Can Someone Tell Me What This Is

[iroc]

I noticed that this area of Java moss looks like it's got white stuff all over it. It seems to be on the slate cave which is around the moss as well. I am confused, at 1st I thought it was just a alage waffer that wasn't eaten by the plecos, but it looks distrubing to me now, almost like underwater mold?


here are some pics

Should I be removing this and cleaning the slate

 

[SNAIL]

Its a fungus. It grows due to over feeding. Basically, too much left overs sitting around.
Make sure you have good water current. Remove them by hand and scrub them off the slate.
Controll your feeding and do regular weekly water changes (20%).
How old is your tank? How many fish? Tank size? Type of filter? Lights?

 

[iroc]

How old is your tank - It's been running with me for about 4 months but the tank its self is about 4 years old
How many fish - I have 3 small clown loaches, 2 rainbow sharks (one albino), 5 black skrit tetras, 2 clown plecos, 1 golden gourami, 1 blue gourami, 1 white gourami, 1 neon blue drawf gourami, 1 red flame gourami, and a silver tail angelfish
Tank size - 55 gal
Type of filter - not sure it came with the tank when I got it
Lights - 2 55watt blubs

I do a 20% water change once a week, the tank is pretty well planted with a sand substrate. I add seachum florish 2 times a week once after the water change and put root tabs in once a month

I am going to pull out the Java moss and slate cave and clean them off and do a good "gravel" vac this weekend. The java moss will be cleaned then added back into the tank but tied off to some drift wood

 

[Dave Spencer]

I had some similar sounding growth on my bogwood when I first set up my tank. Six Bumblebee Shrimp and 24 hours later and it had all gone. I am assuming the shrimp ate it.

 

[iroc]

I wanted to add some shrimp but I wasn't sure if any of the fish I have would eat them................

 

[SNAIL]

Hello Iroc,

First, here is a link to Tim's Fish Compatibility Site.

http/www.timstropicals.com/Compatibility/NameResults.asp

I would suggest you do more research on the fish you have in respect to them having an appetite for shrimps.
Sorry ,but I am not familiar with your fish.
BumbleBee shrimps tend to eat plants if they don't have enough food. They only live for about a year.
I would suggest the Amano shrimp. I've had mine for 3 years now.

Java moss does well when trimmed regularly. They abosorb nutrients from the water directly as they have no roots.
The other plants you have take most of their nutrients through their roots. Try increasing your liquid fert a little (2 to 5 ml extra).
Your fish load seems fine. Try adding more plants (fast growing) to keep your water stable and to remove toxic elements from the water as well as other nutrients that other organisms like fungus and algae would need to grow.

You say you've had the tank for 4 months but the tank is 4 yers old.
Does this mean you had set up the tank from scratch and it's been up and running for 4 months? A tank your size will take longer to cycle and 4 months is not enough. Filters are designed to remove large particles from the water, nothing else.
Your bacteria colony grows in the substrate, on the plants, bogwood and slate as you have, so avoid disturbing the substrate too much when vaccuming. Just do the surface to remove left over food and what have you. Remove the activated carbon from your filter. It will absorb ferts. Use floss pad or sponge only and clean the filter every two weeks. I have never tried using sand as a substrate so I have no comments on that. The slate is something I would be concerned about as it will leech. There are so many types of slate out there and each type will have an effect on your water chemistry (ie: iron, copper). Do make sure it is safe for your fish and shrimp that you may add in the future.

As for your tank , over all, it looks Great!
The one thing I would do though is let the Vals multiply and plant them in the back
and I would plant glosso in the foreground. This will however require you to add CO2.
Regardless of what you do, the plants will benefit from added CO2, even just a DIY type.
The white stuff will come back if you over feed. Try feeding once a day for a few days and see how it goes.
The fish will be fine. All the best.

 

[iroc]

Hello Iroc,

First, here is a link to Tim's Fish Compatibility Site.

http/www.timstropicals.com/Compatibility/NameResults.asp

I would suggest you do more research on the fish you have in respect to them having an appetite for shrimps.
Sorry ,but I am not familiar with your fish.
BumbleBee shrimps tend to eat plants if they don't have enough food. They only live for about a year.
I would suggest the Amano shrimp. I've had mine for 3 years now.

Java moss does well when trimmed regularly. They abosorb nutrients from the water directly as they have no roots.
The other plants you have take most of their nutrients through their roots. Try increasing your liquid fert a little (2 to 5 ml extra).
Your fish load seems fine. Try adding more plants (fast growing) to keep your water stable and to remove toxic elements from the water as well as other nutrients that other organisms like fungus and algae would need to grow.

You say you've had the tank for 4 months but the tank is 4 yers old.
Does this mean you had set up the tank from scratch and it's been up and running for 4 months? A tank your size will take longer to cycle and 4 months is not enough. Filters are designed to remove large particles from the water, nothing else.
Your bacteria colony grows in the substrate, on the plants, bogwood and slate as you have, so avoid disturbing the substrate too much when vaccuming. Just do the surface to remove left over food and what have you. Remove the activated carbon from your filter. It will absorb ferts. Use floss pad or sponge only and clean the filter every two weeks. I have never tried using sand as a substrate so I have no comments on that. The slate is something I would be concerned about as it will leech. There are so many types of slate out there and each type will have an effect on your water chemistry (ie: iron, copper). Do make sure it is safe for your fish and shrimp that you may add in the future.

As for your tank , over all, it looks Great!
The one thing I would do though is let the Vals multiply and plant them in the back
and I would plant glosso in the foreground. This will however require you to add CO2.
Regardless of what you do, the plants will benefit from added CO2, even just a DIY type.
The white stuff will come back if you over feed. Try feeding once a day for a few days and see how it goes.
The fish will be fine. All the best.

the tank was up and running at a friends, we took it down, brought it back here and filled it up. My media (fuval cermaic) was in his tank for 3 months before it was all transfered here. The "vals" are Crinum thaianum and there are 4 in the back and 2 in the front. there are also 2 large anbus (sp) tied to some bogwood. and a large amozon sword. The tank has a DIY CO2 using the pinned method however that was just added a week ago. I took all the fungus out, cleaned off all the slate (it has been soaking for about 4 years and is very safe) and did a gravel vac of all the sand. I took the java moss off the slate that was in the cave and attached it to some wood. thanks for all the great advice