What exactly IS algae good for???

Pardon my ignorance, but what exactly is algae good for? like in my case i have a 60 G Fowlr tanks... few fish, starfish and rocks... what use could i have for some? just curious...

oh and if i missed this topic already(i did look) point me in the right direct and ill close this....

 

it is good for exporting nutrients like phosphate and nitrate... also can be grown and harvested for natural fish food

 

so will my fish like eat it? (Foxface, rabbitfish, cowfish, lionfish, maroon clown.) or my starfish (chocolate star, african star)

 

It just looks pretty. ;D

A lot of people use it as a nitrate export in a refugium. You grow it on purpose. When it grows, it absorbs nitrates and phosphates from your system. Not a ton, but enough to make it worth it IMO.

Some you can use as decorations. There really are some good looking macro algae out there.

 

Most of the algae used for nutrient export are not suitable for food. They are chosen for fast growth. More growth, means more nutrients removed from the water. Chaeto is one of the most often used. Caulerpa is also an extremely good one for this, although it is illegal in some states.

Only the Foxface / Rabbitfish would eat it anyways. The others would nibble, but not much.