponge is far better at $9 a pad, versus $20 plus for granular media.
All of the critters listed are great. Get lots of hermits, they will keep the grass short, and have plenty of grazing snails. A small Kole tang will be good for control. I had one in my old 55 and it kept the rock very clean.
Also in a word, Kalk. When I started using Kalk, my tank sprang to life and I have NO algea problems.
Good luck...
First and formost find the cause of your bloom, prolly high nutrients in the water, and fix that.
I would first look into what is causing your nutrient build up. What size skimmer are you using, how much live rock and sand? How often do you feed and how much? How stocked is your tank with fish? I tend to go after the root cause of issues like this.
To get things into control, try cutting your photo period by 3/4 and remove what u can by hand. After about a week of reduced light, do a water change and increase your photo period over a weeks time.
To bring down and control your PO3 after you lick the problem, try using Poly-Filters. You can get them from Petwarehouse.com. The pads work wonders and last about a month in my heavily fed 90 gal reef. The bang for the buck over Phosguard or Kent Phosphate Sponge is far better at $9 a pad, versus $20 plus for granular media.
All of the critters listed are great. Get lots of hermits, they will keep the grass short, and have plenty of grazing snails. A small Kole tang will be good for control. I had one in my old 55 and it kept the rock very clean.
Also in a word, Kalk. When I started using Kalk, my tank sprang to life and I have NO algea problems.
Good luck...
First and formost find the cause of your bloom, prolly high nutrients in the water, and fix that.
Well, no one has listed fish. So here it goes...
I have a 3" Red Lip Blennie (Ophioblennius atlanticus) that mows down ANYTHING green in my tank. He also likes brown diatoms. There is always "kiss" marks up and down the glass before I scrape it.
The down side is these guys are very territorial. He even attacks my hand when I'm in the tank. Great personality and huge appetite makes worth putting up with his cranky side!
I have a 3" Red Lip Blennie (Ophioblennius atlanticus) that mows down ANYTHING green in my tank. He also likes brown diatoms. There is always "kiss" marks up and down the glass before I scrape it.
The down side is these guys are very territorial. He even attacks my hand when I'm in the tank. Great personality and huge appetite makes worth putting up with his cranky side!
Thanks for all the suggestions.
I have found a bunch of snails and with the three crabs I added seem to have a lot less algae now.
I did forget to tell the specifics on this tank, so here goes...
About a month ago I had to move to a new apartment and instead of being able to set up immediately I was forced to hold the LR/LS in rubbermaid containers on the porch [w/circulation] for a week in the terrible heat. Fortunately, I had taken all the critters I could catch to the LFS for asafe keeping, and wish I had done a better job with the LR/LS, but...
The LR essentially died.
I finally got set up again and placed the rock and sand in and started running an AquaC Urchin skimmer. A very find new friend, Kevin from Brazil Indiana, helped me out immensly by giving me some fresh LS, caulerpa, and some LR including some really great pieces. I set these in the tank and have been watching the critters repopulate slowly, even added a frew bristle worms I got from another friend.
I am sure I had the lights on too much and did reduce their on time.
I think the Rio pump that came with my skimmer is definitely just too wimpy and hope to upgrade to a better pump some day, but am really tight for cash at the moment, I mean REALLY tight!
Overall, things do seem to be coming under control. Getting my queen conch back from the critter sitter seems to have helped a lot too.
Well, I guess that about covers everything. Thanks again to everyone who responded with their suggestions here.
ps. Truthfully, Kevin offered to help out by holding the LR, and I surely should have taken him up on the offer, but didn't and thought I could do the move much quicker. I didn't know him, and so I didn't trust him. Now I do, and will...
He is definitely a good person.
I have found a bunch of snails and with the three crabs I added seem to have a lot less algae now.
I did forget to tell the specifics on this tank, so here goes...
About a month ago I had to move to a new apartment and instead of being able to set up immediately I was forced to hold the LR/LS in rubbermaid containers on the porch [w/circulation] for a week in the terrible heat. Fortunately, I had taken all the critters I could catch to the LFS for asafe keeping, and wish I had done a better job with the LR/LS, but...
I finally got set up again and placed the rock and sand in and started running an AquaC Urchin skimmer. A very find new friend, Kevin from Brazil Indiana, helped me out immensly by giving me some fresh LS, caulerpa, and some LR including some really great pieces. I set these in the tank and have been watching the critters repopulate slowly, even added a frew bristle worms I got from another friend.
I am sure I had the lights on too much and did reduce their on time.
I think the Rio pump that came with my skimmer is definitely just too wimpy and hope to upgrade to a better pump some day, but am really tight for cash at the moment, I mean REALLY tight!
Overall, things do seem to be coming under control. Getting my queen conch back from the critter sitter seems to have helped a lot too.
Well, I guess that about covers everything. Thanks again to everyone who responded with their suggestions here.
ps. Truthfully, Kevin offered to help out by holding the LR, and I surely should have taken him up on the offer, but didn't and thought I could do the move much quicker. I didn't know him, and so I didn't trust him. Now I do, and will...
He is definitely a good person.
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