freshreef

i had the perfect balance in my tank - no algae at all. a few days ago i decided to take out my 5 big sae and give them to a friend with a new setup. two days later he called me and told me all his hair algae desapeared. a day later (3 days after i gave them ) hair algae started here in my tank.
are they that good in eating hair algae or is it something else?

trenac

I have always heard/read that they are BBA eaters, however there is always an exception to the rule.

gpodio

They are famous for eating BBA but they also eat other filamentous algae. I've seen the same thing happen in other tanks when we thought the SAEs had done their job and moved them elsewhere.

Giancarlo

gsander

What is bba?

vancat

Black Beard Algae.

Looks like a black beard. As I've said before on this board, I'll never go without SAEs again...in my tank, without them, BBA very quickly rears it's ugly fuzzy little head.