Help white slime is spreading (added close up photos in a reply)

[KittenFishMom]

Can anyone identify this white slime, or tell me how to get rid of it?

After my well got cloudy about a month ago, I started seeing white slime on the bottom of the tanks were I had done water changes with the cloudy water. (I am now using bottles spring water for all my water changes. Plan to get the well fixed as soon as Mom improves. We are prioritizing our crises.) I'm not sure what this stuff is. I tried to remove as much of it as I could. I have not been able to spend much time with my tanks because my mother needs care now. About a week ago I noticed one of the 10 gallon tanks started spiking ammonia. The consensus was that I had lost the nitrogen cycling in that tank. I think the white slime slowed or stopped the water flow through the sponge filter. I have been feeding lightly and added Stability and Fritz 7 every day. The cycle is coming back, but so is the white slime. I noticed it yesterday again. Tonight the areas of white have doubled in size. (See photos below.) I added a course filter sponge to the bottom of the tank to help the cycle grow last week. Now the white slime has started to cover that sponge from the left. The right side is still clean. 

With Mom needing so much care, I haven't gotten my new 15 gallon tanks set up. I would move the fish if I had a place for them.

The pictures do not do a good job of showing the detail. I welcome any advice on taking better photos.  This stuff looks kind of web-like on the edges.

The slime is in the middle. (My peppered corys of the left)

The clean righ side of th filter sponge under the stump ornament

You can see a lot spreading in front of the sponge, from left to right.

A poor attempt at a close up

Last time it was all over all the gravel under this rock, as well as the sponge filters

 

Edited March 24, 2022 by KittenFishMom

[Colu]

It could be cyanobacteria ? 

[KittenFishMom]

There is a lot of blue-green algae in the lake. The well is about 80 feet from the shore. The blue-green algae usually isn't a problem in the lake until the water warms up, around July and August, Then it is dependent on the weather conditions. It pops up here and there in the lake.

We haven't any problem with the well all fall and winter, until a month ago. Well had rain and major snow melt.

The lake is about 2 feet low than it's summer level. We are on the south east end of the lake (The muddy, mucky end of the finger lakes. Great for wildlife, but very shallow). So the lake is way out still. I think some surface water is getting into the well, despite having it fixed twice and shocked many times. We will work on the well as soon as Mom recovers enough to for us to start tracking down a new well expert.

In the mean time. I do not know what to do about the slime. There is a betta fish in this tank, so I can not increase the water flow. I don't have a tank where I can put him.

[Colu]

I no maracyn treats cyanobacteria am  not sure that what it is maybe someone else with more experience of cyanobacteria can chip in

[ColBud]

Is underwater mycelium a thing????

[KittenFishMom]

It does look like that.

I asked my husband to take some better photos. He is better with the camera than I am.

[KittenFishMom]

New close up photos. My husband took these.

@Colu and @ColBud Do these photos help?

Along the edge of the sponge on the bottom front of the tank

 

On some IAL next to the sponge

Another angle

 

 

 

 

[ColBud]

I really couldn’t say with any certainty what it is. Can you siphon it out easily when you do a water change? I don’t worry about stuff that shows up naturally in my tanks. 

[gardenman]

It looks like a fungus to me. I've had this issue before. Melafix clears it up in a few days.

[AndreaW]

I agree that it looks like fungus.

[KittenFishMom]

@ColBudIt grew across the top openings in my sponge filters and appeared to be the reason I lost my nitrogen cycle in this tank. That is why I am worried about it. I have siphoned it out with water changes, but it keeps coming back.  When I disturb it with the siphon, I get pieces of it drifting around the tank. You can see in the close ups how it sets up shop in the sponge and would slow the water flow. I was hoping the corys would eat it, but they don't seem to be at all interested in it.

I have 5 active 10-gallon tanks. I was hoping to build 2 15-gallon and a 55-gallon this winter/spring. I am using store bought water for the water changes on my active tanks. I am sure this stuff came from the well because it is also in the tank of the toilet. If I cannot get this white slime under control in the 2 tanks I have found it in, then I may need to give up on keeping tropic fish. 

[Wrencher_Scott]

On 3/23/2022 at 8:43 PM, KittenFishMom said:

New close up photos. My husband took these.

@Colu and @ColBud Do these photos help?

Along the edge of the sponge on the bottom front of the tank

 

 

On some IAL next to the sponge

 

Another angle

 

 

 

I think it's slime mold which it harmless, Google slime mold.

It feeds on plant material like wood. 

Edited March 24, 2022 by Wrencher_Scott

[KittenFishMom]

I remember reading someplace never to use any product ending in "fix". I don't know if I should try "Melafix" or "maracyn" or something else, or just ignore it and hope my nitrogen cycle doesn't crash again.

I had planned on trying to clean and set up my 15 gallon tanks today, but Mom was worse, and we were not able to do anything with the fish tanks. 

I may take the goldfish to the LFS tomorrow, just to have one less tank to maintain. I've been enjoying them, but maintaining 5 tanks with store bought spring water for a month is a lot of work. I would try to sort out some of the guppies that are growing out, to reduce the load in the tanks, but I don't think I will have time. Maybe I can take a bunch to the store and have them sort out the size they want and pick up what they don't want a different day.  I will call them in the morning.

A well expert was suppose to come to the cottage today, but canceled due to a different well emergency. It was just as well because we were busy with Mom all day.  We will get the well fixed as soon as we can.

[nabokovfan87]

On 3/23/2022 at 5:56 PM, KittenFishMom said:

About a week ago I noticed one of the 10 gallon tanks started spiking ammonia. The consensus was that I had lost the nitrogen cycling in that tank. I think the white slime slowed or stopped the water flow through the sponge filter.

I had an issue about 3 months ago with my HOB and a power outage and the tank crashed. The bacterial bloom stuff is a pale beige color (think bread yeast) and it's incredible dense slime. It's like snot in it's consistency and texture.

On 3/23/2022 at 8:43 PM, KittenFishMom said:

Along the edge of the sponge on the bottom front of the tank

This doesn't look like bacterial or cycle crash issue to me.

On 3/23/2022 at 7:04 PM, KittenFishMom said:

In the mean time. I do not know what to do about the slime. There is a betta fish in this tank, so I can not increase the water flow. I don't have a tank where I can put him.

I would find a tub of any size for temporary storage of the fish. It can be a glass container, plastic, or a 5G bucket if one is available. Keep it covered to reduce stress and try to have an air stone or sponge in that container if you can. In that holding container, treat the fish with salt just to give them an oxygenation boost and keep an eye on behavior.

The tank in question you need to treat the entire tank to try to get rid of whatever this is. I would do the ich-x type of treatment as well as the antibacterial treatment and that should clear.up anything in the tank. After that's done, if it gets rid of everything, clean it very well as best you can with a paper towel and then rinse the sponge and re-start the cycle of the tank itself.

For some of my tanks running sponge only it can help to put a little bag of ceramic media on the top of the sponge near the uplift tube, but it's not a requirement. Having the hardscape and other surfaces should be fine to house the bacteria. You're going to have to restart the cycle and dose bacteria from the bottle simply because you're treating the tank itself with the antibacterial meds.

Following that, if you still have issues, I would treat the tank with salt and hope that sanitizes the bacterial or biological issue going on. (Meaning that whatever it is cannot sustain life in saltwater).