Hair Algae on Frag

I picked a couple of frags from the store and the plug had a little bit if hair algae on it. I tired to scrap it, pull it with tweezers, put it on a different plug, but I can't seem to get it off of the plug ( it's been 3 weeks.). I don't have it anywhere else in my tank. Is tgere a good way to treat just 1 frag for hair algae to get rid of it?

You can always use a toothbrush to get it off

Yes, it keeps coming back. I've had it up on a frag rack because I didn't want it to grow onto anything. The tank is 6 gal and I have 5 hermits and 7 or 8 snail.

ReefdUp wrote: t may also be a species that hermit crabs find distasteful.

When I get frags, I look for the ones with some hair algae.  My sailfin tang loves it.  My tank stays algae free.  If you have space get a tang, best algae control money can buy.  My preference is the sailfin.  Relatively disease resistant and awesome looking. 

Aloha,

Algae is growing everywhere. Spores don't need help to spread around. They do it very well on their own. Algae is the basis of the food chain. It's essential to life. You can't have a decent reef aquarium without algae and the animals to eat it. The key to keeping the aquarium looking good and not overgrown with algae is to have enough algae eaters. All algae eaters are helpful. Each has their own favorite algae but will eat most of what is growing.

The list of herbivores is long:
Snails;
Fish;
Amphipods;
Hermit Crabs;
Urchins;
Bristleworms;
Sea Slugs;
Copepods;
Feather Duster Worms;
Clams;
Emerald Crabs and more.

Each herbivore has its part to play in keeping our aquariums from having an algae bloom.

Keeping a variety of snails is very useful because each type does a slightly different job. Margarita Snails are fast eaters and can mow a large area quickly while Astrea Snails crop it much closer/shorter. Then there are Cerith Snails that move through the sand eating algae on the sand particles, sometimes crawling up the rocks and glass clearing a narrow path as they go.

Keeping coral on a rack makes it difficult for some herbivores to reach. Placing frags on the sand makes it more accessible to Copepods, Amphipods, Snails, Hermits and Bristleworms, to name a few.

Mahalo,
Mark
808-345-1049 call/text anytime

I like Nikkie's suggestion.  I've done it in the past and it is amazing how effective it is.  However I didn't do a dip like suggested.  I put it in a syringe, pulled the plug out of the tank, and was very careful to not spray directly on the SPS.  The infected spot bubbled and never had a problem on it again.  Infact I will spot treat directly in the tank using that method, but not meant for this thread....

Lewy wrote: I like Nikkie's suggestion.  I've done it in the past and it is amazing how effective it is.  However I didn't do a dip like suggested.  I put it in a syringe, pulled the plug out of the tank, and was very careful to not spray directly on the SPS.  The infected spot bubbled and never had a problem on it again.  Infact I will spot treat directly in the tank using that method, but not meant for this thread....

I've definitely spot-sprayed...works great. If it's on a plug, I just remove the plug and put a clean one on (and bleach the old one.)

Also, I am still not a fan of dosing hydrogen peroxide directly into the tank. Yes, it works, but I've read a few studies that show that it inhibits calcification before it is neutralized. I care about growth more than a bit of algae.