White Water Mold?

[Louise02]

I cannot get a picture now, but I have something new in my aquarium and I am concerned.  I think it showed up overnight, as we look in on our fish so many times each day.  There is some sort of white, stringy material growing out of the filter.  I thought that this aquarium was well established, so I am concerned.  Should I get our betta out of it immediately?  Help?  Thank you in advance for any suggestions!

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

Based on the description, possibly white hair algae or perhaps biofilm, neither of which will harm your fish.  Either one is actually beneficial. Algae helps with water clarity and oxygenation.  Biofilm is a food source.  Pics would help with a more solid identification.  I have some on my filter outflow too.  If it gets annoying I remove it with a (new) toothbrush.

Edited October 31, 2022 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[KittenFishMom]

I had something like this last February. It didn't bother that fish, but it block my filters and crashed my nitrogen cycle. If I saw it in my tank, I would squeeze and manipulate my filter media in tank water to make sure the water was still moving through it correctly. My sponge filters kept bubbling, but I could not see that the water was not moving water through the sponge.