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LDA 25 and Hair Algae
Hello all,
I just thought that some of you may be interested to know that we
have a new ally in the war against hair (sometimes called black, red, or
brush) algae.
LDA 25 is being imported with some frequency now and I have
confirmed that it eats hair algae. They do not consume the algae with the
same vigor as the SAE (Crosscheilus spp.), but do a fine job just the
same. One good thing is that they will eat old hair algae and new growths
of hair algae with no preference for either. The SAE has a definate
preference for new growths and tends to ignore full grown stands of hair
algae.
LDA 25 has been appearing as a contaminant in shipments of
Otocinclus. In fact, I have now seen two complete shipments that were
labeled Otocinclus flexilis that contained no ottos and only LDA 25. LDA
25 is not only an undescribed species, but it also does not appear to
belong to any described genus of Loricariidae either. The fish looks to be
a cross between an Otocinclus and Chaetostoma. The snout is noticibly
rounded and the color pattern is reminiscent of that of Corydoras paleatus
(peppered cory). The first "description" of this fish was in Das Aquarium
November, 1995. It can also be found on page 84 of the Aqualog
(Loricariidae all L- Numbers) book.
-Shane
In Pullman, WA where it is finally summer and my tanks stay at 80F
unplugged!