White Fuzzy substance growing on plants in the tank

[BillyJBryant]

I've started noticing some white fuzzy stuff on some of my plants in the tank. I'm not sure what this is, is it harmful, is it a sign of something bad in the tank? 

We recently had an ammonia spike, but it is under control now. PH is around 7.2, Ammonia is back to 0, Nitrite is 0, Nitrate is 10~20ppm. 

Any ideas, is this something I should be worried about? 

[nabokovfan87]

By chance... is that Seachem Flourite black substrate?

It looks like part of the plants that are converting.  Certain algae (bba) can attach to that old growth and that is what you're seeing.  As those parts of the plants die, some algae can use it as a place to take over.  Trim off dead leaves to help fight this, but ultimately it's indicating either a new tank or just some sort of imbalance.

[BillyJBryant]

On 6/13/2023 at 10:02 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

By chance... is that Seachem Flourite black substrate?

We have TopFin Black Aquarium Sand as the primary substrate and the plants (except the grass) are planted in Fluval Bio Stratum (there is also a bit of Bio Stratum that spilled out in one of the pictures)

 

On 6/13/2023 at 10:02 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

It looks like part of the plants that are converting.  Certain algae (bba) can attach to that old growth and that is what you're seeing.  As those parts of the plants die, some algae can use it as a place to take over.  Trim off dead leaves to help fight this, but ultimately it's indicating either a new tank or just some sort of imbalance.

The tank is "mostly" established, we've had the pleco holding down the fort but didn't have anything else in the tank. We've slowly been adding stock starting with the Neon Tetras about a month ago now. I'll see if we can trim back some of the growth on the plants affected though it's only a few plants that have the "fuzz" on them. The others are doing pretty good. 

One of Cory's video's that we recently watched indicated that some algae's can be a result of too much fertilizer. We are new to planted tanks, so we are still learning how to balance taking care of the fish and the plants. 

[nabokovfan87]

On 6/13/2023 at 10:17 PM, BillyJBryant said:

One of Cory's video's that we recently watched indicated that some algae's can be a result of too much fertilizer. We are new to planted tanks, so we are still learning how to balance taking care of the fish and the plants. 

Aren't we all! (I know I am)  Here is a good video about water, some things to test and target for.  Maybe it'll help you out and get you on the right foot.  One of the big things for me from this video was the GH and KH levels.
 

 

[BillyJBryant]

Is this BBA? I really can't tell.

Edited June 15, 2023 by BillyJBryant
Adding pictures

[nabokovfan87]

Just looks like mulm (organic waste) on plastic plants. It could also be bacteria growing.