[Persistent Water Mold/White Tufts/White Algae? Need Help :(]

On 4/30/2024 at 12:46 AM, Seattle_Aquarist said:

If it were my tank I would try a different food or foods.  Maybe alternate Tetra Min Flakes and a good frozen food like brine shrimp.  Don't feed the pellets at all and see if it re-occurs.  -Roy

I was feeding Tetra Flakes before and these would make a mess and would disintigrate into tiny little pieces unlike jbl pellets which I suspect would even cause high dissolved organics in the water as flakes would cause some oily films to form on water surface. 
 

I also tried frozen bloodworms and brine shrimps. 
 

Also weekly I am doing 1 or 2 days of fasting. 

[Persistent Water Mold/White Tufts/White Algae? Need Help :(]

Thanks @Seattle_Aquarist. Same here.

I have done extensive research since October but got nowhere near my exact same case.

I have a small 10g tank before and it was crystal clear water with bi-monthly maintenance. In that tank I would get nitrate readings at 10-20ppm daily.

But since October when I purchased my brand new 37g tank and moved everything there - that's when my crusade started. 

The fungus layer would start on the glass walls and on filter media. Then it would start to settle on the substrate. I noticed when I do DAILY water change and thorough vacuuming they would disappear. Of course. Lol. 

But when I stopped water changing/vacuuming for a week - they would re-emerge. Tried stoppping for 2 weeks - voila problem is worse again. 

My last line of thought would be because the tank is huge and since my substrate is sand I am not able to vacuum everything thouroughly when doing maintenance. Idk. 

I would start daily water changes/vacuuming the white filaments while running UV without any fish in my tank. After 1 month I would see what will happen. 

Note in the temporary smaller tank (which was empty previously) where I transferred my fishes on April 15 - after only 3 days the water cloudiness/milkiness is at 90% intensity. And my water readings would be always 0 ammonia and 0 nitrate. And I have been feeding few amounts every other day. 

My angelfish have been dying since probably due to difficulty of breathing. 

I am doing daily water change but water would turn too much milky after only 1 day.... 

[Persistent Water Mold/White Tufts/White Algae? Need Help :(]

On 4/29/2024 at 9:57 PM, Seattle_Aquarist said:

Hi @Kevin A,

I took one of your pictures, blew it up, enhanced it to darken and add definition, and lastly added arrows.  Can you tell me what the dark lumps are where the arrows are pointing?  They appear to be much larger than the substrate grain size.  It is possibly the food you are feeding?

You said that after you cleaned the tank everything was fine for about 2-3 weeks then the fungus started.  Were you feeding the JBL pellets as the only food (or the primary food) on both occasions that this happened? -Roy

Those are holes in the white filaments sheets. 

On the substrate, under the white filament sheets there would be dark green/brownish layer. Sometimes they would branch out similar to a slime mold like this from google:


I took that photo yesterday night and since April 15 I have already removed all my fish and have not been putting any food in the tank. 

I have been using JBL pellets since my 2nd run of the tank (last week February 2024). From October 2023 to 2nd week February 2024 I have been feeding flakes and other bigger pellets but JBL pellets (for betta) seems to be quickly eaten by my fishes and eaten cleanly - meaning not breaking on the water column as they would just swallow the thing so I only use it now. 

[Persistent Water Mold/White Tufts/White Algae? Need Help :(]

On 4/29/2024 at 9:07 PM, johnnyxxl said:

Sand has silica in it.  That's one contribution do you have wood in the tank?

I did have driftwood from October 2023 up to 2nd week February 2024. However the water mold on driftwood body only lasted less than a month. And these white water mold/algae thingy started growing on December 2023 and it completely overrun my tank on February 2024 even with weekly maintenance and running purigen/activated carbon.

Since then I dismantled everything, threw old filter medias even the air tubes and heater, disinfected my tank for a week, bought new sand (JBL), and buy a powerful? canister filter for a 37g tank.

Started running the tank on last week of February, did not put any plants/driftwoods and reduced my feeding even more and before reintroducing my fish to the 37g tank I put them on 30 minutes salt+methylene blue bath. 

However I developed the same problem with these white algae/mold/slime molds thingy. 

There is a petstore near my block and they have clear water in their displays. 

[Persistent Water Mold/White Tufts/White Algae? Need Help :(]

On 4/29/2024 at 6:36 PM, JoeQ said:

Initially and without any additional information (water change schedule & full water parameters would help) I wondered to myself if you are dealing with is white bga which is a bacteria.  Its also fowl smelling and grows in sheets. A huge contributer to the problem is flow & silicates which is abundant in sand; silicates is BGA crack. New setups with sand often need large regular water changes to combat BGA untill a large colony of beneficial bacteria can grow

In my research I also have come some hobbyists from other forums who said they are having this same problem and can be due to sand where it contains silicates.

I am using JBL Riverside coarse sand. And I am washing it thoroughly 5 times before putting in my tank. Thank you for the input I will perform daily water change!


 

 

On 4/29/2024 at 8:22 PM, Seattle_Aquarist said:

Hi @Kevin A,

The fungus and cloudiness indicates a bacteria buildup as does the smell and build up of material in you filter media.  A blackout will have no effect on that condition.

Tell me about your fish population (what species and how many of each).  Also how much do you feed, when do you feed, and how often do you feed.
-Roy

Hi @Seattle_Aquarist thank you for your response. On February 20, 2024 when I first started my tank I have the following:

2 adult angelfish
4 adult mollies
3 juvenile mollies
4 (3 months-old) angelfish juvy
6 juvenile corydoras
4 juvenile german blue rams

I have 1 medium size canister filter filled with 30ppi foam, and 2 (4-inch) sponge filters inside and 1 big airstone. I also use water pump for more water flow. 

I am only feeding once a day to a minimum where they will all finish any fish food within 5-10 minutes. I am using JBL pellets not flakes. Protein content is 47%. 

Water parameter right after 1st week of running the tank is 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, 0 nitrate - Consistently up to today. pH at 7.2 ph, phosphate at 0-0.25ppm. 

When my water gets cloudy at the 2nd week of March, I did not change water as I watch Cory's video saying do not do any water change for bacterial bloom. 

Now I have waited for any reduction in cloudiness and it did not.

So after 2 months (April 15) with water cloudiness persistent at almost 90% intensity I decided to remove all fish and do 80% water change. This is the first time I changed water.

After water change it slightly reduced in cloudiness but after 1 day the intensity grew and these white stuffs began growing everywhere again.

When I removed my fishes 2 weeks ago these white stuffs grew even more whereas during March when my fish were there, they are eating these white filaments/water molds thing specially the livebearers. 

Now it has been 2 weeks since I removed my fish and my tank looks horrible. It's like someone threw some pasta and left it there. 

I do not want to teardown again since I already did that on 2nd week of February. 

Since April 15 I am doing weekly 20% water change, cleaning my sponge filters every 3-4 days (but not the canister filter to maintain good bacterial colony) and no food or fish inside tank.

 I started to have this issue on October last year on my first planted tank. I have lots of plants and some driftwoods (the driftwoods was initially covered by water mold but they quickly disappeared). They grew well to the point stem plants turned dark red in color. However it was overrun by these white water molds/algae thingy even though I have lots of plants and doing weekly water change and even using purigen/activated carbon at the same time - some fish died on February 2024 that's why I decided to dismantle and threw everything, disinfect with vinegar and buy new items.

However since then same thing happened to me. 

 Any insight how can I remedy this would be appreciated 😞 

[Persistent Water Mold/White Tufts/White Algae? Need Help :(]

On 4/29/2024 at 4:20 PM, JoeQ said:

@Seattle_Aquarist any idea whats happening here? I would think it has to do with the desalination process.

@JoeQ I have lots of friends and lots of other people who have tanks here as well as pet shops but they don't have this kind of problem. Their water is clear even with insufficient filtration. 

Maybe it has to do with my tank size? Hence not proper water "flow"? Tank height is 18 inch by 32 inch length. But I am already using canister filter. 

I tested my tap and tank water phosphate levels and they are at 0 ppm level sometimes 0.25 ppm level. My tap water nitrate level is 0 ppm. 

There are no more organics in my tank but they continue growing these white sheets/filaments. On my first tank they grew into branch-like thing like a slime mold. They smell VERY FISHY when I scoop them up and inspect. They are like soft gelatin/filmy kind of things. I suspect they are the ones causing bacterial bloom not my feeding.

For now 2 weeks since I removed all my fish and no feeding in the tank. No lights daily. Yet they grow fast as I remove them. 

I will observe more... hopefully anyone has any ideas specially the higher mods on this forum? 

Thanks in advance for any help 😞

[Persistent Water Mold/White Tufts/White Algae? Need Help :(]

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[Persistent Water Mold/White Tufts/White Algae? Need Help :(]

Hi guys. 

I need help. Sorry for the long post but a background is needed to understand my predicament...

To be honest I'm at a lost. I have been battling these water mold/white algae/white tufts or slime mold or fungus thing like for more than 6 months.

At first I have a planted tank with few mollies and angel fish in my 37 gallon tank and after 2 months it went 90% cloudy(milky white) and all my plants develop white algae on them and water molds and slime molds of sorts completelely covered my whole substrate to the point the sands turned black and water smell like rotting sewer. 

Since then I moved all my fish to a temporary tank and first put them in salt bath/meth blue solution and I completely dismantled my 37g. All the plants were fine not dead even though completely covered in white stuff. I moved all plants into separate containers and threw all my sponge filters that are smelling bad and all the sands that turned black.

I cleaned and washed my tank and disinfected with vinegar and let it dry for 3-4 days before starting again.

I bought new sands, new sponge filters and a canister filter. 

Then I slowly returned my fish and everything was fine until one month later, water turned 90% cloudy (milky) again and even though I am performing regular maintanence 2 months later these white stuffs return. 

The filter foams are always quickly being full with brown gunks. While my ammonia is always at 0 and nitrate always at 0. This time I have no plants so I wonder why I am always at 0 nitrate and ammonia.

Now 2 weeks ago I transfered all my fish again to a temporary tank and lo and behold my 37g tank was completely overrun by this white stuffs when I removed my fish (but why?). I even turned off the lights in that tank 24/7 off for one week but to no avail. The water slightly get less cloudy but this white stuffs are growing so fast to the point every 3-5 days they will completely cover my glass walls and my substrate.

😞 I tried using purigen  and activated carbon nothing happened. I tried melafix, pimafix etc.. nothing happened. I tried adding salt - it did make the growth of the molds slow a little bit for a couple of days but after a week with no water change (salt concentration still there) the white stuffs grew rapidly again.

I tried using UV lamp - well the water would get clear but when I turned off the lamp after 2 weeks of running the water would get cloudy again in another 2 weeks and the white stuffs are not being affected by the UV. 

I have been feeding the fishes once a day for what they can consume within 5 minutes and have been vacuuming the substrate during regular maintanance. I also added lots of aeration and even water pump. Nothing changes.

Now my 37g tank has been without fish inside for 2 weeks hence no source of any organic inputs but these white stuffs keeps on growing and my water is persistently at 80-90% milkiness. 

Anyone experienced this kind of issue before? I am at a loss. I live in the middle east hence our tap water is from desalinated water from sea. 
 

[Cycling with and without quick start bacteria]

On 1/5/2023 at 1:43 PM, Cinnebuns said:

Good timing on this. I just read this comment on Facebook. I copy pasted it so I'm not paraphrasing. Idk, I feel kinda weird taking someone else's words but idk how best else to pass this along. 

 

TLDR. Bacteria bloom. Do nothing

As you are hopefully aware there are two types of bacteria in your tank. Ammonia to nitrite bacteria and nitrite to nitrate bacteria. Now it time to understand a third group which is in there. For simplicity reasons we'll call these your organic bacteria

As you are aware organic matter in your tank, fish poop, decaying food and plants etc turns into ammonia which feeds your cycle. It's your organic bacteria which actual turns these into ammonia.

These organic bacteria multiple very fast, every 15 to 20 minutes compared to your nitrifying bacteria which is every 15 hours.

If there is a sudden increase in organic waste within your tank your organic bacteria will go into a feeding / multiplying frenzie. The milky cloudy look you are seeing is actually your organic bacteria as they are infact quite large and water borne 

Things which can cause a bacteria bloom.

Over feeding.

Stiring up trapped waste in the substrate

Large water change with nutrient rich water

A cycle crash (dieing good bacteria)

And anything which increases organic waste.

Bacteria blooms are more frequent in new starts where the tank hasn't had time to mature.

To treat. Just leave it. The organic bacteria will deplete the organic  food source and die back naturally. If you water change and your water is nutrient rich all you are doing is feeding them which in turn causes them to remultiple. 

Things to note.

As there is an influx of organic waste coupled with a vast increase in your organic bacteria producing ammonia, your ammonia and nitrites may spike. Try and avoid water changes during this time and treat with prime.

The increase in your organic bacteria can deplete the oxygen levels within your water. If you have plenty of surface agitation or an airstone running this won't be a problem. If you don't consider increasing agitation levels.

As mentioned, it could be the bloom was caused by your cycle crashing. It's more likely it was not this but something else but its worth checking your cycle after the bloom has cleared that it's running ok

I have bacterial bloom for almost 2 months now in both of my 2 tanks. 

It was already crystal clear after the first bacterial bloom, then when I went overboard cleaning it went into bacterial bloom again that has now lasted for 2 months already. 

Now I understand the part not to replace with new water as it will introduce new minerals for the heterotroph bacteria to eat and to populate. 

But can I add more water to top off the water that evaporates over time? Because I'm using hang-on back filter and the water evaporates rather quickly and the filter makes loud noises and my tank is in my room also (im living in an apartment in a city) and I would want to top off water to make the hang on back filter less noisy. 

[Weird red blotches on my fish body]

Hi thank you for the response. 

So if I want to also treat my main tank with salt, I would put 1 table spoon of aquarium salt  for 6 gallons, then should I keep it at that or after a few days do water change or remove the salt with carbon? I have plants and snails in my main tank.

On 8/14/2023 at 12:33 AM, Zac said:

Red blotches usually mean bacteria. I’m guessing the condition is pretty serious if it’s been going on for 2 weeks. You’re best bet is to quarantine if you have space and to treat with antibiotics like Maracyn and aquarium salt 

Hi thank you for the response. I am living in the middle east and antiobiotic is not allowed to be sold here unless you go to vet and have some prescription and being here means there's not a lot of fish stores/vets. 

I am putting him in Meth blue + Aquarium Salt bath for 1 hour weekly. Should I increase more time or frequency? 

He seems do be doing fine now after my initial bath of him. The red blotches are gone but his underbelly seems to be "transparent" now and I can see his "organs i suppose" instead of the red blotches before. Could be organs or could be parasites I am not sure. 

[White spots on glass and hardscape]

On 8/9/2023 at 11:00 PM, xXInkedPhoenixX said:

Hi! You have 3 Nerites and at least one of them is female. Those are Nerite eggs. 

Totally harmless, won't hatch. Hard to get off surfaces but eventually fade. Just call it tank glitter and a happy Nerite. 

I had this as well. I was worried my angel fishes are laying eggs and is being scattered by water flow. But upon reading this post I remembered I put 2 nerite snails last two weeks ago. 

Did you successfully bred nerite snails before?

[Weird red blotches on my fish body]

Please help me guys. My red zebra danio has been having this thing for the last 2 weeks. He’s been moving energetically from time to time but would mostly sit idle in one corner. He’s still feeding but not actively. Only when you drop food in front of him. 

I don’t know is this a disease or parasite internally or externally. Could also be bacteria. Anyone encountered this thing before? 

My advance thank you to anyone 🙏