# How do get rid of Hair Algae a first hand account



## Delslo

I hope this helps everyone, I spent hours researching every possible way to get rid of it and this is the only way to beat it back.


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## plantbrain

I just reduced the light and it worked, so did increasing CO2.
They both do the same thing, less light = less demand for CO2.

So which of 7 items did the real work?
What stopped new growth?

The algae eaters have some effects I think, but the root issue was reducing the light from what I've seen and then to check if there's a CO2= light relationship, a CO2 increase was done on a well infested tank(high light + low CO2 incduced the alga).

Excel had little to no effect on Spirogyra.
Hand removal just keep it beaten back in full bloom.
It did nothing to stop new growth(the root issue)

Regards, 
Tom Barr


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## f1ea

H2O2 does very good against algae, and it doesn't cause much harm to fish or plants. Spot treatment up to a 2ml/Gal yield. Very good against BGA. 

Also, Rosy barbs eat lots of hair algae, i think much better than cherries. 
The best thing about algae eaters is that they remove a lot from your plant leaves... in the end this is VERY helpful, because you need your plants to be healthy and be able to do their job.

But unless you have the root cause covered (which is ussually too much light/low co2), algae will always come back and make you a slave.


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## DavidZ

hair algae is tough, in the early stages fish like rose barbs might help, the true SAE might also. When it gets out of hand its back to manual labor.


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## captain_bu

Rosy barbs will eat plants with fine leaves as well as algae. You also need to keep them in schools of at least 6 to prevent them from getting aggressive toward the other fish in the tank. I like Rosy barbs, the longfin variety are especially nice looking, but don't suggest getting them unless it is a fish that you really want a school of in your tank and you don't want to keep the type of plants that they will eat.


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## Ah Kua Tek

captain_bu said:


> Rosy barbs will eat plants with fine leaves as well as algae. You also need to keep them in schools of at least 6 to prevent them from getting aggressive toward the other fish in the tank. I like Rosy barbs, the longfin variety are especially nice looking, but don't suggest getting them unless it is a fish that you really want a school of in your tank and you don't want to keep the type of plants that they will eat.


I second that. I got a pair for my hair algae problem and one of them bullied the other into hiding in a corner. Before long, my betta's fins were torn to shreds. On the upside, they did take care of the hair algae quickly, but won't eliminate it completely. Reducing the photoperiod and upping the CO2 is the best combo for hair algae control.


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