I recently heard that some varieties of freshwater shrimp eat algae. Do any
of them eat black hair algae ? Any other suggestions to control black hair
algae if shrimp would be unsuitable for my tank ??

I would like to get control of the algae without resorting to chemicals that
might hurt my fish or plants. I have the bottom 2/3 planted , some driftwood
, a few small piles of rocks for cover , and small shy fish ( neons ,
apistos, rams , etc. )

Tank conditions : pH = 6.7 , total hardness = 90 ppm , ammonia and
nitrite below 1/2 ppm , nitrate 30 to 50 ppm ( high , but working on it )
, no CO2 added , aquarium fertilizer used as recommended , 70 watts
fluorescent lights , 40 gal. "breeder" tank ( 14 deep X 18 wide X 36
inches long ) temp 80 F

Thanks in advance ;
Keith J.

I had a group of Cories Sterbia work over tank full of Black Hair Algae...

They did a great job of cleaning out...

Earl
"LeighMo" wrote in message
...
I recently heard that some varieties of freshwater shrimp eat algae. Do
any
of them eat black hair algae ?

SAEs are the critters that are recommended for that kind of algae (BBA).

Shrimp do eat filamentous algae. Particularly Amano shrimp. Not sure how
good
a job they do on BBA. I've heard mixed reports. My ghost shrimp seem to
eat
it, but only if there's no better pickings to be had.

Snails might also be worth a shot.

In any case, don't expect algae-eating creatures to cure your algae
problem
overnight. Mostly, they eat young and tender algae, leaving the old, big,
ugly
stuff alone. What works best is to remove what algae you can (cutting off
infested leaves, if necessary). The SAEs (or whatever) will then prevent
new
algae from growing. Algae will disappear very slowly.




Leigh

http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/halloween/881/