Hair algae can be a real nuisance - Find out how to get rid of it in this short video - One of 193 videos in our Ask James series.

Hair algae can be a real nuisance!

Find out how to get rid of it in this short video.
One of 193 videos in our Ask James series.

Hair algae is very different to other marine algae types.

Hair algae is not like other marine algae.

Hair algae can be a real pain in a marine tank, and many hobbyists struggle to eliminate it. This is because unlike other nuisance algae species which can be eliminated by reducing nitrates and phosphates, this doesn't work with hair algae.

This is because hair algae works differently to other algae and creates it's own source of nitrates and phosphates by using the hairy fronds to capture particles from the water column, which decompose within the fronds creating a food source (see below for other examples of this).

The good news is that once you know this hair algae can usually, and easily, be eliminated within a couple of weeks. Here is a short 3 and a half minute video explaining how. This is one of 193 short videos on common reef tank queries in our Ask James series.

Links:

Find out more about hair algae here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GrQazS8Kk0

See a list of all 193 short videos in our Ask James series here:
https://www.youtube.com/@SaltyRevolution/playlists

Venus fly trap plants

Although this is the only common marine algae to do this, it is a tactic used by many plants on land such as the Venus fly trap which captures flies as a source of nutrients.

The amazing world of bats.

Many Pitcher plants are even more specialised with some of them having blooms designed to act as ponds for small frogs, or even secure daytime homes for some species of bats, with the plant even closing up at dawn to keep them safe and opening at dusk to let the bats out. The plant then feeding on the droppings from the animals they house.

We actually have large numbers of bats that live inside the shop, of at least 4 different species, from small ones only a few inches across up to giants with wingspans close to 3ft (1m) across!

A bat preparing to land inside a Pitcher plant. Once the bat is inside the Pitcher plant will close keeping the bats safe from daytime predators. It will then open again at dusk to let the bat back out. This is an axample of a symbiotic relationship with the bat getting a safe place to roost during the day, and in return the Pitcher plant is fertilised by the bat pooping inside the plant when safely inside it’s leafy home.

The predatory Tomato

It's been recently discovered that even the common Tomato plant does this, using the hairs on it's stalks to ensure flying insects which then eventually drop down to the ground and decompose feeding it's roots. This makes the Tomato plant partly Carnivorous in a way (I think more correctly it is omnivorous detritivore), which raises some questions as to whether Tomatoes then still count as being vegan or not. Figs are generally not considered vegan for similar reasons because what we think of as the fruit, is actually a fleshy inside out flower with the bodies of tiny symbiotic wasps inside it!

Anemones

Many sea anemones also rely on the Clownfishes they host for part of their dietary needs, as well as the Clownfish acting as a defence against things like anemone eating Butterfly fish.