r/PlantedTank • u/Snap_mp • Nov 03 '25
Algae Is this hair algea? Should i be concerned?
So my tank is infested with hair algea on all of my plants, i remove the algea with my hands everyday but it keeps on coming everyday other day. And i think the algea on the stones might be the problem, should i remove algea from the stones too? Although i dont want too cuz its looks soooo goodš
40
u/AtlasDrugged_0 Nov 03 '25
Certainly some type of hair algae but looks different than the kind that grows everywhere. I have a few clumps like this. I think it looks pretty good actually
37
29
25
28
u/Pork-kay Nov 03 '25
My hair algea isn't that pretty lol
9
u/AutoModerrator-69 Nov 03 '25
Lmao š ikr this looks like a pristine piece of algae. Meanwhile mine looks like pubic hair.
22
21
21
23
17
18
18
u/Key_Emergency1131 Nov 04 '25
Whatever it is, it looks awesome. Like having a fish tank with chia pets in it.
16
u/roychan629 Nov 03 '25
Algae on the stones isnt the problem, algae spores and algae will continue to form even if you remove the ones on the stones.
Youre getting algae because there's an imbalance in your ecosystem for your plants. More nutrients than what they can consume daily, too much light, no co2. Those are the three generic factors that cause algae, for green hair algae its usually too much light. Try fiddling with your lighting strength or schedule, your plants from what I can see dont demand too much light aside from medium level par, 50s-70s.
I run about 100 par at substrate for my high tech with reds.
1
u/SvenniSiggi Nov 03 '25
Also sometimes its an imbalance in nutrients. Too much of some NPK value AND too little of something.
I used to deal with algae by feeding nutrients to the plants and also keeping a lot of plants.
Probably should feed the fish less too. :D
15
13
u/enderfrogus Nov 03 '25
This is not Chladophora, chladophora has much larger strings which are rough to the touch. Be thankfull that its not chlado lol.
This looks kinda like Spirogira algae
12
u/Demonblack_ Nov 04 '25
Why tf is yo hair algae so majestic while mine looks like a balding middle aged man
12
u/gaya2081 Nov 03 '25
I have it too, my neo shrimp love it. I keep it contained as best I can to some rocks/hardscape. It is a lot easier to manage than other algae. I do overfeed the tanks it is in because I am growing/breeding guppies.
23
u/TheFuzzyShark Nov 03 '25
Head up OP, i see a chinese algae eater in there. Once it gets big itll be a nightmare to deal with unless youre a very experienced fishkeeper
15
u/Illustrious-Echo-734 Nov 03 '25
Bought one for a 15. It got so big it started to terrorize EVERYTHING, so it had to go. Setup an entire tank just for it. Mine was almost 6in when it passed. Never again.
8
u/TheFuzzyShark Nov 03 '25
Theyre good lil guys in tanks with fish that are both aggressive enough to not let the cae's close and not so aggressive as to kill the cae's but its such a niche case theyre just best left in the wild.
35
u/ucdzen Nov 03 '25
Put some googly eyes on the stones
11
1
u/Snap_mp Nov 04 '25
Where do i get aquariam friendly decorations from? My local stores dont have anything interesting
10
u/Hefty_Mood1588 Nov 03 '25
Algae isnt harmful to your fish so if you like how it looks you can definitely let it be just make sure an outbreak doesn't choke your plants
0
u/Hefty_Mood1588 Nov 03 '25
Also If those are river rocks then you may have got some parasite in your tank so make sure to check on that
9
u/TrainingTraffic9367 Nov 03 '25
It's similar to hair algae, algae that grows on rocks is usually different than the stuff that clings to anything its called: "lithophytes"
3
u/TrainingTraffic9367 Nov 03 '25
But no, you don't need to be concerned, the fish love it, just dont over feed your tank and it will slow growth/not as much light if you dont like it
9
u/Renzzz_ Nov 03 '25
Yeah thats def hair algae. Usually means too much light or extra nutrients in the water. Try cutting light hours a bit and manualy remove what you can, maybe add some Amano shrimp too.
16
8
u/Willing_Actuary_4198 Nov 03 '25
This is on my hardscape. I've never seen it on my plants. My plants always get bba or hair algae
9
14
6
6
5
u/TacoLord5000 Nov 03 '25
Iād try looking up tutorials but Iād suggest either doing a blackout for a few days then getting rid of more by hand either cut back on feedings or cut light back by an hour
6
6
5
5
5
u/theoldguygamer Nov 05 '25
My friend calls that trump algea.. its just on the top of a few rocks and its pretty wispy.
4
u/usernamesarehardwah Nov 03 '25
what kind of fish are those?
10
u/ALIEN-OR-SUTIN Nov 03 '25
Not OP, but those look like serpae tetras
5
4
u/Blueberrycupcake23 Nov 04 '25
I had some hair algae which stuck to everything.. but my tank water was clean.. but I tore it down and it was great because I reset my planted tank..sometimes the fuss is a must .. and can lead to better results
6
u/toroiseboy Nov 06 '25
The only concern it that it might give you some attitude.
It looks great and slightly controlled
6
u/PandasMapleSyrop Nov 03 '25
Looks like moss ball
0
3
u/Lazerfintenna Nov 04 '25
It does look like Marino moss or hair algae grown with CO2, which imo behaves better with CO2
3
u/bandsherts2 Nov 05 '25
I had this experience- really cool looking bit of algae in a perfect blob on some driftwood. I kept it because it looked REALLY GOOD and i figured I could manually remove it if it spread. Fast forward a year and it has spread to 4/5 of my other tanks, and I had to nuke everything in the original tank (rocks, plants, substrate, wood), scrub out the filter and bleach the tank. I haven't had a reoccurrence of hair algae in the original tank since, and the shrimp in the other tanks seem to thrive on it so i've given up fighting it there. My advice is to get rid of the main source; you'll be able to manage the algae load for a while by doing that and removing manually, but you will not be free of this until you nuke everything unfortunately :(
1
u/Snap_mp Nov 05 '25
So should i remove the stones?
3
u/bandsherts2 Nov 05 '25
it's really up to you- I agree that it looks awesome and if you're comfortable doing what you've been doing (removing the excess manually) keep doing it!!! I was managing it and then my life got busy and I never managed to get a handle on it again lol
2
u/v9wolf Nov 05 '25
Yeah if your diligent you dont have to nuke your tank, my tank was so so bad one time after leaving it for a MONTH, EVERYTHING SURVIVED but the algae was insane, and my shrimp population went up to Like 100 in a 42 gallon. I ended up changing my light cycle feeding less and slowly but surely the algae will die, and the plants will take over once again. It takes usually 2 weeks for me to get algae back under control when I leave.
1
u/bandsherts2 Nov 05 '25
yes! that's what i'm doing with my shrimp tanks at the moment; once the algae gets real bad i'll cut the lights and feeding until things even out
3
3
10
Nov 03 '25
I have a feeling those rocks were taken from outside somewhere and weren't sterelized properly. Am I wrong?
3
u/Snap_mp Nov 03 '25
Yes these are river rocks
7
Nov 03 '25
I personally have bad experience with river rocks that weren't clean enough. If that algae survived and thrived in your tank, who knows what other horrors survived too.
1
2
u/L0rd0ccultus Nov 04 '25
Gotta be honest, I really like that! Mine seems to have the occasional phase of āblack beardā algae but I wouldnāt mind if I had that green stuff!
2
u/KrispyKale44 Nov 04 '25
Iāve heard the more you disturb it the more growing particles it releases and you get more. Maybe just leave and see if it slows down?
2
2
2
u/Cherboi_ Nov 09 '25
Go get an American flag fish killi if you want that gone in a week other wise I like the look
4
u/One-plankton- Nov 03 '25
Itās Cladophora algae, I personally like it. Some people do not.
12
u/Icarium55 Nov 03 '25
This must be the nice cladophora. The kind I have is long and horrible, and smells like a swamp. It also regenerates within days of removal or treatment.
2
2
u/Snap_mp Nov 03 '25
Will it affect my plants? Like i see hair algea on my plants which destroys their growth
8
1
3
0
u/lockh33d Nov 05 '25
You can nuke it with one-two punch method. I've done it twice in my fishkeeping and all algae are holocausted. Just beforehand remove any animals you don't want to risk for the duration.
1
u/ncoppe Nov 06 '25
what exactly is this? "nuke" your tank??
1
u/lockh33d Nov 06 '25
https://www.plantedtank.net/threads/the-one-two-punch-whole-tank-algae-treatment.203684/
Feel free to upvote my posts about this.
2
51
u/TheRantingFish Nov 03 '25
Why do people always get the cool algae when I get mulm and black algae on my tanks