Hairy green algae vs seachem Excel

[Matuva]

I have problems with string/hairy green algae in 2 of my tanks.

 

It seems that the cherry shrimps do not eat this one, and are not a good solution for control of these algaes. I was told to rather use Caridina typus for that.

 

I was also told that Seachem Excel does a good job on this algae. Anybocy tried it? Is it a safe product vs shrimps?

[kizshrimp]

I think you need to dose excel at double rate to kill algae and I don't think it's safe for shrimp then. 

 

Caridina typus are supposed to be excellent algae eaters, one of the very best. 

[Matuva]

Do the typus coexist without problems with cherries? Cherry shrimp is about 1/2 size of the Typus.

 

The tanks are 120l each, with less than 10 shrimps inside. One with 9 Neon yellow, the other with 90 Blue pearls.

 

I had the same problems in my tank with the red cherries, but as far as I can see, now that the red colony has grown to around a 100 shrimps, I don't see any more hairy algae. Though, I don't know if this is because the cherries have snacked this algae or not.

I have read somewhere that cherry shrimp is not a fan of the hairy algae...

Edited April 28, 2015 by Matuva

[Matuva]

Anybody has Typus coexisting with cherry shrimps? Should the typus bully the cherries as they are twice time bigger?

Edited April 29, 2015 by Matuva

[kizshrimp]

I think Fishmosy has typus with Chameleons, which are smaller than cherries. 

[Matuva]

OK. Hope he will see that thread ;)

[fishmosy]

I replied in regards to the typus in the thread you made.

As for the excel, I use Aquagreen's Dinospit - glutaldehyde (the active ingredient in excel) to control outbreaks of BBA in my tanks. As a test I overdosed a small tank containing some Paratya and cherries, with no ill effects. I use it to dose the whole tank at half rate, or for spot dosing, in my CRS tank, again with seemingly little effect. If you do decide to go with it, I would recommend trying it at minimum half dose and then increasing the dose if there are no ill effects, but only if the algae hasn't dying already.

An old toothbrush is also great at removing some of the different types of 'hair' algae. Use in a twirling motion similar to twisting spaghetti onto a fork.

[Matuva]

Thanks for the input.

 

I will try 1st to send 4 typus in each tank to see how they do their job. I'm always anxious about chemicals.

If the typus do not succeed, I will try Excel (can't find the Aquagreen here).

 

I use a teeth brush, but this *!@# hairy algae reappears very quickly, and now is settling inside the mosses and other plants, everywhere in the tank. Luckily, the teeth brush can catch most of it, but I would like to get rid of it.

Edited April 29, 2015 by Matuva

[fishmosy]

Yes algae is a constant battle sometimes. A war of attrition. I have a similar problem with the BBA, I can get most of it manually or with the dinospit, but it always seems to pop up again as I never seem to be able to get it all.

Edited April 29, 2015 by fishmosy
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[Matuva]

Good news. I'm treating my tanks with Seachem Flourish Excel till 10 days now. Absolutely no overdosing, recommended doses are enough.

 

I could have seen sinve the very 1st days that the green hair algae stop growiing almost immediately. Now, The tanks are a lot more clean. Most of algaes on the drift wood are gone. I was removing them by hand, but they werer coming back very quick before. Now, there's just a very few left.

I have good hope to get rid of that stuff in a week or 2.

 

What is funny, is that my shrimps now neglect the pellets and are grazing a lot in the plants. It seems that when the algae is alive and haelthy, they don't like it, but now that it is dying, they seem to like it.

 

I have seen no side effects on my shrimps, I even have birth of shrimplets, and some females carrying eggs, just as normal.

 

I also remarked that the red cherries tank, where there is the biggest colony - around 200 in a 165l tank- is absolutely free of any algae. So I made a deal with them: as the others are a very few at the moment (yellow are 6 alduts + 10 shrimplets, and Sunkist the same) they are not able to clean their tank, so I pulled some plants infested with algae and gave them to the reds for a cleaning:

 

Here is what I have after 10 minutes:

 

 

After 1 hour, there was no more hairy algae in the plants

Edited May 17, 2015 by Matuva